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Building better cities.

Next American Vanguard 2010

Cities: Philadelphia

Philadelphia

From its swanky restaurant scene to its World Series-winning baseball team to its mission of becoming the greenest city in the country, Philadelphia is a model of a Rust Belt comeback city. In the current financial crisis, the city’s housing stock and employment pool has remained solid. Michael Nutter, the city’s still-new mayor, has seen his share of criticisms, but continues to garner acclaim for the small improvements such as a 20 percent drop in crime over two years, adding bike lanes to Center City and a system of deputy mayors that improve communication within city hall.

All that said, the city is still struggling to combat decline. The fifth—or is it really the sixth?—largest American city, Philadelphia has roughly 1.5 million people in it (down from a high of 2 million in 1950) and in the last year it was one of four major American cities to continue to lose people. (Baltimore, Detroit and Memphis were others.) Local institutions such as University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research, the Design Advocacy Group and Penn Praxis’s Plan Philly project are working hard to rethink Philadelphia’s assets. A bevy of foundations (the William Penn Foundation, Pew and the Knight Foundation) have put their money where their offices are. Local CDCs and the Sustainable Business Network have been instrumental in reusing vacant properties and cultivating a scene around urban farming. The fact that a new monthly magazine, Grid, which covers Philadelphia’s sustainable lifestyle, is proof that the city’s green future is no passing trend. But the city’s poor high school graduation rates, litter problems and concentrations of poverty serve as quick reminders that there is still much work to be done.

Bottom line: Philadelphia is a city with a growing green scene and tremendous potential for impact.

City Highlights

  • Philadelphia’s Population Problem

    Diana Lind | July 8th, 2009 | 11

    Philadelphia continues to lose people – although not at quite the clip it once did. What can the city do about it? Plan for growth (more)

  • The Status of Biking in the City of Brotherly Love: An Interview

    Akua Nyame-Mensah | November 3rd, 2009 | 1

    In the past year Philadelphia has passed legislation encouraging the use of bicycles and started a pilot project for bike lanes in Center City. Maria Dziembowska, Events Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, talks with Next American City about the status of biking in Philly. (more)

  • Turf Wars: Prostitutes and NIMBYs in Philadelphia

    Diana Lind | October 14th, 2009 | 11

    Continuing the conversation about the neighborhood where she works and lives, Diana Lind asks what to do about Washington Square West’s prostitution problem and its consequences. (more)

Philadelphia Archives