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I think Philly is a great city - but as some people have mentioned earlier in this thread, it's being held back on a global and reputational level by the lack of a booming economy with high-paying jobs. It's also just unfortunately situated right in between Boston, NYC, and DC, some of the greatest American cities. If Philly was located in the Southwest it would get a lot more attention.
Now the lack of a strong professional economy definitely has some beneficial side-effects. It's made Philly remarkably affordable for a city that's big, dense, walkable, historic, and vibrant. It's preserved the "blue-collar" culture that makes Philly so different from other big cities. It's allowed for a booming restaurant scene and all the other pros that come with early-stage gentrification when rents are still cheap and young, hip people are moving in. Parts of Center City Philadelphia are genuinely stunning places to live, with beautiful historic homes and quaint, walkable side streets with trees and cobblestone pavings.
The bad side of Philly is still pretty bad - Strawberry Mansion and other neighborhoods in the Northern reaches are genuinely terrifying. Also it is an undeniably dirty city, especially the SEPTA.
I think Philly is a great city - but as some people have mentioned earlier in this thread, it's being held back on a global and reputational level by the lack of a booming economy with high-paying jobs. It's also just unfortunately situated right in between Boston, NYC, and DC, some of the greatest American cities. If Philly was located in the Southwest it would get a lot more attention.
Now the lack of a strong professional economy definitely has some beneficial side-effects. It's made Philly remarkably affordable for a city that's big, dense, walkable, historic, and vibrant. It's preserved the "blue-collar" culture that makes Philly so different from other big cities. It's allowed for a booming restaurant scene and all the other pros that come with early-stage gentrification when rents are still cheap and young, hip people are moving in. Parts of Center City Philadelphia are genuinely stunning places to live, with beautiful historic homes and quaint, walkable side streets with trees and cobblestone pavings.
The bad side of Philly is still pretty bad - Strawberry Mansion and other neighborhoods in the Northern reaches are genuinely terrifying. Also it is an undeniably dirty city, especially the SEPTA.
I think you summed things up pretty well. But Philly would be one of the least likely cities to be southwestern. The areas/neighborhoods of less green and little in the way of yards to narrow streets would bake there in the sun. Unless in higher elevations. Now that's a possibility.
But in general ..... Philly will continue to improve. The East-Coast cities (Philly included) still is not seen as having the stigma of a Midwestern location. Chicago most of the exception in the Midwest. With its crime stigma known as more gang on gang on their own turf. That helps the city once realized in visits and all flock to its core and surroundings neighborhoods on visits anyway.
I myself get a stigma of less complementary on Philly and not having solid-rows as a least-favorite choice in housing. But still I acknowledge improvements and gentrification. But note it is gradual thru neighborhoods blight is gradually erased too. But then you have its totally different Northeast side.
The consensus agrees on a perception problem YET? But differs as to why and how much at times......
Areas of Center city colonial neighborhoods and those to these south. Are some off Americas unique Cores and extended Cores. But I still have another favorite......
Being in an Urban Planning based company based in Boston, I see alot of indicators that Philadelphia is going to be seeing some large scale developments. I actually think Philadelphia is poised better to grow than Boston if a large development cycle does happen based off of 4 main reasons. 1) The rail is already electrified. 2) The climate is so much better. 3) It sits much more nestled in the Bosnywash corridor with access to more airports and closer to large cities. 4) Its bigger. there's more room for growth.. including large scale buildings.
Given that over 2 million people lived in Philadelphia at one time there is definitely room for growth.
Philly has always been much more of a domestic city (as has Baltimore) than NY, Bos, and DC, which might also play into a less cosmopolitan image. It had way less int'l port traffic than Boston and NY after the American Revolution, it has far fewer foreign flag carriers today than BOS, JFK, EWR, and IAD, and only 12% of the people in the Metro Philly Urbanized Area were born outside the US vs. 25-30% in NY and DC.
It's also the least educated among the NE Corridor large metros.
Anecdotally, when I was graduating from college in New England in the 90s, I knew tons of people moving to Boston, NYC, and DC who were from all over the country and world, but literally no one moving to Philly unless they were moving back in with their parents and had grown up there.
Philly has always been much more of a domestic city (as has Baltimore) than NY, Bos, and DC, which might also play into a less cosmopolitan image. It had way less int'l port traffic than Boston and NY after the American Revolution, it has far fewer foreign flag carriers today than BOS, JFK, EWR, and IAD, and only 12% of the people in the Metro Philly Urbanized Area were born outside the US vs. 25-30% in NY and DC.
It's also the least educated among the NE Corridor large metros.
Anecdotally, when I was graduating from college in New England in the 90s, I knew tons of people moving to Boston, NYC, and DC who were from all over the country and world, but literally no one moving to Philly unless they were moving back in with their parents and had grown up there.
Things have changed a great deal in Philadelphia since the 1990s.
A good chunk of the college students who used to leave after coming here to study now stay.
Immigrants have changed the face of several neighborhoods here to a degree they haven't in Baltimore. In fact, immigration from abroad accounts for a decent chunk of the city's growth, as it (like most of our other older large cities) continues to experience net domestic out-migration.
The city had a greater influx of Millennials than any of the other 24 largest cities, in both absolute number and percentage terms.
And while the percentage of residents holding bachelor's or higher degrees continues to trail its Northeast peers, the figures have risen sharply within the city core, where they now exceed 50 percent.
There is a Tale-of-Two-Cities character to Philadelphia's fortunes over the past decade, but the one city will blow you away so much that you may even forget about the other one. In some senses, this is still "Bostroit," but the emphasis on the "Bos" part has grown.
Center-City is not Philly's perception problem or even University City, the farther North and Northwest region or most suburbs.
But Now we need to figure in the newer younger-generation coming of age.
Generation Z
- Born: 1995-2012
- Coming of Age: 2013-2020
This is the generation that soon will define the 2020-decade. I'd say Philly WILL appeal. Despite my personal preferences .....as will other Legacy to Sunbelt and between rising cities.
Meaning the return to cities will continue while Millennial's will go more to the suburbs once school-age children come and increase that direction. Just opinion.
Are we really going to pretend that places like Chicago, Baltimore, St. Louis, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc. don't have perception problems?
There are tons of negative stereotypes about those places.
San Francisco is tech bros, expensive, homeless, needles/poop, etc.
Chicago it's harsh winters, high taxes, murder rate, etc.
Boston it's traffic, racist, accents, harsh winters, etc.
Los Angeles it's sprawling, dirty, fake, etc.
Philadelphia it's about being dirty and the murder rate, etc.
I am curious. I was just in Philly and have been many times. I find it to be a great American city. Yet anytime I talk to someone and tell them I am going to Philly the responses are always the same. "I'm sorry," "why," Filthadelphia?
I don't think it warrants it. Certain cities do. I live in the Chicago area and the stereotype of Chicago in the winter(outside of this past winter)is pretty spot on. I always tell people, don't come Dec- March if on pleasure, unless during Christmas time, its pretty well decorated and beautiful if into that .
Do others agree or disagree?
Yes. This OP alludes to my point.
There are more damning stereotypes about cities than just Philadelphia, and IMO much worse.
There are much more polarizing cities out there than Philadelphia. The only negatives I can think of for it are that it's dirty and the murder rate. And violent sports fans. That's really it.
It's not known for being racist, or homeless, or for having harsh winters, or sprawly, or fake, or expensive, for having a terrible accent, for being rainy, etc.
We're gonna sit here and say Philadelphia has the worst of the worst?
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But I still have another favorite......
