First Generation Suburbs: Putting Principle into Practice
An Assessment of the Six Municipalities that Comprise the William Penn School District: Delaware County, Pennsylvania

First Generation Suburbs: Putting Principle into Practice

Product No.: 00012
Date Published: 08/2000

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In December 1998 DVRPC released a report entitled The Future of First Generation Suburbs in the Delaware Valley, which defined the economic disadvantages facing older "first generation" suburbs. The term "first generation suburb" generally refers to the earliest townships and boroughs to develop outside a region's central city. In the Delaware Valley, these include older boroughs scattered across the region that developed as industrial and agricultural settlements as well as the region's first suburban bedroom communities. As a follow-up case study, this report assesses the six municipalities that comprise the William Penn School District in Eastern Delaware County, an area characteristic of the region's first generation communities. The study documents demographic and socio-economic conditions in the area; identifies the area's challenges and opportunities; and presents recommendations for revitalization, including both broad regional strategies (such as regional tax-base sharing) and local initiatives, including intermunicipal cooperation and coalition building.

Geographic Area Covered: The Boroughs of Aldan, Colwyn, Darby, East Lansdowne, Lansdowne and Yeadon in Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Key Words: "First Generation" suburbs, inner ring communities, z-score, regional tax-base sharing, intermunicipal cooperation

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