ALLENTOWN, Pa. — If there is one word that encompasses the economic data imparted during a Lehigh Valley Planning Commission roundtable on the state of the region, it is this: Growth.
Both positive and negative growth.
During an hourlong virtual presentation, Becky A. Bradley, LVPC executive director, delivered data on demographics, population trends, migration statistics and regional development.
The positives are that the Lehigh Valley is growing in areas of industrial development, population and transportation investment.
On the negative side, the region continues to lag in both affordable and available housing.
The Lehigh Valley — specifically Lehigh and Northampton counties — ranks as the eighth-largest industrial market in the US. It ranks above Seattle, Baltimore/Washington, D.C. and Miami, and almost equals that of the New Jersey, Atlanta and Houston markets.
An industrial market is the set of all individuals and organizations that acquire goods and services that enter into the production of other products or services that are sold, rented, or supplied to others.
"In a short period of time, we’ve become one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation for people and business. We have a high quality of life here.”Becky A. Bradley, executive director, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
“In 2020, we planned for a new normal in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bradley said. “We saw fundamental differences in land development proposals, population, housing — things that were affected by all the growth.
“Fast forward to today. In a short period of time, we’ve become one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation for people and business. We have a high quality of life here.”
Bradley said employment opportunities have outpaced housing growth.
The Lehigh Valley currently experiences a shortage of 34,716 housing units for annual incomes greater than $100,000.
Due to the housing crisis, higher-income households in the Lehigh Valley are either forced to buy down or remain in lower-cost housing as they gain wealth, creating a lack of units in mid- and lower-price ranges.
Conversely, lower-income households are forced to spend more than they can afford because of limited housing in their price range.
The Lehigh Valley currently has a shortage of 51,606 housing units for annual incomes between $25,000-$99,999.
Just over 192,000 people are cost-burdened in the Lehigh Valley — 5.6 in 10 renters per household and 2.2 in 10 owners per household.
Cost-burden is defined as paying more than 30% of gross household income on mortgage or rent
“We are cost-burdened in housing and it’s growing rapidly,” Bradley said.
Tony Iannelli, president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged the housing crisis that has created constraints for all income levels. He told Bradley he doesn’t see the problem easing anytime soon.
Among the reasons for the housing shortage, Bradley said, is school districts not wanting their schools overrun.
“Our biggest impediment is people not wanting neighbors,” she said. “They want to be the last person to move into the Lehigh Valley.”
One population data slide showed that the Lehigh Valley has added 258,560 residents since 1960.
“We need to understand we’ve been in sustained period growth and will continue beyond 2045, for sure,” Bradley said. “We’re going to continue to add people. That will put us in a totally different league. We have to adjust our thinking about what’s happening in the region.”
Strategies for Housing Affordability, community demographics
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and Lehigh County are working on a new initiative to address the housing crisis called “Housing with a Big A: Affordable — Housing with a Little A: Attainable.”
“We’re doing this region-wide groundbreaking idea on how to handle this issue,” Bradley said of the plan that will be made public in August. “Where do we have affordable housing? Where do we need it? Do we have land for it?”
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Urban Land Institute are also part of the initiative.
Warehouse and industrial development is also on the rise, Bradley said, with nearly 5.3 million square feet of development proposed through this past May.
The Lehigh Valley has undergone racial and ethnic diversity shifts during the past three decades.
Today, 66% of residents identify as white, 20% as Latino or Hispanic, 8% as Asian-American and Pacific Islander and 6% as African-American
“But nonwhites will represent more than 50% of residents by 2050,” Bradley said.
Such a projection makes it incumbent upon the Lehigh Valley to ensure schools give nonwhites the same opportunities to have success.
Data shows a person of color in the Lehigh Valley is three times less likely to graduate from high school, half as likely to own their own home and twice as likely to live in poverty.
Bradley also serves as secretary of the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study. She noted it is in the process of adopting a nearly $633 million investment in the Transportation Improvement Program.
The funding includes more than $188 million for transit, nearly $145 million for bridges, nearly $133 million for roadway expansion and more than $45 million for roadway reconstruction, modernization and automation.
The virtual roundtable also included several members of Workforce Board of Lehigh Valley.
The organization is a nonprofit that serves employers throughout the Lehigh Valley by funding employment training services for workers and develops solutions to enable the workforce to find work and be prepared to work.
