Philly is the next great city

By Lisa Angelucci
Collegian Staff
March 29, 2006

1. Wireless Internet—It might be controversial, and it’s certainly not a cure for all of Philadelphia’s problems, but the technological initiative shown in making the city wireless could predict good things for the city’s future. Right now, only selected areas have received the wireless signal, but those in charge of the project say the whole city should go wireless within a year.

2. Neighborhoods—With about 152 different neighborhoods in Philly, there is a variety of culture throughout the city. There are the well-established areas like Manayunk or Society Hill, or the revitalized neighborhoods like Fishtown and Northern Liberties.

3. Ben Franklin’s birthday—We’ve got a yearlong party celebrating the 300th birthday of a man who has been dead for over 200 years. Maybe it’s a little weird, but regardless, places all over the city are holding special events and offering discounted prices in celebration of Ben’s big day.

4. Center City District—The number of restaurants has more than tripled since 1992. Rather than letting old buildings die, many former insurance agencies and banks have been renovated to house restaurants such as some of Stephen Starr’s 12 Philadelphia projects, including Tangerine and Buddakan.

5. History—It’s one of the more obvious characteristics of Philadelphia, and certainly not often overlooked. However, as our nation’s first capital, Philadelphia has a lot to offer.

6. Mural Arts—With over 2,400 murals throughout the city, Philadelphia is unique in its efforts to celebrate culture through art, as well as keep areas free of graffiti. Not only does the Mural Arts Program provide jobs for local artists and activities for thousands of city youth, but it has become a tourist draw, bringing around 5,000 people to the city every year.

7. Attitude—It might not be the most concrete reason that Philadelphia is on its way up, but there is a distinct attitude to the city that you don’t always find elsewhere. We’re not as polite as some Southern cities, but at the very least, we’re more welcoming than New York City.

8. Live 8—I was there, and although I wouldn’t call it the concert of a lifetime, I do think the city did a pretty good job with organization. For a crowd of that size to hang out all day in Center City, many of them drinking despite the city’s best efforts, the number of arrests and citations was incredibly small. The success of the concert proves that Philadelphia is capable of handling the big events.

9. “Open City”—Urban planner Richard Florida identifies Philadelphia as one of the open cities, meaning the people and the culture here are generally accepting of different cultures, races, ideas, sexual orientations, you have it. Obviously, the city is far from perfect, but the open atmosphere allows for more creative energy and growth, which can only serve to keep Philly moving up.

10. Public transportation—No, seriously. I always thought SEPTA was pretty awful until I traveled to other cities that are much worse. Take Tacoma, Wash., for instance: despite the fact that this city is spread out over several miles of land with all types of water in between, bus service is sporadic at best, and there is no train at all. SEPTA certainly has its drawbacks, but even the fact that it even exists gives Philly a major boost.

angeluccil1@lasalle.edu