Community Profile

Executive summary

William Penn founded Chester County in 1582. The County is located in an area that was originally owned by Indians, on the Western part of Schuylkill. It was named after Chestershire who are thought to be the original or ancient inhabitants of the area. The Chester County is made up of close to seven hundred and sixty mile area in square foot based on the current estimations. This area came out to be large because of land clearance of the woodlands to advance agricultural and farming activities.  Chester County shows peculiar characteristics that make it stand out amongst other world-known counties in the United States. These characteristics are in terms of tourist attraction sites, government institutions, and the type landscape and housing that are distinct to the Chester County. This paper aims at using scholarly articles and journals with a major aim of giving a clear profile of the community’s profile and threats based on classwork assignments. It will also clearly present the updated threats to define Chester County in a precise manner.

The population of Chester County is under the control of the Chester County Planning Commission. Surprisingly, the commission has already prospected the general population of the County up to the year 2030. The general population of Chester County is estimated after every ten years. Therefore, the recent population details are of 2020, 2010, awaiting 2030. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the United States Census Data are commissions charged with the responsibility of presenting population estimates. In giving out the population estimates, the cohort-component method was used in determining the migration patterns of the people, the mortality and the birth rates. It is through this method that deductions were made in relation to population (Delaware County Planning Department, 2016).

Chester County is mainly involved in trade and economics as a major source of revenue. However, the large tract of land that exists is majorly used for agricultural activities, which also plays a great role in earning revenue to the County. In relation to sources of income, the County depends on agriculture, as well as, trade in both retail and wholesale. The other source of income in the county comes from factories that manufacture goods that are eventually exported to earn revenue. Chester County also has large tracks of land that are left fallow but can still be put into use and generate revenue. In this case, for instance, a large piece of land has been kept aside that majorly aims at conserving and preserving the natural resources that are the major characteristics of the country. There is also the existence of national parks that comprise the historical and cultural scenery of the County. The major parks such as the Nottingham, Warwick, and the Black Rock Sanctuary parks form major tourists attraction sites since they keep and reserve wildlife. In the same connection, sporting activities such as the Struble and Chester hiking, as well as, biking trails also form part of the County’s heritage (Mgaloblishvili, 2015). The wholesale and retail centers are majorly located in the central and the eastern sections, especially in areas that are easily accessible and connect to the County’s major highways, hence encouraging and easing the transportation process.

The government has its own set and recognized state parks apart from those meant for everyone. For instance, the Marsh Creek State Park that is covered in an area close to two thousand acres of land. In the same area exists natural resources like lakes. The other state parks in the County include the State Preserve, the State Game lands, French Creek State Park, and the Battlefield State Park. Most of the national parks in the County are under the leadership and control of the National Park Service and several improvements and developments have been observed over the past years (Jarvis & Harris, 2017).  

A recognized cultural heritage encompasses the diverse cultural beliefs of the people in the county. Most of the people have decided to merge and share their cultures through the formation of cultural groups. The many cultural events presented by these cultural groups are usually sponsored by national organizations. For instance, the Hadley Foundation always presents free sponsorships both at the national level and internationally. The existence of the national parks and reserves, as well as, the cultural heritage forms a beautiful and attractive tourist attraction across the County, which has significantly contributed to the County’s revenue (Schein, 2010).). [C1] 

In connection to the agricultural and farming activities, there also exists the practice of horticulture. The famously known horticultural area is the Longwood gardens that were earlier on used as a railway terminus, was an area that had many slaves. In the garden, there are usually horticultural displays and exhibitions. The garden also encourages the presentation of architectural artwork and designs, making Chester County to be recognized all over the world despite the fact that it was earlier on known for its attractive scenery.

The Chester County has experienced several threats both natural and human-instigated. For instance, there is the prevalence of floods, which is a common threat both to the human life and property of Chester County. Recent research indicates that property worth billions of money is compromised every year as a result of floods. This has prompted the need to approach the concerned authorities and stakeholders to scrutinize the areas majorly affected by the floods and come up with lasting solutions. Clearly, floods in Chester County are majorly caused by the fact that it is located in the river basin of Susquehanna, which is subject to the Watershed of Octorara that has had little or no improvements and developments (Office of Emergency Management City of Philadelphia, 2016). [C2] It has, however, become impossible to predict the time when the floods might occur to develop measures to curb them. In this case, the floods always occur anytime but mostly happen between April and March due to the presence of snow and heavy rainfall. During this period, there are also thunderstorms, which form a great menace to the people.

Based on the URS Corporation Hazards Vulnerability Analysis Corporation report, (2009); Chester County also experiences insufficient water supply and droughts. There is always the insufficiency of flows of streams in relation to lakes and water stored in reserves. In some instances, the County experiences abnormalities in water supplies, which results in drought. Based on history, there have been close to ten droughts in Chester County. During this period, is the County experiences insufficient water supply, which is barely enough for the households and in return greatly affects the agricultural sector, which depend on water. Droughts always come due to long periods of dryness.  The chances of drought seasons in Chester County should be minimal because of the sufficient rainfalls. The water management and maintenance have a major role to play in ensuring sufficient water supply. The practices of the people in relation to water conservation and reservation would help in dealing with the issue of drought. [C3] 

The threat of earthquakes has always affected Chester County, due to its geographical location. The shift in earth has always been the major cause of earthquakes in Chester County. Chester County based on geographical research has fault line through its boundaries. Even though the lines have not shown any signs of activeness, the earthquakes are thought to be caused by these fault lines. The weaknesses and the stress that is built up due to snow melting can be easily detected and action taken. In this case, the concerned departments and authorities can easily control and manage the risk or these earthquakes (Penna & Rivers, 2013).

Based on the location of Chester County,  the place experiences extremely cold temperatures. Sometimes, the temperatures go lower than the optimum temperatures hence becoming abnormal for the existence and survival of both plants and animals. This happens especially during the months of winter. The cold temperatures are usually followed by storms, as well as, the increase in the speed of the wind. Exposure to these extreme temperatures poses a major risk to the health and life of the members of the county.  In some instances, the County experiences a reverse change in temperatures where they rise above normal rates and the heat becomes unbearable. It is during the summer season that these high and abnormal temperatures are experienced. The rise in heat results into the increased death of people, animals, and plants, which is a threat to the county.

The other threat is hailstorms, which occur after floods and high wind velocity. The hailstorms occur during the time when there are lower pressures that result in the formation of ice due to the increased rise of warm air. When cooling eventually occurs the frozen water or air that collect and form ice, falls in form of large balls. The hailstorms affect human, plant, and animal life, thus, considered as a great disaster that needs close attention either by the government or other international institution, especially those that are concerned with climate and disasters either natural or human-made. In recent times, there have been complaints by the people that may be connected to the type of climate they are exposed to. For instance, there has been an increase of infectious diseases both human and animal where the two aforementioned have no immunity. The diseases come at a time when there is no preparation for it hence posing a threat, especially to the health sector. In as much as there is always a way of curbing the infections, several cases of deaths are usually reported within a very short period of time (Cotton, & Pielke, 2007).

References

Cotton, W. R., & Pielke Sr, R. A. (2007). Human impacts on weather and climate. Cambridge University Press.

Delaware County Planning Department.  (2016). Delaware County 2016 Hazard Mitigation Plan. Retrieved from http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/planning/pubs/DelawareCounty-HMP-2016.html

Jarvis, M. G., & Harris, G. R. (2017). A history of planning in the Adirondack Park: the enduring conflict. In Big places, big plans (pp. 139-177). Routledge.

Mgaloblishvili, S. (2015). Controversy Over the Environmental & Social Impact Assessment of the Khudoni Hydro Power Plant (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://bir.brandeis.edu/bitstream/handle/10192/32730/MgaloblishviliThesis2015%20%283%29.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Office of Emergency Management City of Philadelphia. (2016). City of Philadelphia All Hazard Mitigation Plan. Retrieved from https://www.phila.gov/media/20161107113053/DRAFT-2017-Hazard-Mitigation-Plan_NON-FOUO.pdf[C4] 

Penna, A. N., & Rivers, J. S. (2013). Natural disasters in a global environment. John Wiley & Sons.

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.

URS Corporation. (2009). Chester County Hazards Vulnerability Analysis. Chester County: Pennsylvania. Retrieved from https://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/545/hazard_vulnerability_analysis_2009?bidId=[C5] 

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