Why people on this site trying to make it seem that most Philadelphia neighborhoods are good neighborhoods? (Lancaster: college, subdivision)

[Scarlet Witch]

Originally Posted by Phillyfinest

Like i said it is not only about crime. You out of touch with reality. You getting your info from the news but i'm experiencing this in real life. There is more than just crime,murder,robbery... philly is def one of the worst. Anybody from outta town who move or visit here, the first thing they would tell you is "wow the city is kind of rough"

Philadelphia is an old city, and it suffered in the 70's and 80's when people left. Also it is a blue collar city, Philly people are not caught in pretentions of trying to be bougy.

[phillyjawns]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan2013

To say that Germantown "as a whole" is a bad neighborhood is ignorant at best. Have you ever retrained at Queen Lane? What about Wister? Have you ever taken a stroll down Germantown Avenue to take in the beautiful architecture and historical sites?

Germantown has some of the most beautiful mansions in the city, not to mention its rich history dating back to the Revolution. Still, the beautiful architecture and historic sites are scenery---and don't necessarily make the neighborhood safer. While saying Germantown "as a whole" is a bad neighborhood might not be nuanced enough, it does accurately portray the picture as given by crime statistics. In Germantown, and many neighborhoods afflicted with violent crime, the safety of a given block is judged relative to the other blocks in the neighborhood. On the other hand, if the city's safest neighborhoods are used as a basis of comparison, Germantown can be judged as having a problem with violent crime (or more simply as "bad").

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan2013

Also, which category of safety has measurably decreased, and as compared to what? Where is the baseline to compare the data? Are we talking about murder, rape, assault, or vandalism? Which crime class are you defining as "safety"? In reality, I'm not too concerned about crime, as it seems to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods on certain blocks.

If we want to look at the aggregate, homicides are up 18 percent compared with this time last year. That's more homicides than in 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011 (same), 2010, and 2009. Now, while I'd rather see this particular statistic by neighborhood, one can judge "the city" as being some amount less safe (in a very arbitrary way). Also, I might live in one of the city's "safe" neighborhoods, but I still care about crime in East Germantown, Allegheny West, Nicetown, etc. I'd hope that everyone who lives in this city cares about crime. And if one requires self-interest to get concerned---know that crime in the "safe" neighborhoods is often committed by people from outside of the neighborhood.

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan2013

Calling entire sections of the city "bad" also discounts the hard-working, nice, law-abiding people who happen to be living in poverty. I would motion to state that the VAST minority of Philly citizens commit the VAST majority of crimes.

Despite the sensitivities some may have about neighborhood descriptions, "bad" is typically used to refer to the crime rate in this context, not necessarily the people who live there. I think people read into this WAY too much. As I said before, some neighborhoods that have a lot of crime are often that way because of people from other neighborhoods. If criminals outnumbered law-abiding citizens, we'd live in a literal hellscape, so this feels very obviously true.

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan2013

Unlike you, OP, I have quantitative data to prove that Philly is heading in the right direction. The city's population has been growing for the past 11 years, job growth has outpaced that of New York and San Francisco in terms of percentages, tax revenues for city governmebt have been reported to be up, and the rate of poverty slightly declined.

As a Philly native and current resident, I also see a bright future for our city, BUT I'm also a realist. Given the losses the city has sustained over the years, from population to jobs, higher percentage growth is going to be a bit easier to come by compared with cities running near peak performance (so to speak).

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan2013

In closing, the OP states that it is misleading to describe certain parts of the city in a positive light. I very much disagree with that, and would counter by saying that the OP is being misleading by providing statements that lack factual evidence. In the end, we all have different views of the city that we still call home, and anyone who is interested in moving here should visit and make the call themselves instead of entirely relying on the opinions of anonymous people.

I don't really disagree with your closing statement, but I feel like there's a more realistic middle ground between your view, and the OP's, as I've tried to portray.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Another example. Birmingham, AL, a small city by comparison, has worse crime than Philly.

So, it turns out, does my beloved forever hometown of Kansas City (Mo.)

Actually, ISTR reading recently that crime has exploded in mid-sized metro areas - places like Kansas City and Memphis.

On the general subject again: You should have picked up from my comments on a number of subjects that I share PhilliesPhan2013's bias towards optimism, and even with the murder rate inching back up, I still see plenty to be optimistic about hereabouts. I think one reason some who might also be optimistic aren't is because our run of good fortune is so recent - and the persistence of problems like stubbornly high poverty makes the whole affair seem fragile. One misstep, this thinking holds, and it could all come crashing down. (If you go to my Facebook Page (@WriterSandySmith), you will find one commenter (he's someone I know who tends to be a pessimist to begin with but also thinks much of what's happened here recently a mirage; not that he thinks things are going gangbusters in Harrisburg, where he lives, mind you) who regularly posts this sentence in response to just about every house post I share:

("It will all end in tears."

(This is an example of that outlook.)

As for bad neighborhoods, the crime may also vary. The fellow who fixed up and moved into the vacant house next door to me said that he had moved here from a safer neighborhood but has had no problems here - in fact, his car used to get broken into all the time in the neighborhood he left but has been unmolested since moving to my block.

Most bad neighborhoods are full of good people too.

[MB1562]

People seem to assume that if you step foot into one of these "bad neighborhoods", it's an automatic death sentence. I worked for a year in Belmont, which is solidly a ghetto of West Philadelphia. I would often wait for the 10 trolley in the dark on Lancaster Ave. I was always the only white person there, and I was obviously an outsider. You know what happened to me during that year? Absolutely nothing. I was never robbed, beaten, or even harassed. The dude who sold loosies on the corner used to say hi to me every morning after getting off the trolley.

Was it a place I'd want to live? No. But stepping foot into these places doesn't mean you're going to end up on the 6 o'clock news as the latest victim. I'm not saying to sugar coat it, but I'm saying to think critically on it.

[jazzy jeff]

Originally Posted by 2002 Subaru

You must not know Bridesburg very well to say that about the houses. There are small rows, larger rows, small twins, large twins, large singles, houses with private parking, houses with garages, it's very diverse in it's housing stock. Lets not forget that location, schools and safety mean a lot, too, and Bridesburg has all three.
And, yeah, property value is important, it's what'll keep the riff raff out and attract a better class of working people. I'm happy you enjoy Germantown and that the home values are similar, but they're two different worlds. I'll enjoy my world, you enjoy your's.
Anyway, we shall see ... a lot of people have cars and the neighborhood is close to everything. Not everybody wants coffee shops and 'hip' bars and restaurants all over the place. Plus, a lot of people don't care about public transportation and/or bicycles.

I assume the high incidence rate of cancer in Bridesburg has subsided with the closure of Rohm and Haas? Are they completely shut down now? Is the club "Point no Point" still there. Had many a good time back in the day.

[1ondoner]

Can one be considered a good person if they co-exist with bad people (drug dealers and petty criminals)?

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Most bad neighborhoods are full of good people too.

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

Can one be considered a good person if they co-exist with bad people (drug dealers and petty criminals)?

People are not "good" or "bad"-most are both depending on circumstances.

[1ondoner]

Are you saying drug dealers and petty criminals are good people too?

Originally Posted by 2e1m5a

People are not "good" or "bad"-most are both depending on circumstances.

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

Are you saying drug dealers and petty criminals are good people too?

Refer to post above-people are not good or bad.

[1ondoner]

People who harm others are bad people. Criminals = bad, bad people.

If one is harboring criminals, they are as bad as the criminals. Bad neighborhoods tolerate and and to some extent protect criminals, so one can't say they are full of good people. Otherwise, bad people would be weeded out of the community.

Originally Posted by 2e1m5a

Refer to post above-people are not good or bad.