Speaking Of "Urban Sprawl"...

Some theorists would have you believe this is a new phenomena. One that has just been around for the last few decades. Not true!

The Truth About "Urban Sprawl"
Let's begin right in our own backyard with Allentown. William Allen way back in the early 1700's was credited with the development of Allentown. You might even say he was the town's first outside developer.

William Allen was both the former mayor of Philadelphia and a one of the powerful & richest men from Philadelphia. To make a long story short, Allentown's very existence came about as a result of Philadelphia's urban sprawl.

Now let's take a look at the nation as a whole. From the very beginning of the United States people began leaving Eastern cities heading West. Cities started being born everywhere to the West. Small towns grew into ever expanding cities. As railroads began connecting Eastern cities together in the early 1800's. They too then began to expand ever Westward. By 1869 the first transcontinental links were made. Talk about urban sprawl!

Railroads were the modern means of transportation at the time. Railroads allowed people living in the outskirts to receive supplies and transportation to and from the bigger cities. You might even say they were forerunners to what this nation's modern high speed highways are to us today.

As some urban theorists get all bent out of shape complaining about today's ever expanding highway network and the cars on them, the railroads had their own nimby's detractors. I'm sure the Wells Fargo Stagecoach aficionados were just as nimby with the encroaching railroads as today's mass transit enthusiasts are with the cars and highways of today. Therefore, those who opine for urban density and mass transit have been losing the battle for over 300 years.

Hess's isn't coming back. The railroads aren't coming back and neither are the urban economic centers the way they once were. I may be accused of being old fashioned and stubborn, but even I can see the nose in front of my face. No one can change historical facts.

Proponents who argue for urban density and mass transit should reevaluate their positions given the history of the United States. Americans love urban sprawl since the early 1700's. No amount of subsidies or grants are ever going to change the historically based behavior of Americans.

These philosophers tell us that we've been wrongly subsidizing the suburban areas. Could it just be the other way around?

If you took every one of the surrounding townships and small municipalities. Added up every dime of state and federal grants and subsidies. Combine them all together, they still wouldn't equal what just any one of the three major cities alone received in Lehigh County last year.

We've built taxpayer subsidized arts centers, offices, gambling casinos, sports complexes, transit systems, restaurants and dozens of other ventures in attempt to lure suburbanites back into town. When is it time to review the outcome of these many failed attempts over the last decade?

Like it or not, cities everywhere in the U.S. are withering on the vine. If it were not for the heavy burden of tax supported subsides, would cities even exist?

I used the term wither on the vine" as a metaphor for what I'm about to say. Had cities been left on their own, they would have withered. No matter how much fertilizer or water is applied, once a plant has come to the end of it's cycle they're usefulness has come to an end. Much the same with large cities no matter how disagreeable that may sound to some. Crumbling pipes, buildings and infrastructure should be heeded as a sure sign that they too have come to the end of their useful life.

Not All Is Doom & Gloom
We see examples all around us of vacated properties where manufacturing and empty homes now stand. Had the land been cleared, planted with grass, trees and left empty, we'd not only have a greener environment, but one less dense. The very thing that draws more affluent suburban dwellers throughout America's history. Instead we heavily subsidize these to re-urbanize them once again. This is the very thing that caused problems in the first place. Had we instead exercised patience through time to allow the natural order of things, these urban areas would eventually become suburbanized much like the sought after areas by the middle and wealthy.

We can continue to channel mass amounts of taxpayers' money into bus and train transportation. Funnel unspeakable amounts of taxpayers' money chasing after some social urban idealistic venture. Or we can acknowledge historically Americans always had preferences that run counter to this.

Allentown's citizens, who lived here all their lives, lament subsidized housing has led to this city's woes. How much more so the problem has now been compounded when we do the very same thing yet again. This time with millions taxpayer dollars used to subsidize wealthy commercial developers instead. Have we learned nothing from history?

Everyone needs to step back and take a deep breath. The time is long overdue to revaluate what works and what doesn't?