Old Urbanism Thriving In 'Everybody's Hometown'

The 20th century had several agonizing lessons in store for small-town Pennsylvania: that downtowns thriving for 100 years can be deserted in 10. That cherished neighborhoods can quite quickly dissolve...

Media, Pa., the governmental seat of Delaware County, apparently missed the memo on this. With a thriving restaurant scene, a racially diverse population, trolley cars on State Street, and a softball-coaching mayor, Media today is vibrant and homey to such an extent that cynical visitors may leave disbelieving.

The balance achieved here, between town and metropolis, old and new, is of considerable interest today when the intimacy of small-town life is back in vogue, yet hard to come by. Countless boroughs are struggling to revitalize, while architects and planners of New Urbanism attempt to recreate the sort of walkable neighborly community that survived the 20th century in Media."