Crime, traffic, and light pollution are among the chief impacts of Wal-Mart in western Chester County.
"West Sadsbury, with a population of 2,500, is an exurb with rolling hills, farms and Amish buggies, about 40 miles west of Philadelphia. Wal-Mart opened its Supercenter at the West Sadsbury Commons in May 2002 at Routes 30 and 10.'This is a great place for somebody who doesn't go to college or have any aspirations or a hobby or whatever,' said a 21-year-old Wal-Mart employee outside the Supercenter the other day. 'If it hadn't opened, I'd probably be at some mom-and-pop around here.' He asked that his name not be used, because the store does not allow employees to be interviewed... The cost of providing police service to the shopping center in 2003 was more than $39,000, which was far greater than the municipal taxes of $10,400, officials say, that West Sadsbury collected from developer Wolfson-Verrichia Group Inc. of Plymouth Meeting, which owns West Sadsbury Commons." [Editor's note: free registration required.]
Thanks to Adam Krom
FULL STORY: With bargains come trade-offs
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?
Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.
The EV “Charging Divide” Plaguing Rural America
With “the deck stacked” against rural areas, will the great electric American road trip ever be a reality?
Judge Halts Brooklyn Bike Lane Removal
Lawyers must prove the city was not acting “arbitrarily, capriciously, and illegally” in ordering the hasty removal.
Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?
With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)