Industry and Population Shifts | Deteriorating Infrastructure | Advancing Technology |
Land Development Limitations | Challenges for Agriculture | Workforce Development Issues |
Planning and Coordination
Industry and Population Shifts
The decline of manufacturing, in particular the steel industry, has had a significant impact on Chester County communities.
The closing and downsizing of steel manufacturing facilities over the past several decades, including Phoenixville Iron and Steel, Lukens/Bethlehem Steel (now Mittal Steel) in Coatesville, and Worthington Steel in East Whiteland, had a major impact on the local economy. The Phoenixville and Coatesville Regions, and in particular the urban cores, experienced significant economic and social decline. During the same time, development of suburban retail and commercial centers drew customers away from the central business districts of the County’s urban centers and many local businesses lost their market base. The City of Coatesville, Chester County’s only city, experienced declining population, increasing crime, and deterioration and abandonment of property. In spite of multiple individual efforts at supporting revitalization, the City continues to struggle and has not developed or implemented a “big picture” strategy for economic development.
Chester County, like Pennsylvania as a whole, has seen its population shift from the urban centers to the sprawling residential developments within suburban and rural landscapes.
The majority of population growth in the county, since the adoption of Landscapes, has been concentrated in the suburban and rural townships. In fact, from 2000 to 2006, the townships on average grew at more than twice the rate of the County’s urban centers. Residential development spread further and further out from the urban cores, often far removed from employment centers, major transportation routes and public transit. Employees are faced with longer commutes, which can result in lower productivity on the job. These types of development patterns may not be economically, socially, or environmentally sustainable over the long term. Retail has also relocated from “Main Street” locations in the city and boroughs to highway-oriented commercial centers and strips along the County’s major roadways and highway interchanges.
The growth of knowledge-based industries and the life sciences sector in the County has created a significant need for advancements in the general education system, as well as ongoing training requirements for incumbent workers.
The advancement in information technology, and the growth in both biopharmaceutical operations and health care services, creates the need for advanced and specialized training. The Chester County K-12 school system, while considered among the best in the state, has not kept pace with the technological advancements that are needed to prepare today’s students for the workforce, or to move on to more industry-specific training. In addition, advancements in these fields occur so rapidly that incumbent workers require ongoing training and development to remain competitive. There are currently insufficient connections or partnerships between businesses and educators to effectively address these issues.
With strong economic growth comes the need to address transportation systems and housing supply.
With the rapid growth of business and industry along the “Route 202 Corridor,” in particular the high tech, life sciences, and financial services industries, this geographic area has become one of the major employment centers of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. This growth creates the need for additional moderately-priced housing, improved highways to handle the growing volume of automobiles, and more transit options as existing roads become more and more congested. The planned improvements for “Section 300” of Route 202, which serves the Great Valley Corporate Center and vicinity (including the proposed “Uptown Worthington” development by O’Neill Properties) are not expected to begin until 2011. Currently, housing options that are moderately-priced, and convenient to businesses throughout the corridor, are extremely limited.
Industry and Population Shifts | Deteriorating Infrastructure | Advancing Technology |
Land Development Limitations | Challenges for Agriculture | Workforce Development Issues |
Planning and Coordination
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