It's probably already been mentioned on this thread but Philadelphia going back over the 1.6 million mark, and having its highest population in 40 years (the 1980 census) is in many ways a miracle. I grew up with so many people in the Philly area telling me Philly is Detroit, a dying/dead city--and nothing would ever change that. And in the mid-90's, it really did look that way (read Buzz Bissinger's, A Prayer for the City - for a glimpse into 1990s Philly). Don't get me wrong, Philadelphia still has a lot of problems, it's the poorest big city in America, but the renaissance of Center City and the surrounding neighborhoods over the last 20 years has been remarkable.
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