Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Philly’s city limits includes a lot more people than DC’s, A lot more DC’s progressives and wealthy live in surrounding counties, whereas in Philly a huge chunk lives in the actual city combating the statistics in other areas.
A better way to compare this is neighborhood to neighborhood, no way anyone can visit north philly and southeast DC.. and think DC feels worse.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,550,614 times
Reputation: 5785
Quote:
Originally Posted by meep
Philly feels worse because it is.
Philly’s city limits includes a lot more people than DC’s, A lot more DC’s progressives and wealthy live in surrounding counties, whereas in Philly a huge chunk lives in the actual city combating the statistics in other areas.
A better way to compare this is neighborhood to neighborhood, no way anyone can visit north philly and southeast DC.. and think DC feels worse.
Yea Philly is 130 sq mi, DC is 61. Philly's blight simply stretches much further, and even if it's not all blight, the city's urbanity continues on further. By the time you get to 130 mi in DC area, you've added Arlington, Alexandria, Silver Spring and Chevy Chase/Bethesda. These are urban, but very safe places. No way a person would get the perception that DC has more "bad" areas or overall crime in comparison to Philly.
The two had rather similar homicide rates in 2019...
Philadelphia: 22.9 killed per 100,000 residents
Washington DC: 23.7 per 100,000
And it's worth mentioning that crime RATES are based on resident population. DC's very large commuter population (its daytime population is 70% larger than its resident population, far more than any large city and certainly Philadelphia's 6%) throws off many city-to-city comparisons.
How exactly is this relevant? Is it not safe to say violent crime is rarely happening to 9-5 commuters of either city?
Quote:
Originally Posted by meep
Philly feels worse because it is.
Philly’s city limits includes a lot more people than DC’s, A lot more DC’s progressives and wealthy live in surrounding counties, whereas in Philly a huge chunk lives in the actual city combating the statistics in other areas.
A better way to compare this is neighborhood to neighborhood, no way anyone can visit north philly and southeast DC.. and think DC feels worse.
A lot of Philadelphia's wealthy people live in the suburbs too. In fact, by ratio, I think Philadelphia would have more of its wealthy in the suburbs than D.C. I think the point people have belabored in this thread is that less trees and more blight =/= more crime.
Philly (or rather the immediate areas surrounding Center City) are orders of magnitude less gentrified and thus, less sheltered by wealth giving the perception crime is more integrated in the city core. Like others have also pointed out, Philly built form is older & more dense than DC's so it feels more gritty/classically urban/dangerous to a suburbanite.
There's truth to the latter part of what you say (e.g., suburbanite perceptions of "grittiness"), but it's inaccurate to suggest that this pertains to the immediate areas surrounding Center City, given that neighborhoods like Queen Village, Fairmount, Graduate Hospital, and Northern Liberties all immediately border Center City and have long been gentrified or are in advanced stages of gentrification (i.e., all now have new construction homes priced in the 7-digits).
Beyond those, neighborhoods like Brewerytown and Point Breeze are patchier, but those, again, are much further removed from the core downtown area.
The reasons why our human subconscious perceives more "green" areas as less dangerous are deep-rooted, apparently (and I'm speaking for myself, as well), but trees don't exclusively dictate social behavior.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muinteoir
A lot of Philadelphia's wealthy people live in the suburbs too. In fact, by ratio, I think Philadelphia would have more of its wealthy in the suburbs than D.C. I think the point people have belabored in this thread is that less trees and more blight =/= more crime.
Exactly. The median household income in the ENTIRETY of suburban Philadelphia is approximately DOUBLE that of Philly proper (around 40k versus 80K, give or take). The assertion that Philly's surrounding suburbs aren't comparatively wealthy is patently and unequivocally false.
Southerners love Washington DC. I find that to be true in real life and on the internet. I think it has part to do with the fact that there aren't any large urban centers in the south. Most I have ever met hold a very high opinion of the city.
To use an actual concrete statistic of why people might get the perception that DC has lower crime is the number of police officers per capita. DC has the highest per capita of police in the United States.
Southerners love Washington DC. I find that to be true in real life and on the internet. I think it has part to do with the fact that there aren't any large urban centers in the south. Most I have ever met hold a very high opinion of the city.
To use an actual concrete statistic of why people might get the perception that DC has lower crime is the number of police officers per capita. DC has the highest per capita of police in the United States.
Isn't part of this because it is the Nations Capital city too and all the government buildings and attractions. There are many who see DC much more as a NORTHERN City today also. Nothing realm Southern about it even the State of Maryland and Delaware right there in the region.
Atlanta limes to declare hat it.... is the South's Center or Capital also.
Southerners love Washington DC. I find that to be true in real life and on the internet. I think it has part to do with the fact that there aren't any large urban centers in the south. Most I have ever met hold a very high opinion of the city.
To use an actual concrete statistic of why people might get the perception that DC has lower crime is the number of police officers per capita. DC has the highest per capita of police in the United States.
Isn't part of this because it is the Nations Capital city too and all the government buildings and attractions. There are many who see DC much more as a NORTHERN City today also. Nothing realm Southern about it even the State of Maryland and Delaware right there in the region.
Atlanta limes to declare hat it.... is the South's Center or Capital also.
ISTR John F. Kennedy describing Washington as "combining Southern efficiency with Northern charm."
ISTR John F. Kennedy describing Washington as "combining Southern efficiency with Northern charm."
Sounds good. But in todays world .... US cities get little in most efficiently run. Probably plenty of under-financed pensions in DC too today. But I did not look into stats.
Southerners today also like to see they got the charm part...... my how times can change. But for more a Northern city today I think has increased for DC. DC's declines as all our Northern cities. Was also only beginning in JFK's time.
Crime stats vs walking in the cities are two different realities.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
