[mville1]

Harrisburg has the bones to be a great little city. It has a nice central location close to Philly, NYC, DC, Baltimore, the mountains etc. It has a large but underutilized waterfront, a decent collection of architecturally interesting buildings that are fairly well preserved, and a fairly stable economy in large part because of the plethora of state jobs, but it also has its fair share of problems: blight, poorly performing schools, and perhaps the biggest issue the budget woes. The real vs perceived crime problem also is not helping to attract the crowds that are flocking to other cities for the urban living experience. Hopefully with new leadership and the sale of the incinerator, the worst offender when it came to generating debt in conjunction with the school and city financial recovery plans the city can get back on its feet.

Harrisburg is not a terrible city, but it is definitely under performing in new investment and development compared to its regional peers Lancaster and to a lesser extent York.