Pennsylvania intends to launch an Elm Street Program

Pennsylvania intends to launch an Elm Street Program to revitalize old residential areas near downtown commercial districts. State Rep. Robert Freeman, a Democrat representing the Easton area, proposed the program, which will provide money for trees, landscaping, and neighborhood improvements, and for hiring managers who will work with officials and community groups. Freeman, who was a Knight Fellow in Community Building at the University of Miami, took the program’s name from The Geography of Nowhere, in which James Howard Kunstler says most American towns used to have a Main Street business district and a nearby Elm Street residential district. Gov. Ed Rendell proposed $7 million for the program in this year’s budget.