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Beginning in March 2000, the Hamer Center led a participatory
planning process to explore the feasibility of creating a community
that balances community equity, environmental stewardship, and
economic feasibility. This process involved elected officials
and citizens of Ferguson Township, Penn State Administration,
faculty and students, local developers, and design professionals.
The study focused on Circleville Farm, a 176-acre tract of land
in Ferguson Township, owned by Penn State University. Circleville
Farm has served primarily as agricultural lands, and is almost
completely surrounded by residential housing. Given that the University
was interested in divesting from the land, the Hamer Center approached
University administration to create a plan for future development
that would meet several objectives. Through this plan, the University
could demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship,
respond to the concerns and interests of the surrounding community,
demonstrate the benefits of innovative land use planning to the
region and Commonwealth, obtain a fair return on the investment
in the land, and provide excellent educational and research opportunities
for Penn State faculty and students.
In order to accomplish these goals, the Hamer Center conducted
a feasibility study that included an extensive participatory process
with the community surrounding Circleville Farm, an economic analysis
for a demonstration project in the Center Region, and applied
research in environmental design. Together, this analysis was
used to develop a series of alternative sketch plans that provided
for a range of housing types, neighborhood retail/commercial uses,
and publicly accessible open space. These alternatives informed
the Hamer Center’s final recommendations for potential development
at Circleville Farm.
Major findings from the study include:
The natural features of Circleville Farm, existing infrastructure,
and its location within an urban growth boundary provide an unprecedented
opportunity to create a model community that reverses the pattern
of sprawl development in the Centre Region.
This community would provide residential development that is more
environmentally sound than conventional development in terms of
publicly accessible open space, land consumed for housing and
transportation, stormwater management, and public health.
It is financially feasible to create this type of development
in the Centre Region; and would provide affordable housing choices
that are desirable, but not widely available.
Presently, the type of town/village development described in this
study is desired but not permitted by land-use regulations in
many municipalities throughout the region. Therefore, it will
be important to develop a model design code that better reflects
the desires of the community.
Recommendations were presented to Penn State administration in
2001, resulting in a decision not to sell the land at the time.
Future research will include a model code for this type of neighborhood
development in the Centre Region. The Circleville Farm study is
the first in a three-phase study that explores the potential for
creating livable communities throughout the Centre Region.
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