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Places and People in Trouble

Can America’s small cities be saved? Practioners in the fields of historic preservation, parks and recreation, and community development across the country have tried to tackle this problem. The problem runs wide and deep. For example, in Pennsylvania over 30 municipalities, almost all of which could be characterized as small cities, have been designated financially distressed. All of these places have a similar litany of problems – declining population and tax revenue, high pension and health care costs, a large inventory of blighted or tax-exempt properties, and heavy burden of municipal debt. Recent opinion pieces in the New York Times and the Washington Post have highlighted the issue, now what? Read more.

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Places and People in Trouble

Can America’s small cities be saved? Practioners in the fields of historic preservation, parks and recreation, and community development across the country have tried to tackle this problem. The problem runs wide and deep. For example, in Pennsylvania over 30 municipalities, almost all of which could be characterized as small cities, have been designated financially distressed. All of these places have a similar litany of problems – declining population and tax revenue, high pension and health care costs, a large inventory of blighted or tax-exempt properties, and heavy burden of municipal debt. Recent opinion pieces in the New York Times and the Washington Post have highlighted the issue, now what? Read more.

Read More »