Farm Fields to Warehouses: Economic Development Along the I-81 Corridor

Presented through the South Mountain Partnership, this program explores the impact of warehousing and other development along the I-81 corridor in rural Pennsylvania.

A professor at Shippensburg University, George Pomeroy teaches courses and conducts research related to community and regional planning, as well as urban geography. He is Associate Director of Shippensburg University’s Center for Land Use and Sustainability (Dr. Claire Jantz, Director).

With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geography from Western Washington University, Pomeroy earned his PhD in Urban Studies from the University of Akron.

Dr. Pomeroy co-authored a 2008 report, “Economic and Transportation Impact of Warehousing on Rural Pennsylvania” explored in depth the impact of warehouses and the concurrent increase in trucking on employment, lifestyle and the economy in rural Pennsylvania counties.

The Executive Summary of that report states: “From a statewide planning perspective, the research results suggest that if there is additional demand for warehousing or trucking in Pennsylvania, meeting that demand in rural Pennsylvania would generate greater impacts on total income, statewide, than meeting that demand in urban Pennsylvania alone. From a rural development perspective, these results reinforce an important policy issue—economic growth in rural Pennsylvania generates benefits not only for rural counties, but also for urban counties.”