Tyler Brackbill – Mod 7

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Pottstown
The town I am from is Pottstown, PA. It is located in Northern Montgomery County just north of where Chester County meets it. It is a suburb of Philly and is an automobile suburb at that. The town features a bunch of different housing developments of cookie cutter homes that are several miles from the different stores, businesses, and restaurants. Unless your development happens to be next to a strip mall, you have to drive to get to where you want to go. The actual borough and the surrounding neighborhoods have a population of about 22 thousand. What used to be the borough and a lot of farm land is quickly developing into more living spaces. I don’t mind the area, except that the borough is getting poorer every year and many of the attractions are shutting down leaving the town pretty boring.
Rochester
One city from the module that I can compare Pottstown to would be Rochester, New York. Rochester is another automobile suburb. Pottstown doesn’t have any sidewalks outside of the borough. Like Rochester’s suburb areas, it is encouraged that people travel by car to get around. In Pottstown, it’s not only encouraged, but for the most part it is necessary to drive. Pottstown could use more sidewalks on the outsides of the borough to make it easier to walk. Rochester has sidewalks in all the right places to help their residents get around quickly. If more sidewalks were available in Pottstown, more people could get more exercise. The Riverwalk trails are a step (ha) in the right direction, but having more sidewalks going to the places where people go the most is a much better plan.
Copenhagen
Going to another country Denmark, Copenhagen has a biking friendly neighborhoods that people can use to get around without having to walk or drive. While I am not a fan of having cyclists on the same roads as drivers, I think Pottstown’s neighboring townships could use more bike routes especially running parallel with highways to help people ride places. It’s faster than walking. It’s healthier than driving. It can help keep the town less crowded from motor vehicles. Less vehicles on the road mean less pollution for an already dirty city like Pottstown. Car exhaust helps lead to greenhouse gasses which are harmful as we know. Reducing the pollution keeps everyone healthier. Having a bike friendlier area could help attract more people to the town.

3 thoughts on “Tyler Brackbill – Mod 7”

  1. Hi Tyler, my name is Siying and here’s the link to my post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/18/urban-planning-7/
    I think your post is interesting because your hometown is very different than mine, but it seems like a typical suburb American home to me. Where I live is urban downtown, so most places are accessible with public transportation, so it’s not usual to see places without sidewalks. And I agree that Copenhagen sets a good example of cycling in urban environment. I think Guangzhou should also encourage more cycling in the city so that people can get more exercises.

  2. Hi Tyler, I’m Akiksha, currently a freshman at University Park. Comparing it to my post, your post is similar as well as different, as my hometown Jaipur has elements of both streetcar suburb and automobile suburb. I like how you’ve explained with amazing examples what exactly automobile suburbs are. Also, I like how you suggest for sustainability, more bikes can be used in your town.
    Here is a link to my post : https://wp.me/p3RCAy-cDF I hope you go through it too.

  3. In comparison to my post this post is a lot different as pottstown is a lot smaller than Dubai. Its an automobile suburb and there are farmlands where as Jumeirah in Dubai is a city area with tall buildings etc. The comparisons of Rochester and Copenhagen to Pattstown was good as automobile suburbs where the means of transport etc is all the same.

    http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/03/18/module-7-11/

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