I visited this town, while I was in Eastern Pennsylvania all of last week on business. I had heard a number of times that Harrisburg, once an economic, post-industrial ruin(listed in 1979 as the second most distressed city in America), has adopted a policy of taxing land value, instead of taxing property or income, and has stuck with it, ever since Mayor Stephen Reed took office, about 25 years ago.
I don't know what it was like in 1979 (I was one year old), but it's amazing now. It's a city of only about 50,000 people, over 8.1 square miles, the center of a metropolitan area of over 600,000 people. The other towns in the area are unremarkable. They are either indistinctly suburban, or if they are close to Harrisburg's city limits, they resemble distressed parts of Kansas City.
But, when you cross into the city, it's like a transformation between night and day. Coming over the bridge from Wormleysburg, into downtown, is a shocking contrast. Wormleysburg has a lot of shabby houses, empty buildings, and dilapidated existing buildings. When you reach the Eastern end of the bridge, everything is in use, happening, vital, and beckons you out of your car into one of the many corner cafes, restaurants, bars, and parks.
Parking is astronomical. It's about $150 a month in the deck where we parked, and $5 for the 45 minutes we parked there. But the thing is, it works. People pay for their own parking, and the subsidy lays completely on the users of the parkling, not on business owners. This encourages people to ride the bus, which seemed to be everywhere, and well-ridden.
They have a downtown ballpark for the unfortunately crappy AA Harrisburg Senators, located on City Island, in the middle of the Susquehanna River. The ballpark is great though. I went to see them lose horribly to Akron last Tuesday night, and had an altogether great time.
Harrisburg is home to Appalachian and Troeg breweries, which both produce delicious beers available throughout the region.
Walking around downtown, regrettably without my camera, I couldn't help but notice that every street-level business space seemed to be occupied, except for those under construction. It was more alive and exciting that downtown Kansas City, and reminded me of downtowns and neighborhoods in America's great cities: San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, etc, if that serves as a comparison for you. Most of the retail was attractive, and appeared to be only a couple of years old, indicating that the area hadn't always been so nice.
Anyway, I'd recommend a visit to Harrisburg's downtown to anyone. It's an amazing place, and to me, a shining example of what a natural downtown should be.
Harrisburg, PA
Harrisburg, PA
Sounds cool!!! If only KC's downtown was like that right now... 
But o well we're getting there 
But o well we're getting there