PARADISE, PENNSYLVANIA

PARADISE PENNSYLVANIA is the town where my mother was born. All throughout the last century she wrote poems about Lancaster County and it's beauty, but in the middle of the century those poems changed. She started to write of her sorrow of seeing it become developed as farm after farm was replaced by strip malls, parking lots and subdivisions.

Urban sprawl is a complicated issue tied into politics, the economy and an individual's land rights. It is powered by many special interests and tax incentive structures. It raises questions... is all growth good growth?.. what about my right to do with my land what I want to?... is it smart to pave over the most fertile farmland in the world? ... what about beauty and a way of life?

This documentary attempts to tackle and explain sprawl and it's effects on Lancaster County. My mother's poems are included and visually interpreted. This project is extensive and ongoing. Please feel free to contact us with your thoughts on sprawl and with leads to interesting interviews.