We all confront the unknown, the prospect of change when we can’t know the outcome. Our psychology and life experience predispose us either to welcome change or to fear it (See https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201104/conservatives-big-fear-brain-study-finds). Those who fear it are conservative: they want things to remain as they are. Those who welcome change are progressive.
The Susquehanna Valley confronts change in many ways. The inexorable decline of the anthracite industry is so slow that one might not think of it as change, but think of how prosperous Shamokin, Mount Carmel, or Berwick were just a human lifetime ago. A resident of Shamokin could quite reasonably fear change (“It can only get worse”) or welcome it (“It can’t get any worse”).
On the other hand, we’ve seen vast improvements in communication and transportation that tie us to the wider world—and to each other— in ways that our grandparents could not have imagined. Most of us take these changes for granted, and approve of them.
Yet being plugged into to the wider world also brings challenges. Drugs are
as big a problem in Sunbury as in Philadelphia. The middle class is just as squeezed here as in Chicago. The proportion of our population that is poor is not very different from what you would find in Pittsburgh. We are part of the nation—and the world.
We see this in the current controversy over housing in Lewisburg. Progressive arguments look at how the proposals will be beneficial. Conservatives focus on how the projects will be harmful. Progressives emphasize membership in a broad community, and are more likely to cite religious and ethical imperatives, like the obligation to care for the poor. Conservatives stress self-interest and the local community.
Conservatives are in full court press to block two distinct projects. The first is a plan by the Union County Housing Authority to build “affordable” housing on a tract of
abandoned land south of the old Pennsylvania House industrial site. Conservative
arguments range from a threat to property values to a rise in crime. The conservatives now accept the need for affordable housing while alleging that it would be better for all, including those of low income, to disperse the housing around the county.
The other project is on part of the land of the newly developed Penn House Commons shopping center (adjacent to the Housing Authority tract). Here the question is whether to stick with the original development plan (which permits residential development) as agreed by the developer and East Buffalo Township, or to change the zoning to prohibit any residential development on the property. Although this (possible) housing would not be for low income, conservatives have been just as intent on blocking it. The alleged threat to property values comes up again, along with fears of increased traffic and strain on the schools.
Progressives look at both projects more positively, hoping and expecting that each will be a net improvement in the community. They point out that the Housing Authority site is ideally located for low income workers who frequently cannot afford a car. They cite a statement by the local police chief that other Housing Authority sites have no more crime than other parts of the area. They point out that the planned housing is to be low-rise units with density like the neighborhood. And they note that the county plan (approved by the commissioners and the township supervisors) calls for minimizing suburban sprawl and for filling in walkable areas like the tract in question.
Similarly, progressives argue, the Penn House Common tract: fulfills the plan, enhances walkability, and avoids sprawl. Progressives also note that any housing that is built there would be subject to market conditions: if a unit doesn’t sell, the next one won’t be built. Finally, it has been noted that the developer and the township agreed on a plan that permitted residential development. Were the developer now to be told that residential development is not permitted, he might have grounds to sue the township.
We can’t know for sure how these projects will turn out; we can either hope or fear. And our brains largely determine which way we’ll tip.