Folks, it’s great to be back home!
I spent 5 days with 6,000 other American and international planners in Philadelphia, learning all about our common problems and opportunities. It’s also a great way for me to get most of my continuing education credits at once.
The southern planners were trying to slow growth through impact fees and other regulations…
The northern planners were trying to redevelop abandoned properties through incentives….
The western planners were grappling with limited water resources…
…and I was somewhere in the middle.
Wow, Philadelphia was a pleasant surprise. It had been 25 years since I was there last and my how it has changed!
Philly is a model for urban rebirth and regeneration…a gorgeous downtown and “Old City”, a redeveloped waterfront (Penn’s Landing), a vibrant arts community, a HUGE and diverse urban market (Reading Market) with local goods (Amish products, fresh fish, Philly cheese steaks, etc.). Thousands (literally) of derelict buildings have been demolished to make way for beautification, pocket parks, and landscaping projects through “Philadelphia Green” (www.philadelphiagreen.com). Center City properties are at an all-time premium. Rooftop patios abound in the seemingly vast inventory of 3-story rowhouses that proliferate throughout the community. Thousands of college students….Temple, Penn, Drexel, Villanova (all schools I knew, but had forgotten were in Philly).
Even with the nor’easter, it was a great experience.
When I was last in Philly, many factories were closing and the population was shrinking. It was overrun with derelict properties, graffiti, broken windows, etc. However, it has rebounded!
One of the sessions I attended was “Incredible Shrinking Cities” where representatives from Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania (specifically Philly) talked about incentives to stabilize and “right size” a community.
The opening statement was “Philly has lost 25% of its population since 1970”.
But…here’s another way of looking at it.
Even with a 25% loss in population, the Philadelphia metro area (population 6,382,784 in 2006) is larger than the entire state of Tennessee (population 6,038,803 in 2006).
The airport experience was not very pleasant, but then again can you imagine if every person in Tennessee tried to use just one airport???
It’s all about your perspective!
Again, it’s good to be home. If you haven’t been to Philly recently, it’s time to visit…but it’s no substitute for good ol’ Kingsport/Tri-Cities!
Jeff
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Community e-news sponsored by Charter High Speed Internet www.charter.com
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to jeff_fleming@earthlink.net
For archival posts, use search feature at www.jefffleming.blogspot.com
www.MoveToKingsport.com
Links:
*Downtown Kingsport www.downtownkingsport.org
*City of Kingsport www.kingsportdevelopmentservices.com
*Small Business www.kingsportchamber.org/kedp/sbSmBusSuprt.htm
*Kingsport-Bristol-Sullivan County www.networkstn.com
*Tri-Cities Region www.tricitiesedalliance.com
*State of Tennessee www.state.tn.us/ecd
*Tri-Cities Regional Airport, Air Cargo & Foreign Trade Zone www.triflight.com
