Money Pit II

“I’m not sure that the era of sprawl is over, but the paradigm of unlimited suburban and exurban growth has definitely shifted.” - Ed McMahon, senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute (from High Country News).

Smart Growth Around America checked in on the one-year anniversary of Chris Leinberger’s much discussed Atlantic article foretelling the rise of the suburban/exurban slum.

They cited the article quoted above as evidence that despite the precipitous decline in home values in those sprawling exurban developments that I write so much about, folks don’t seem to be flocking in to snatch up the bargains:

With affordability at record highs, the dismal housing market has experienced an uptick in the last few months. Even still, millions of houses — focused mostly in exurban areas around the country — are sitting vacant.

If the “paradigm of unlimited suburban and exurban growth” has indeed shifted, are Philadelphia and its inner ring suburbs (you know, the ones with decent density around transit stops… I think there are two or three) ready to capitalize?