 |
Previous Story | Next Story
Print Story | Email Story
Smart Growth yields a community to care about
By Thomas Hylton
I was working in my home office the other day when my wife called from the elementary school where she teaches. She forgot some materials for a class project. Could I bring them? No problem. Our house is just a short walk from the school, and I was happy to get some exercise and enjoy the rejuvenating power of a roomful of second graders.
Like all traditional American towns, my home town of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, was designed with the pedestrian in mind. Big plants that, during the town’s glory days, turned out fabricated steel, auto parts, underwear, and Mrs. Smith’s pies, lie in a mile-long stretch along the Schuylkill River. Just north of the plants is an eight-block commercial district, which in turn is bordered by neighborhoods of closely spaced single family homes.
Having grown up walking to school myself, I was car