That 'Best Places' Ranking Revisited: Is This Really The Best Of Philly (And America)?

SOUTHEASTERN PA — All happy towns are alike, all unhappy towns are unhappy in their own way, Leo Tolstoy may have written, were he an author of Internet listicles and rankings in the 21st century.

One of these obstensibly objective rankings seems to have been accepted without much comment for several years running now: Niche's "Best Places To Live in America." It made headlines around the region again this month when three towns in the greater Philadelphia area made the top 5 of the list. And the winner, a census designated place in Chester County named Chesterbrook that, depending on how you draw the lines, has no bars and restaurants and is surrounded by highways, was number 1 for the fourth year in a row (Ardmore and Penn Wynne rounded out the top 5).

It's not a knock against Chesterbrook, which is just a tiny part of Tredyffrin Township that many area residents have never even heard of, to wonder what it is about this small collection of houses that makes it the best place to live in one of the wealthiest and most developed nations on the planet.

"This grade takes into account several key factors of a location, including the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics, and access to amenities," Niche explains. They use data from the Census Bureau, FBI, Labor Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as reviews from residents, to create that grade.

Taken individually, these all appear to be fair elements that the average person might consider when looking for a home. But taken collectively and independent of anything more subjective and, well, human, do they offer any sort of nuanced or holistic picture of what a place is actually like?

The answer, for anyone who has actually spent anytime in the census designated place known as Chesterbrook, is a resounding no. And as more and more of the world becomes automated and governed by programs and speaking search engines, it's yet another reminder of the folly of reliance upon quantitative data.

Life in the 19087

It's easy to see why the 1.6 square mile area of Chesterbrook scored well on Niche's ranking. Conestoga High School, where children who live there wind up attending, is typically ranked among the nation's best high schools. It's a very small, relatively wealthy area bounded by the Turnpike, 202, the edge of Valley Forge Park, and a thick patch of woods off Mill Road, so it's about as bubbly as safe can be. And it's just down the road from a major employment hub in King of Prussia (and only about a half hour from Philadelphia), so it did well on Niche's job score.

It's not a knock on the babbling Brook of Chester, but all of those factors, proximity to KOP and Philly, low crime rate, good schools, and endless employment options, are true to dozens of towns around the five-county region. Towns that are vibrant communities that have put in decades of work to be so much more than a sexy stat.

Among those less easily spreadsheetable traits: walkability, bikeability, arts, culture, diversity, and community building initiatives.

Put more simply, accessible public space.

"Streets, squares, parks," urban planner Alex Garvin told the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. "It's what belongs to us."

While many of its immediate neighbors have those things, Chesterbrook doesn't, and neither does number 5 on the list, Penn Wynne. Certainly not in comparison. For one, what's been called the Best Place in America doesn't have any restaurants. It doesn't have any bars. The Black Powder Tavern and a few things along Swedesford Road border the edge of it, there's a Manhattan Bagel and Diane's Sidewalk Deli in the Chesterbrook Shopping Center. They're not within Chesterbrook proper, such as it is.

There is a public space, as the township-run Wilson Farm Park sits within Chesterbrook. But the area contains multiple highways, highly trafficked roads, high speed limits, few sidewalks, which translate to little ability to easily connect from point to point on foot. Again, that's not true of immediately neighboring areas in the same township — Paoli, for instance, sits on the renowned Chester Valley Trail —conspiciously absent from the Niche list.

Chesterbrook is 89.7 percent white, according to U.S. Census data, so it's not a hotbed of diversity. There are no low income or multifamily housing resources available in Chesterbrook, according to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Agency, so it's not an economically diverse zip code either.

Towards an inevitably flawed but more perfect valuation

Clearly, a ranking of the "best" anything is subjective, and perhaps it's not wise to over- and misapply quantitative data to pretend otherwise.

Those working in government and the nonprofit sector have a bit of a different definition of what "best" is, and it's not crunched numbers. Take, for instance, the three overaching elements the Montgomery County Planning Commission put in its nationally acclaimed "Montco 2040": connected communities, sustainable places, and vibrant economy.

The program funds grants that promote local businesses, public land access and green spaces, and smart developments. They're predicated on diversity and inclusiveness. Similar programs fund similar projects in Chester, Bucks, and Delaware counties, too.

Ideal or "best" places in the eyes of local institutions and lawmakers planning for the future often starts with a thriving downtown district, a mixed and local economy that has restaurants, bars, and shops within walking distance, trails and green spaces that can connect communities by foot while permanently protecting local natural and historic resources, and the sort of racial and economic diversity that breeds arts, music, and cultural innovation.

They have good schools and they're safe, too. It's just not the only thing considered.

So many southeastern Pennsylvania towns, communities that are regional destinations, fit this bill that did not make Niche's list. Phoenixville, West Chester, Doylestown, Newtown, Ambler, Norristown, and Media are just a few among many.

Now, Niche is open about its statistics, and they offer numerous other categories besides "Best Place" in their rankings: Best for Families, Best Public Schools, Best Outdoor Spaces. But the ranking meant to collate them all, Best Places, tells a story with numbers that would seem to be read chiefly by a tiny, exclusive demographic.