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Old 11-20-2017, 07:59 AM
 
Location: New York City
9,334 posts, read 9,191,704 times
Reputation: 6418

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarketStEl View Post
What Pennsylvania does have is a law requiring every municipality in the state to provide for every type of development within its zoning code. This at least in theory outlaws "snob zoning" - the mandating of minimum lot sizes that make lower-income or multifamily housing impossible to build within a municipality's borders. I don't think Pennsylvania even has the "Mount Laurel" requirement New Jersey has, which is a mandate that every municipality make provision for low-income housing within its borders or compensate in some way if it doesn't. Senior housing is popular where such provision exists, of course, because it doesn't carry the potential downsides general low-income housing does.

2. Your second paragraph is an example of a fallacy common among suburbanites and put to rest by a paper Richard Voith, then of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and now a partner at Econsult Corporation, wrote in the late 1990s. It was titled "Do Suburbs Need Cities?" It was a study of the economic performance of U.S. metropolitan areas. It found that metropolitan economies were indeed intertwined: the suburbs of cities with strong economies did better than those of cities with weak ones. And if your assertion that the suburbs could carry the region is true, then I guess you haven't been to Detroit or St. Louis lately, for they too would probably fall into the same category - Detroit most emphatically so.

Were a bomb to be dropped on Broad and Market streets tomorrow morning, the shock waves would indeed be felt in the collar counties. The city core of Philadelphia remains the region's single largest employment center, and the bi-directional commuter flows on the Schuylkill Expressway should indicate that it still plays a major role in the regional economy even if King of Prussia runs a strong third to Center City and University City in employment and the total employment figures in the four collar counties outstrip those for Philadelphia - so do their populations taken together.

I happen to believe that income diversity does matter as much as if not more than racial and ethnic diversity in breaking a bunch of vicious circles - and I also note that most Americans seem to be uncomfortable with the prospect of living in income-diverse neighborhoods. I think that Germantown and Mt. Airy both show the latent potential of income diversity and would like to see them as models for the future.
That is the law I was thinking of.

And I didn't say the economies weren't intertwined or that they are totally independent of one another, I just meant that the collar counties are/ could be self sufficient with or without Philadelphia. Of course if the city disappeared tomorrow the shock wave would be felt, but they would recover and still function, I can't think of any other metro area would that would be the case. If the collar counties disappeared the state of PA would feel the shock more then Philadelphia though.

Income diversity is definitely needed to break cycles but at the point, it would be harder and probably more vicious to introduce said measures into suburban communities rather then try to repair the stuggling communities you find in Philadelphia. Our country is in high tension mode, and stirring the pot right now is not the solution. The suburbs are doing fine, so leave them alone and focus on the troubled parts of the city. You might not like my view, but spreading the problem does nothing to address/ fix it. Also, I am aggravated about all this affordable housing dramatics, the city does not have an affordability problem, it has a lack of jobs/ opportunities/ available programs problems in order to get people out of poverty in the first place.
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Old 11-20-2017, 08:12 AM
 
5,546 posts, read 6,827,966 times
Reputation: 3825
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpomp View Post
That is the law I was thinking of.

And I didn't say the economies weren't intertwined or that they are totally independent of one another, I just meant that the collar counties are/ could be self sufficient with or without Philadelphia. Of course if the city disappeared tomorrow the shock wave would be felt, but they would recover and still function, I can't think of any other metro area would that would be the case. If the collar counties disappeared the state of PA would feel the shock more then Philadelphia though.

Income diversity is definitely needed to break cycles but at the point, it would be harder and probably more vicious to introduce said measures into suburban communities rather then try to repair the stuggling communities you find in Philadelphia. Our country is in high tension mode, and stirring the pot right now is not the solution. The suburbs are doing fine, so leave them alone and focus on the troubled parts of the city. You might not like my view, but spreading the problem does nothing to address/ fix it. Also, I am aggravated about all this affordable housing dramatics, the city does not have an affordability problem, it has a lack of jobs/ opportunities/ available programs problems in order to get people out of poverty in the first place.
Having lived in a number of other American cities, I see many older post-industrial cities where this is the case, even more so. And I don't think you can only focus on fixing the city, because the suburbs are part of the problem. They, historically, have isolated themselves from the city with purpose. It would be like trying to heal your arm without the rest of your body. It requires the education, finances, human resources of our public in general. We need everyone to see the value of our central cities rather than the value of isolated life from outside of them. Our poor and uneducated city government and poverty-stricken citizenry cannot solve these problems on their own. Again, our issues boil down to value and priorities.
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Old 11-20-2017, 09:49 AM
 
Location: Germantown, Philadelphia
13,945 posts, read 8,793,611 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpomp View Post
That is the law I was thinking of.

And I didn't say the economies weren't intertwined or that they are totally independent of one another, I just meant that the collar counties are/ could be self sufficient with or without Philadelphia. Of course if the city disappeared tomorrow the shock wave would be felt, but they would recover and still function, I can't think of any other metro area would that would be the case. If the collar counties disappeared the state of PA would feel the shock more then Philadelphia though.

Income diversity is definitely needed to break cycles but at the point, it would be harder and probably more vicious to introduce said measures into suburban communities rather then try to repair the stuggling communities you find in Philadelphia. Our country is in high tension mode, and stirring the pot right now is not the solution. The suburbs are doing fine, so leave them alone and focus on the troubled parts of the city. You might not like my view, but spreading the problem does nothing to address/ fix it. Also, I am aggravated about all this affordable housing dramatics, the city does not have an affordability problem, it has a lack of jobs/ opportunities/ available programs problems in order to get people out of poverty in the first place.
AJNEOA beat me to it, but I'm going to echo him because I think both points that important.

1. Detroit, Detroit, Detroit! And St. Louis. And Cleveland. All three have a greater share of total area employment outside the city than within it, which appears to me to be your criteria for the statement you make. Maybe the more relevant point, however, is that city residents would have a problem if the suburban counties were to disappear, for a lot of the jobs held by city residents lie in places like King of Prussia, which was what I was alluding to with my comment about bidirectional commuter flows on the Schuylkill.

2. The suburbanites have spent the better part of 50 years trying to wall themselves off from "those people," so they definitely don't get a pass now. They're part of the problem, they have to be part of the solution. And that's not only true here. You should take a look at my beloved hometown of Kansas City to see the phenomenon on steroids. Google "Troost Wall" and see what you get.
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Old 11-20-2017, 05:00 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7,730 posts, read 5,442,428 times
Reputation: 5964
Thought this was worth sharing

Quote:
Hardeman, who transferred to Temple after getting his associate’s degree at the Community College of Philadelphia, perfectly represents the kind of student that Temple founder Russell Conwell hoped to educate, said Ruth Ost, senior director of Temple’s honors program.
“We talk about acres of diamonds in our own neighborhood,” she said. “Here is Hazim, born and raised in North Philly. If we had to choose someone who represents the values of Temple and what Temple really cares about, this is the man who does that.”

Hardeman, who is working as a adjunct professor at Temple this year, is one of 10 African American scholars out of a total of 32 to get the award, the most in a single class.
“It’s awesome,” said Hardeman, as he sat at a table Sunday at Temple’s Annenberg Hall, where he had taken classes as a strategic communication major. “What I surmise is that we will all bring experiences to bear on that institution and subject it to transformation in whatever little way.”
Several other scholars with local ties also were among the 32 named Rhodes Scholars. They include Christopher J. D’Urso, a University of Pennsylvania student from Colts Neck, N.J.; Jordan D. Thomas, a Princeton student from South Plainfield, N.J.; and Alan Yang, a Harvard student from Dresher, Montgomery County.
Hardeman grew up at 23rd and Diamond, just blocks from Temple’s campus. The university always seemed like “another world.” He dreamed of crossing the barrier.
Temple gets its first Rhodes Scholar: A North Philly kid

Also new park in Bridesburg coming soon. I like the idea of connecting all the separate trails into one cohesive one up the Delaware.

Quote:
For some five decades, the Bridesburg neighborhood has been largely separated from its waterfront by industry and vacant land. Bobby Henon, Philadelphia Councilman of the 6th District, said, “The creation of this park will ‘give back’ the Delaware River to the people of Bridesburg, and when completed, will be a huge recreational asset to the community.”
The final design process will take about 15 months and construction is estimated to cost $5 to 7 million. The city and the William Penn Foundation will foot the $800,000 bill for the design phase.

Plans for 10-acre riverfront park in Bridesburg move forward
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Old 11-21-2017, 08:11 AM
 
Location: New York City
9,334 posts, read 9,191,704 times
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http://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/1...hia-city-hall/

I probably won't get a chance to see this, but it looks great!
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Old 11-21-2017, 08:26 AM
 
10,787 posts, read 8,664,920 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpomp View Post
Here

I probably won't get a chance to see this, but it looks great!
Looks much better than the last time(2015).

The Christmas Village booths are up in LOVE Park. I'm anxious to see how much of the new park layout is done.

All the Dilworth Park stuff, ice skating rink and white booths, is ready.
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Old 11-27-2017, 11:10 AM
 
Location: New York City
9,334 posts, read 9,191,704 times
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Wellshaus Could Be the Next Big Thing on Delaware Ave. - OCF Realty

Nice project.
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Old 11-27-2017, 12:37 PM
 
10,787 posts, read 8,664,920 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpomp View Post
Agreed. Looks good!
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Old 11-27-2017, 04:03 PM
 
Location: New York City
9,334 posts, read 9,191,704 times
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https://philly.curbed.com/2017/11/27...public-hearing

Anyone have an opinion on this?
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Old 11-27-2017, 04:32 PM
 
82 posts, read 67,903 times
Reputation: 107
I like it because from my understanding "affordable" means someone that earns 60% of Philadelphia's AMI. The thing is that includes the whole region so it is roughly $80,000 so 60% would be roughly $50,000. That is still higher than the average Philadelphia (city) average income. In my opinion it should be more stringent than 60% but I think it is a good compromise. Philadelphia is getting more expensive and we won't be able to say that we are affordable compared to other Northeast cities for long. We are really at the cusp where we can do something to keep Philadelphia affordable. I really don't understand the argument that it will actually increase prices because developers will be less interested in coming to Philadelphia. It's clear, people want to be here and the bill allows developers to build higher thus more units and more profit. Seems like a win win for me.
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