John Lucieu and Sue Gleiter of PennLive joined our journalist roundtable to dissect their compelling feature on “Dueling Downtowns: How Lancaster Thrives as Harrisburg Struggles to Reinvent Itself.” Drawing on extensive reporting, John and Sue explored why Lancaster’s revitalized riverfront development, bustling arts scene, and strategic public–private partnerships have sparked a renaissance, while Harrisburg wrestled with vacant office towers, a sluggish retail core, and the challenges of post-industrial reinvention. Their insights offered a vivid, data-driven comparison of two neighboring capitals on very different trajectories.

John Lucieu and Sue Gleiter of PennLive joined our journalist roundtable to dissect their compelling feature on <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/business/2025/04/dueling-downtowns-how-lancaster-thrives-as-harrisburg-struggles-to-reinvent-itself.html">&ldquo;Dueling Downtowns: How Lancaster Thrives as Harrisburg Struggles to Reinvent Itself.&rdquo;</a> Drawing on extensive reporting, John and Sue explored why Lancaster&rsquo;s revitalized riverfront development, bustling arts scene, and strategic public&ndash;private partnerships have sparked a renaissance, while Harrisburg wrestled with vacant office towers, a sluggish retail core, and the challenges of post-industrial reinvention. Their insights offered a vivid, data-driven comparison of two neighboring capitals on very different trajectories.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what&rsquo;s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb start the conversations about what&rsquo;s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at&nbsp;<a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.