Why White Migration to Center City is Unlikely to Save Philadelphia. For the first time in 60 years, Philadelphia is adding white residents more quickly than it is losing them: 3,980, to be exact, as reported in Thursday’s Philadelphia Daily News. But as The20’s @pkerkstra writes Friday, that may not save the city.

“For every rowhouse Rocky who leaves, there’s a white empty-nester or young college graduate who moves in, usually to Center City or one of its bordering neighborhoods.

The white residents swelling Center City tend to be reasonably well-off and highly educated. That means they pay a lot in taxes while requiring relatively little in the way of city services, a combination that makes them a welcome addition to the poorest big city in the country.

Of course, there are some drawbacks to their increase in Philadelphia. Gentrification tensions are common along many of Center City’s bleeding edges. And one wonders what will happen to Philadelphia’s very identity - so closely linked to the city’s white ethnic neighborhoods - once the white population is dominated not by Joey and Stacey from the block, but by Jacob and Sophia from Swarthmore.”

Kerkstra also mentions urbanist Alan Ehrenhalt’s new book The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City, which covers the demographic inversion taking place in America, where central cities increasingly are where the affluent want to live, while suburbs are becoming home to poorer people and those who come to America from other parts of the world. 

In talking about Philadelphia, Ehrenhalt shows that it takes more than a few - or even a bunch of - rich white people moving downtown to save a city. At its core, Philadelphia is, as Ehrenhalt says, “a fashionable city center surrounded on two of its four sides by a periphery of seemingly endless poverty.”

More from Kerkstra:

In Ehrenhalt’s view, Philadelphia’s liabilities - namely the blight, violence, and taxes - are so extreme they will ultimately put a halt to Center City’s growth. In other words, instead of the engine that powers the redevelopment of all of Philadelphia, Center City is more likely to stay an affluent island amid mass poverty.

-LD

@pkerkstra, Philly.com, Amazon

Will Corbett’s Handling of the Sandusky Case Hurt the Pa. Governor? The20’s @pkerkstra wrote a very interesting column this morning over at The Philly Post, where he essentially explores Corbett’s creation of the “Child Predator Unit” (a specially trained unit of investigators and prosecutors tasked with putting child sex abusers in prison) as his chief accomplishment as state attorney general, a step along his way to election as governor.

But now, amidst the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, is Corbett’s reputation at stake?

Corbett apparently first heard of the Sandusky case in March 2009 and subsequently accepted gubernatorial campaign contributions from Second Mile board members (despite turning down contributions from many state lawmakers).

From Kerkstra:

It wasn’t until January, when a new state police commissioner took office (and Corbett was sworn in as governor), that an additional seven investigators were added to the investigation….Did Corbett slow-walk an explosive investigation out of fear that exposing a scandal at the heart of an institution like Penn State football would wreck his chances to become governor?

Pennsylvania voters have generally given Corbett the benefit of the doubt, and he seems to be handling well. And on Tuesday, he signed into law a bill that expands the state’s version of Megan’s Law and brings Pennsylvania into compliance with federal sex-offender registration standards.

But if he did in-fact slow-walk the investigation, what could that do to his reputation?

-LD

[@pkerkstra, The Philly Post]

Photo: Facebook

Time For Occupy Philly to Go? It’s been a tumultuous couple of days at the Occupy Philly camp down at City Hall. On Saturday, a 23-year-old woman was allegedly raped. On Sunday, Mayor Michael Nutter spoke about the group, saying (among other things):

“Occupy Philly is fractured with internal disagreement and disputes. The people of Occupy Philly have changed and their intentions have changed. All of this is not good for Philadelphia. We must change our relationship with them.”

The Occupy Philly camp responded on Monday, albeit briefly. Their permit at City Hall expires Tuesday, so the protestors need to leave Dilworth Plaza to allow the $50 million revitalization project to begin.

The 20’s @RichNegrin (also the city’s Deputy Mayor and Managing Director), who has been communicating with the protestors from the start (depicted in this Metro-compiled collection of tweets), said on Twitter early Tuesday that the Occupy Philly folks rejected a meeting, then claimed not to have information, linking to a Philly.com story.

@RichNegrin: Occupy Philly rejects meetings that would have provided info. Then claims not to have info. Cute. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/133861283.html

The Philadelphia Daily News then wrote an editorial on Tuesday morning, listing eight reasons why it’s time to “Un-occupy Philly.” The reasons they list:

1. We want our space back.
2. The protest has cost $500,000 so far.
3. What are you doing, anyway?
4. The First Amendment isn’t absolute.
5. Dilworth Plaza’s renovation must start.
6. It’s getting dangerous.
7. There are complaints of public defecation and urination.
8. Speaking of gross: ear gauges. They should have stayed dead back in the 1980s.

The20’s @pkerkstra followed that up with a post of his own this morning for The Philly Post titled “Bloomberg Clears Zuccotti Park: Is Occupy Philly Next?” He concludes the piece by saying:

“So long as the police handle the eviction professionally—and we have every reason to think they will, given how well they’ve handled themselves to date—Nutter will come out of this ok. Occupy Philly? Not so much.”

So what do you think? Is the time up for Occupy Philly?

-LD

[NBC Philadelphia, Philly.com, Daily News, @RichNegrin, @pkerkstra]

Photo: Getty Images

Feeling Sick, Philly? Nutter Doesn’t Feel Your Pain. Late last night, Mayor Michael Nutter vetoed the paid sick leave legislation, saying in short, “it would raise the cost of labor for local businesses.” This morning, Philadelphians reacted to the bill that City Council will have the summer to think over.

The20’s @PKerkstra went on Twitter and said:

Nutter vetoes sick leave bill. It’s a tough bill to kill for obvious reasons. But letting it stand might have been his final break with biz.

And The20’s @PhillySmurfette tied the veto back to the schools, saying:

You know, I think it would be greedy of me to expect Ackerman to be gone in the same week that Nutter vetoed Paid Sick Days. I’ll wait a week.

Are you with Nutter’s position here or against it? Vote on our NBC Philadelphia Facebook page.

-LD

[NBC Philadelphia, NewsWorks, @PKerkstra, @PhillySmurfette]

Photo: Getty Images