Alternative Futures
for
Monroe County, Pennsylvania

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Contents
Map List

Decision
How Should the Landscape of Monroe County Be Changed?

As noted in the introduction, our purpose is to present analyses and options, not answers. The decisions are clearly the responsibility of the people of Monroe County. We have shown how demographic changes are propelling Monroe County into a new era. Growth will require a reconsideration of the County's regional role and will alter many aspects of daily life. This study has identified and illustrated six possible Alternative Futures that respond to questions facing Monroe County today and has compared them by six sets of criteria: geologic, biologic, visual, demographic, economic, and political. We hope that this work enables the County to see more clearly the issues it will face over the next twenty-five years. What changes will occur and how they will be managed is the responsibility of the citizens of Monroe County.

A new scale of decision-making must be faced: a shift from decentralized planning relationships to more centralized ones. The issues of urbanization are no longer encompassed by the Townships, but are County wide or greater. One consequence is the need for a much more professionalized, full-time planning and management process &emdash;which the County is currently building&emdash; rather than a part-time, loose confederation of interested parties. It is not obvious how this political change will be implemented and how this will influence decision-making processes. But change is necessary.

There is a" bottom line." In the long term, and in full awareness of the costs, any of the four designed alternatives is a better choice than continuing the trend towards build-out.

County Level Comparative Summary

Geologic Landscape

Surface Water

Water Recharge

Agricultural Soils

Biological Landscape

Biodiversity

Bear Habitat

Spec. Nat. Areas

Visual
Landscape

Scenic Elements

View Quality

Demographics

Pop. Capacity

Economics

Cost Public Action

Annual Cost of 20yr. Bond @4%

Overall

Politics

Private Roles

Township Roles

County Roles

Legend

Most Positive

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Most Negative