Kellie McGowan Discusses Philadelphia’s Suburban Growth in Philadelphia Magazine
Obermayer co-chair of the Land Use and Zoning team, Kellie McGowan, shared her perspective on the expansion of Philly Suburbs in an interview with the Philadelphia Magazine. In the article, titled “The Philly Suburbs Are Bigger Than Ever — Literally,” published on March 4, 2023, Kellie talked about the conflict that emerges from saving open space and preserving what remains of an area’s rural character, which has been a longtime concern in Bucks County.
“Then and now, Bucks County has had a focus on its rural character,” says Kellie. “And you see it in local ordinances reflecting that — agricultural preservation zoning districts and cluster development options that allow developers to build while maintaining significant amounts of open space, for example.”
Philadelphia’s urban perimeter has been steadily growing over the past 20 years to the point where the buffer between our suburbs and those of Wilmington has been completely erased, and the New York and Philadelphia regions now meet and overlap along the Delaware River, not only in the Trenton area but increasingly in parts of Bucks County.
