Muncy, Pennsylvania is a small automobile suburb of the Williamsport metropolitan area. This suburb has deep agricultural roots, while housing developments are slowly growing; it is still common to see large family farms throughout the town limits. While the Williamsport area has a population of roughly 117,000 people, Muncy only comprises about 2% of the metropolitan area or 2,400 people, this is a stark contrast to the Chicago neighborhood I grew up in. This is my husband’s hometown and now it is mine. In the 3 years that I have called Muncy home I would say I have become a product of the area. This Chicago girl now has an acre garden and a back yard full of chickens, something that I never thought would happen.
At first glance Boston, Massachusetts has little in common with the Williamsport-Muncy area. Boston is a large sprawling port city while the Williamsport area has recently become classified as a mining town due to its proximity to the Marcellus Shale fields. To find their similarities one must look at Williamsport’s history as once the lumber capital of the world which caused areas of influential housing known as Millionaire’s Row to spring up in the 1860s. This area still exists today and has a Beacon Hill feel to it, just slightly more spacious. The recent influx of money from the Oil and Gas industry has seen a revitalization of this area, bringing back a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood and helping to stabilize a dwindling business district. This change has slowed the expansion of the Williamsport area and helped rebuild its core, thus diminishing the need for farmland to be converted into housing developments.
While the Muncy-Williamsport area has strong agricultural roots, the homesteading video focusing on Detroit, Michigan shows that Williamsport is missing out on a big sustainability opportunity. In our area most homes have large enough green spaces to sustain a viable garden for home us, yet few take advantage of this resource. Both towns share a similar make up of blue collar workers, yet some in Detroit are doing more with less. Furthermore townships within the Williamsport metropolitan area are limiting property owners as to which animals can be raised on their property. Simple backyard coops have many sustainability advantages but are consistently under attack from zoning boards. While Detroit is opening up options for its residents, Williamsport residents are seeing their paths to sustainability being closed faster and faster.
My hometown is drastically different than yours as far as location and style of neighborhood, even so there are many similarities in the issues we face. Growing up, even just outside the city limits, my mother always had a garden to grow our own vegetables. Being so close to the city we could not have animals or else we would have. Now, I cant imagine myself living in a city or neighborhood where I could not have a garden or animals. I like the reassurance I have when I can grow my own food or raise animals for their products. I cant say I miss the city at all!
Here is a link to my post, if you are interested.
https://wp.me/p3RCAy-cuN
I live about 2 hours from Williamsport in Scranton. Although I have never stopped in Williamsport I imagine the makeup of the city is similar to Scranton. Either or, just about all the land in between the two is green land which use to hold many farm acres. I find it sad today how so many farms have gone out of operation in the past few years due to lack of business and revenue. It would be great to bring back many of those small family farms to reduce the need for pesticides and perhaps even revive the pollinators population.
If interested, here is a link to my post.
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/18/scranton-pa/