Quote:
Originally Posted by Londonee
I’m a bit torn on this issue. I’m not sure how having a single district comprising most of CC somehow gives it more power? In a way, it consolidates it into one district, with one council member, and actually would work to diminish it’s overall sway across the chamber, no?
I think a big issue is just aligning needs. Right now, when you cross-pollinate constituencies - no one’s needs are being met on a pretty basic QOL level, relative as they may be hood to hood.
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I don't think you're fully considering councilmanic prerogative. It sucks and its a terrible way for a government to function but its the current state of affairs and doesn't seem to be going away. From that perspective, a single center city district gives CC residents way more power over what happens in center city (even if it may reduce their influence city wide).
I don't think there is any question that the development going on in center city is unique and very different from pretty much every other area of the city. With center city carved up into 3 different districts, the final decision on what gets built in our city's core is made by someone who's constituency is:
- all of South Philly east of Broad and most of Fishtown
- all of South Philly west of Broad and Elmwood Park/Eastwick
- or almost entirely north of Spring Garden
That's obviously a problem right? Its a bad setup for CC residents before we even factor in that two of the people referenced above are actively anti-development (Johnson & Clarke) and fight to reduce the height of pretty much every building proposed in their districts. The councilperson job is bigger than just approving development (and there are a ton of other factors that go into it), but I thinks it pretty clear from an urban planning perspective that center city residents have very minimal influence over their neighborhood.
Like, can you imagine if the Sixer's stadium proposal was somewhere else in center city or the lines were drawn differently so that it was in Clarke or Johnsons's district? Its pure dumb luck that the gavel for that decision is held by Squilla (who represents the largest part of CC and probably has the closest district makeup to center city).