In an effort to promote inner-ring Philadelphia suburbs and unsung city neighborhoods, a regional planning commission has launched a high-profile informational campaign.
The initiative, “Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia,” created this year by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, is, according to the commission’s announcement, “designed to foster the growth of the region’s older communities” by elevating the profile and touting the virtues of the 11 towns or neighborhoods — Ambler, Bristol, Collingswood, Doylestown, Haddon Heights, Lansdowne, Manayunk, Media, Overbrook Farms, Riverton, and West Chester — all of which have rebounded through recent revitalization efforts, their proximity to a large urban core, and their location on mass-transit lines.
Some of the communities featured in the campaign have historic regional institutions like museums or landmarks, or are their respective county seats. Classic Towns, which received a $250,000 seed grant from the William Penn Foundation and gets an additional $2,500 (with matching DVRPC funding) from each participating town, also aims to increase investment in the towns, reaching out to the finance industry, and to community development professionals.
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