Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

What We Can Learn From the New Wave of Municipal Bankruptcies

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Stockton, California; Jefferson County, Alabama: They're the first wave in a new era of municipal bankruptcy.

When public insolvency becomes a trend, clearly something has gone fundamentally wrong.

Patrick Kennedy at Network blog Walkable Dallas Fort Worth says the problem isn't contained to the housing bust or bad investment decisions. Fundamentally, he says, it's a symptom of inefficient, sprawling development run amok:

The bust wasn't the problem. It was the boom, that displaced and destabilized cities... Sprawl.

The underlying problem is that you can't balance the budget with an imbalanced physical environment. Too much infrastructural burden and too little tax base.

Take Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Kennedy says:

Harrisburg is a city of 50,000 people. It's also a state seat. Its boundaries are very small and its major industry is tax exempt. Most of the people that work in said state seat live outside of the city proper. Because they can. Because said state built an infrastructure availing housing opportunities at an ever increasing edge, chewing up evermore agricultural land. There is no mass transit available, and like most increasingly sprawling and disconnected places, it wouldn't make a difference.  The infrastructure is built in a way that mass transit would never be as "convenient" as driving.

The metropolitan area of Harrisburg, PA is about 650,000 people. And that doesn't even include metropolitan York, PA nor metro Lancaster, PA. A triangle, all about 30 minutes apart. Or less than it is from Dallas to the majority of its suburbs. Combine those three metropolitan areas and Harrisburg, a city (tax base) of 50,000, as its primary job center, has to support a super-metro area of about 1.3 million people.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Greater Greater Washington asks whether the District's new pedestrian safety campaign is an extensive exercise in blaming the victim. Streets.mn explores the primal impulses that can cause parking discussions to become so irrational. And Seattle Bike Blog considers the "human infrastructure" that undergirds cycling.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Money for Something: Funding OK’d, But Details Missing For ‘Dept. Of Sustainable Delivery’

The mayor got the Council to sign off on $6.1 million for the long-awaited “Department of Sustainable Delivery." But what's it mean? No one is talking.

July 1, 2025

Incoming Albany Mayor Could Help Safe Streets Movement Statewide

The state capital is built for the car and that is how it is experienced by our lawmakers. But could that change under a new mayor? Here's hoping.

July 1, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Another Child Sacrificed to the SUV Edition

Stop de kindermoord! An 8-year-old boy killed by an SUV driver is the latest victim of America's obsession with big cars. Plus other news.

July 1, 2025

DOT Testimony: Removing Bedford Ave. Bike Lane Will ‘Reduce Safety’

"Removing the protected bike lane won’t remove cyclists — it will only make the street less safe," the DOT said. "The city risks legal liability for knowingly reducing safety on a Vision Zero priority corridor."

June 30, 2025

Hochul Signs Speed Camera Reauthorization, Enforcement Continues Through 2030

Stating a clear fact that scores of state legislators reject, Hochul said, "Speed cameras save lives and keep New Yorkers safe."

June 30, 2025

Cyclists Tell Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo: The Bedford Ave. Bike Lane is a Lifesaver

A judge will decide the fate of the Bedford Avenue bike lane on Tuesday. Streetsblog offers some user affidavits.

June 30, 2025
See all posts