Just Don't Know What To Think About Philly These Days (Philadelphia: crime, home)

[bridge12]

The Schuylkill is near the end of its life in terms of the repaving schedule. But spring is always the worst time for potholes too - it's after they have formed over the winter and before the pothole filling crews are sent out. PennDOT's state road maintenance has been declining for some time as well due to a lack of funds (or lack of spending the money on maintenance instead of new fancy highways and lanes). That's a state issue not unique at all to Philly.

Despite everything, I am still bullish on Philly. We are in the midst of a building boom right now and it's going to be very interesting to see how that plays out over the next few years. The biggest wildcard is leadership. If we get some good, fresh leadership I really think we can stay on a path to boom. If we get the same mediocre leadership, the city will still progress but maintain most of its flaws, it'll be the people/arts/culture/restaurant community continuing to do the bulk of the progress.

[bridge12]

Originally Posted by Angus215

I am in Center City just about every week. And smell weed and human waste just about every time.

Hah, I've "smelled weed" in Center City for decades. I think dog waste is up, not sure about human waste. But I walk the city constantly and it's still vibrant, interesting, and fun - none of the constant gloom and doom you'd think from the negadelphians. I just had some family visiting and they were shocked - SHOCKED - the city wasn't a cesspool. They were nervous and just blown away by how vibrant, walkable, full of life it was.

[AshbyQuin]

Originally Posted by Angus215

I am in Center City just about every week. And smell weed and human waste just about every time.

What an awful take, where in CC do you frequent? The only time I smell weed and **** are in the train stations. We might as well classify NYC, LA, Paris and London as dumps if we're judging a cities quality based off of scent.

[AshbyQuin]

Originally Posted by Duderino

100% spot on.

I've found nearly universally that those most critical of Philadelphia are those who have spent the least time in the city. Note this thread alone how the vast majority of negativity comes from suburbanites, or Florida, a place that should DEFINITELY not be casting stones.

Relying on sensationalist news reporting to color your opinion of the city is just asinine. The city has plenty of challenges, for sure, but none of them are:
1) insurmountable
2) unique to Philadelphia
3) Other than the trend of remote work, which will take some thoughtful adjusting, 95% of Philadelphia's current problems predated the pandemic.

+1

You'd think they're talking about Mumbai the way they describe the city.

[Redddog]

I've smelled weed in every single city I've ever been in, though on the stretch of Market from Old City to City hall, it's pretty pungent. Human waste? Outside of some pee here and there, I'm not sure where you're hanging out but North Philly Train stations are the only place I've experienced that. Homelessness was a problem before and it continues. I haven't seen a percentage change street-level as compared to pre-pandemic but maybe that's just me.

Philly is on fire in many ways - development, bio-tech, VC etc. There's A LOT of money pouring into Philly right now. The street activation around CC, S Philly and Nolibs/Fishtown is back to within pre-pandemic levels. Some restaurants and businesses that didn't make it are re-populating with new ones - some better, some worse. But I feel like in a few months/years, we'll be back to full strength or close. We were down in E. Passyunk this weekend and I was absolutely amazed at how crazy busy it is down there. There are sooo many restaurants and bars down there. It's crazy.

We all agree that city government is terrible. City council is either corrupt or just plain clueless - a political fact in nearly any city of size. The three clowns - Kenney, Krasner, Outlaw - are comically inept and it's a shame. But I feel like their presence hasn't created the problem, more like it has failed to address it in a way that could have made the problem better. Kenney's limited out so that problem will hopefully end with a better solution. I'm stumping hard for Domb but who knows? This town has been known to shoot itself in the foot even if it's not just a Philly thing. Kenyatta looks to be in big trouble.

I hope to see a turning point with the police situation. We need more cops and we need to bring that department into the new Tech millennium. I HAVE noticed a few beat cops recently. I saw 2 separate 2-cop teams walking different parts of south Broad over the weekend and there are noticeably more police presence in Old City as of late. I hope that trend continues.

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Adding one more thing to what I just wrote:

The problem with just about all of the superstar cities is that they are now places where only the very affluent and the very poor can afford to live (the latter thanks to subsidies for housing, food, utilities and the like).

This remains a city where a person or family earning a real middle-class income — between the 20th and 80th percentiles of the income distribution — can live decently in housing they can afford.

That affordability is now threatened in the city by some of the very things I've mentioned above, ironically enough. We need to make sure that we remain a city (and region) where the good life and decent housing are within reach of the broad middle of the population.

I am a native, not a current resident. But a frequent visitor since I have elderly family there.

What really makes a difference in what you call "superstar cities," is desirability. Regardless of all the talk about crime, Chicago remains a very desirable city for people to move to, and the pricing reflects that. All of the things you mentioned, and things you didn't (such as the river walk) go towards making a city desirable for outsiders to move to, and for natives to stay. Philly is slowly going in the right direction but outside the central core, infrastructure and blight is a huge problem. Vast areas of Philly just don't look good, especially if you didn't grow up there and aren't used to its look.

But if Philly ever does make massive moves to improving its overall infrastructure... Let me just say I don't know any city that has balanced affordability with desirability. If "everyone" wants to move there, prices are going up. Period.
See Seattle, see Charleston, there's nothing you can do.

[cpomp]

An anecdote from my work interactions today...

I just got back from a business meeting in KoP with various insurance and finance people (straight white men early 60s), all based in the Philly burbs.

First, they were amazed that I live in New York and enjoy it (due to how "dangerous" it is nowadays)... Then Philadelphia came up, and I mentioned I always enjoy the city and asked if they've been recently. I got a uniform NO due to crime, safety, riots, etc.

I was careful in my response since it was a work meeting, but I summed up my point as "Philadelphia (and New York) are alive and well, and they should venture in".

On my drive back, I shook my head at how insular so many people are. These big macho men couldn't fathom how I would advocate for a visit Philadelphia or even New York, because they are apparently dumpster fires...

Anyways, I'm on board with most on here, the city is great, Center City is mostly back to it's lively self, construction and certain economic sectors are booming, but the wildcard is leadership, which is overall subpar, and the status quo trajectory is partially pending on the next Mayoral cycle.

(side note, I don't notice a lot of poop, at least in CC. I saw occasional dog poop, but NYC is far worse with poop everywhere.)

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

I am a native, not a current resident. But a frequent visitor since I have elderly family there.

What really makes a difference in what you call "superstar cities," is desirability. Regardless of all the talk about crime, Chicago remains a very desirable city for people to move to, and the pricing reflects that. All of the things you mentioned, and things you didn't (such as the river walk) go towards making a city desirable for outsiders to move to, and for natives to stay. Philly is slowly going in the right direction but outside the central core, infrastructure and blight is a huge problem. Vast areas of Philly just don't look good, especially if you didn't grow up there and aren't used to its look.

But if Philly ever does make massive moves to improving its overall infrastructure... Let me just say I don't know any city that has balanced affordability with desirability. If "everyone" wants to move there, prices are going up. Period.
See Seattle, see Charleston, there's nothing you can do.

I sure as Hell hope that's not the case. However, I will say that the city makes it harder than it should be to produce the housing that would keep prices reasonable as demand rises.

And in a lot of those "superstar cities," the desire of those who made it in to raise the drawbridge behind them also exacerbates the affordability problem. And that's not good for the long-term health of any city: the people in the middle perform lots of essential services, and if they can't live there and have to commute long distances, the QOL in the superstar city will also decline, if imperceptibly at first.

The one infrastructure improvement I would most love to see is burial of all those overhead utility lines outside Center City. But I understand this would be a hugely expensive undertaking, so it's not likely to happen in our or anyone else's lifetimes.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

But if Philly ever does make massive moves to improving its overall infrastructure... Let me just say I don't know any city that has balanced affordability with desirability. If "everyone" wants to move there, prices are going up. Period.
See Seattle, see Charleston, there's nothing you can do.

Charleston? You couldn't find a better comparison than a metro that doesn't even have a million people?

Dare to dream.....maybe, just maybe.....one day, Philadelphia could be just like Charleston.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by PHL10

Charleston? You couldn't find a better comparison than a metro that doesn't even have a million people?

Dare to dream.....maybe, just maybe.....one day, Philadelphia could be just like Charleston.

Parts of it already are a living history museum.

As for a decently large metro, though, will Seattle do?