Insights and observations on the redevelopment and revitalization of post-industrial towns on the Route 422 Corridor in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Last Days of Lockdown

Within days I will be rolling out a new website highlighting to my trip across the country from May 15 to June 15, 2021. I am glad I could make the trip to visit cities across America. Thank my benefactor, Manny DeMutis, for letting me work on creative projects.

I took special care to visit friends along the way as we shared stories of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hazy memories of hazy times added to the lure of the visits. Being in Charleston, WV, where I went to school, and Memphis, Tennessee, where I was a union organizer, made me a little nostalgic.

Change: The Ability to Say What You Think

Knowledge and technology have a way of inserting themselves to change customs and traditions of the past. What a person believed and spoke about in one era could be accepted as true, only to determine that it was false later because of a deeper understanding of the subject. I still believe Galileo was a heretic.

Change: Law and Order in the Cities 2022

As I visited cities across America between May 15 and June 15, 2021, I felt very secure walking around 70 towns and cities. I had a couple of incidents but nothing major. Most of my career has been spent working in less than stellar areas and performing community development tasks. I am familiar with the routine of hard-core teenagers and unstable homeless seeking to be aggressive.

Preparing for a Disaster

As I muddle through the plethora of options on flood recovery and mitigation in Downingtown, I have been struck by the FEMA and PEMA staff's professionalism. We have been able to make inroads in flood recovery due to their involvement and participation.

Flood Relief in Downingtown

Recently I was asked to help with the flood relief effort in Downingtown. As in many cases, I am helping at no cost. Unfortunately, the Borough of Downingtown is up against it with the flooding this year. There have been two floods, and the lower-income areas that have typically been located in flood plains and industrial areas were hit hard.

The Borough Building was flooded and the flood mitigation plan was destroyed. My mission was to expedite the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) buyout program.

Equity and Inclusion

What I have found interesting is the debate over what is being taught in schools. For example, when I was young, in Fords, New Jersey, school #14, we said the "Lord's Prayer" right after the Pledge of Allegiance. Then someone would be required to read a bible passage in front of the class. It was almost putting you on the spot. You had to be able to read, and if you went up there and stumbled around, it did not reflect well for you.

Institutional Poverty

While at the recent statewide downtown conference in Reading, I spent a couple of days checking out the city. One of the mobile workshops was held at a public housing complex close to the hotel.

What Makes the Reading to Philadelphia Train Project so Compelling?

The first time I tried to work on passenger rail service to Phoenixville (Greenline project), I thought we had a good chance of completing the project, and, at the time, the Citizens for the Train group was in high gear. There was a contribution from Liberty Property Trust to do the initial study, and there was participation from Norfolk Southern as we negotiated for the line.

Office Contraction May Exceed My Estimation

As I toured America the last month or so, I saw that many cities were ghost towns. If there was a large office concentration, those buildings stood vacant. Corresponding retail was either completely closed and all of the inventory pulled off the shelves or closed without notice of closure with inventory and fixtures remaining inside. It was hard to tell if the stores with inventory remaining would ever open.

Messaging and Vacant Space

I have finished my trip across the country trying to assess public/private space in the cities.

I was gone from May 15 to June 15 and stopped in many cities along the way. I took the southern route to head west and used a northern route to return.

I perceived that the virus has had different outcomes in many of the cities. A common factor was the vacancy rate, and it appeared to be exacerbated by communities that experienced civil unrest. There is considerably less foot traffic in almost all of the towns.

Death by Cost Allocation

Much of the federal tax revenue for services is managed by the mission-driven nonprofit sector. In Europe, they are called Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). In the United States, they are referred to as Nonprofits or Not-for-profit hospitals and colleges.

Typically, community-based organizations, often branches of larger groups, handle much of the work involved in supporting the less privileged. These organizations receive funding from foundations, but most of their income usually comes from government contracts targeted at completing specific projects.

Get Up, Stand Up

We are living through turbulent times. The past decade has brought a virus, widespread illegal immigration, and social issues in cities caused by these events. It has impacted both rural areas and downtowns across America.

As I have mentioned several times, the current period the US is experiencing closely resembles Mao’s Cultural Revolution years. This was a decade-long sociopolitical movement that began in 1966 to strengthen Mao's authority and support communism by removing traditional and capitalist influences from Chinese society.

Fourth and Elm in Cincinnati

I spent some time in Cincinnati as part of my economic development survey of 70 cities across the country. I was a little surprised by the recent fight at 4th and Elm, as I was at that location the week before, although not at 3 AM.

Life on the Road

I'm currently on a nationwide trip across the United States to explore vacancies and various types of businesses in American downtowns today. My 70-city journey has already taken me through Memphis, many cities in Texas, and up along the California coast.

Most signs of the 2021 lockdown protests have now disappeared, indicating a return to normal. Many cities have made significant progress in filling some of the vacancies. While some cities have filled vacancies, some previously occupied stores are now vacant. Overall, things have evened out a bit across these cities.

Riots in Los Angeles

Not many people deal with riot control on a civilian level. As I watch TV and observe the rioting, I think about the measures that I had to invoke after the Mardi Gras riots and the Greek Picnic sexual assaults on South Street.

Sitting down and reviewing everything with the city and state police was eye-opening. Much of it was about the preparation and the initial setup of barriers. For the most part, my role was the public information portion and the voice, eyes, and ears on the street to call in potential issues.

Alvin Lee’s Directive in Solving the Problem of No Train Service in Downingtown

I was stunned to hear that the Thorndale/Paoli Line may be terminated. I believe it is a bunch of hocus pocus, but you never know. After pondering it a little more, I wanted to share my two cents. If you recall, I initiated the proposal to extend the rail line from Philadelphia to Phoenixville.

Turmoil in Grant World

These are interesting times if you make your money providing public finance, like I do. I have an EPA Environmental Justice application pending. It is a good application, but you never know if they want to review all applications over $50,000; mine is $150,000. If we get the money, it will mean we met the Trump criteria.

How can I shepherd it through? I need to wait.

I Get Another Chance

Very rarely do you fail at something and get another chance to fix it. Such is the case with the only blackspot on my resume.

Flood Control Along Beaver Creek

In mid-November, we held the second public meeting of the stakeholders along the floodplain in Caln Township. The Borough of Downingtown is a sub-basin area of Brandywine Creek. The houses along Brandywine and Beaver Creek, as well as Brandywine Creek and Parke Run, are most affected by flooding.

When Agencies Go Away, Some Programs Stay

The incoming Trump administration will bring changes, which remind me a little bit of the Reagan years. We have been promised wholesale changes in the composition of government agencies.

Agencies can be consolidated, abolished, or merged to save on administrative costs. In many cases, the agency can go away, but the programs that need to be continued will either get a rehaul and a new name or be combined into an agency with a similar focus.