LehighValleyNews.com explores the Lehigh Valley's warehouse economy — an examination of where we are today, how we got here and where we’re going.

This guide explains the basics of the laws governing land use in Pennsylvania and provides an example of the land development process.

The Lehigh Valley has been reshaped by a massive wave of development, both in industrial and residential, that has swept over the region the last three decades.

Thirty years ago, the Trexlertown and Fogelsville areas of Upper Macungie Township became ground zero for the change that was rapidly coming to the Lehigh Valley. Perhaps no community in the region has had better experience managing the warehouse and industrial building boom — and trying to balance it.

The explosion of warehouse development in the Lehigh Valley has led to inevitable conflict – developers versus neighborhoods, elected leaders versus constituents, and neighbors versus neighbors. One community is living it right now, on all fronts.

How some are deploying a combination of smart growth techniques, regional cooperation and state law to manage growth. An in-depth look through two stories, including one focused on proposed legislation aimed at warehouse development.

Elected officials are taking steps to adjust development laws that some see as unfair, but they face an uphill battle.

For much of the past decade, warehouses sprang up like dandelions across the Lehigh Valley. While the market is by no means in freefall, experts say it has undeniably slowed since 2022. Is it a lull, or has the warehouse boom come to an end?