Pennsylvania offers communities desktop tool for revitalization planning
A new desktop computing tool will help Pennsylvania communities plan revitalization efforts. The program is one of several state initiatives to help “bring new life to our older downtown districts, former brownfields and long-neglected neighborhoods,” said Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Yablonsky in a statement.
The community revitalization guide is being distributed on “jump drives” using E-book technology. Officials can use it to choose an asset-rich development area for their community, prepare the area for the market and test strategies. “Under Gov. [Ed] Rendell’s direction, state agencies have allocated more than $433 million to removing blighted buildings, designing safer streets, improving storefronts [and implementing other] projects that are having positive impact and substantially improving the quality of life in core communities, making them more attractive places to live, work and play,” Yablonsky said. “With this guide, more communities will be better able to envision and plan for projects that will attract investment.”
The guide is available at www.newpa.com/revitalize.