Quote:
Originally Posted by skyhigh07
I think it was mentioned either in the article or the Pew study that Philly is significantly behind many other cities in terms of economic recovery. While NYC is doing worse and the Northeast in general is ranked at the bottom, the West and South are expected to lead the way for continued growth going forward for various reasons.
I agree that there is still time to see where the “dust settles”. However, I’m at the point where I’ve realistically come to believe that thousands of commuters just won’t be coming back. Hopefully, it’s less than expected. In any case, as was mentioned in the article, it will likely have a profound ripple effect on retail, businesses, transit, development, tax revenue etc within the city.
Pew will supposedly release several reports in the coming weeks offering strategies and suggestions the city could undertake to adapt and pivot within a post pandemic environment. I’m sure one will be making Philly a more competitive business environment in some way (lowering the wage tax etc) but might it be too little, too late? If the societal trend is toward “work from home”, then perhaps Philly needs to become just that for better or worse - a bedroom city that also caters to visitors and tourists. I believe it was the urban futurist, Richard Florida, that predicted post pandemic cities could become weekly urban meet up centers for workers where they might have a day of meetings followed by social activities (going to restaurants, events etc). Of course, there will be some businesses that do return to the towers along Market, but the only thing the city has going for it right now is the residential construction boom. If they’re able to make the city an attractive place people want to move to, visit and work from home in, perhaps that’ll plug up the holes in the ship so to speak. Obviously, tackling crime, the homeless/drug situation, trash collection, clean/safe streets are significant priorities that need to be addressed rather quickly. However, at this point, it’s becoming clear Kenney is probably in over his head and not up to the job...
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It's not that grim. Philadelphia is still a major economic force even with it's problems exacerbated by the pandemic (and the problems are hardly unique to Philly). Thankfully the notable institutions located in the city will make sure the city remains economically relevant in the coming decades. Could more be done? Of course! Could leaders take a more proactive and growth friendly approach? 100%! But I still see a bright future for Philadelphia, there is too much momentum to prove otherwise. The biggest hindrance IMO is crap leaders that almost go out of their way to make Philadelphia mediocre rather than world class.
I travel a lot for work, and while Dallas and others are boomtowns, the respective cores are mediocre at best, built around the car and office worker, Philadelphia is the exact opposite, which is a blessing. I was also in San Fran around Christmas for work, and it felt like night and day compared to the rebound of Center City.
Plus, when you break down simple economic stats, housing permits stats, per capita stats, Philadelphia finishes right in the middle of the big city pack, even with a high poverty rate, which was just starting to reduce when the pandemic hit...
And as much as some on here hate to admit, Philadelphia has extremely prosperous suburbs. There is a level of back and forth and musical chair with the burbs, but prosperous burbs and a prosperous core are a perfect storm for continued growth.
In summary, fighting crime and poverty, and investing in pro-growth economic and tourism strategies (LIFE SCIENCES!) are the factors at play that will determine how fast or slow Philadelphia grows/improves in the coming decade. Most of which are intertwined.
Lastly, we all read it, but the Inquirer is a drab paper, and as other posters mentioned, the author just lists Pew findings without any context or greater explanation.
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