THE
QUALITY OF
OUR REGION
IS AT RISK |
Rapid development threatens water quality, air quality, plant and wildlife habitat, the agricultural livelihood of the region and the health of the region’s communities.
High population density, coupled with the pressure for even more development, place valuable natural, agricultural and recreational resources at risk. According to US Census Bureau data, Pennsylvania on average has a density of 274 persons per square mile yet in the GSA region, the density is much higher (Bucks; 984; Chester: 574; Delaware: 2,990; Montgomery: 1,553; and Philadelphia: 11,224). As of the 2000 census, nearly four million people resided in the GSA region; approximately three times the population of Idaho, four times the population of Rhode Island and five times the population of North Dakota. Between 1990 and 2000 in the five county area, 63,361 acres of farmland were lost to development, representing a 17% loss of farmland acres in the region. An additional 21,159 acres of other land was developed, that together with lost farmland meant that 6% of the regions’ land area was lost in just that 10 year period.
Pennsylvania developed some 1.14 million acres (about the size of all of Rhode Island), of fields, open space, and natural land between 1982 and 1997—the sixth largest such conversion after Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and California. This equates to 209 acres per day, or nine acres per hour. The state developed nearly four acres of land for every new resident during this timeframe, versus the national average of 0.60 acres per new resident. This means that Pennsylvania used more land per person than every other state except Wyoming . The state lost 8% of it best farmland in the 1980s and 1990s as nearly 40% of the development took place on cropland. (“Back to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania”, The Brookings Institution, 2003). Governor Rendell in January of 2006 noted that while 64 acres are preserved daily, 300 acres are lost to development in that same 24 hour period (PA Farm Show, January 7, 2006).
Sprawl development patterns are not only consuming open spaces but are fragmenting the lands. Fragmentation not only diminishes the ecological functioning of our environment, but greatly impacts the social and economic viability of agriculture. When a critical mass of farms ceases to exist, farm-related infrastructure disappears, along with associated employment. Tourism, and the dollars it brings, also suffers when an area loses an appealing network of places to visit in close proximity to one another. Exodus from cities into suburbs erodes the urban area, and decline brings crime, negative perceptions, and a loss of property values.
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