An Optimist’s Guide to Philadelphia

The past few years have produced lots of bad news about Philadelphia, from crime to the economy to our absentee leadership. But we’ve got a new mayor now — which means there’s a new energy for solving problems — and a renewed sense that what’s always been great about Philly hasn’t changed one bit. In other words, there are thousands of reasons to feel bullish about the future of our amazing city — all you have to do is look around. Things really are sunny here. — Brian Howard

Yes, Philadelphia Is Safer Than They Say on TV

Philadelphia’s public safety is changing for the better. / Photo-Illustration by Leticia R. Albano; photographs via Visit Philly, AP and Getty Images

There are many memorable scenes in Martin Scorsese’s dark but gorgeously filmed 1976 movie Taxi Driver, in which Robert DeNiro plays a New York City cabbie who’s both physically and psychologically repulsed by the decaying metropolis in which he’s drowning. He watches crimes as they unfold and prays that a “real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets.”

If you’ve been a regular viewer of local TV news over the past few years — and especially if you’re a fan and follower of Fox 29 if-it-bleeds-it-leads reporter Steve Keeley — it’s easy to feel this way about Philadelphia. I have many suburban friends who routinely ask me questions like, “What’s going on this weekend?” and “Where should we have dinner next week?” More recently, though, those questions frequently are suffixed by the phrase “ … but not in the city.” Tragic.

True, Philly has seen an ominous surge in gun violence and other types of crimes. These trends were echoed in most other major cities and driven, in part, by the pandemic — but weren’t helped at all by a totally checked-out mayor and an utter breakdown in the relationship between our police department and hyper-progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner. But we have a new mayor. We have new public safety officials. And the fact is: Things are changing. Here, a look at four major categories of crime and why there’s reason for hope. Keep reading …

Allan Domb Is Upbeat About Philly’s Economy (And You Should Be, Too)

Why am I bullish about Philadelphia’s economy — and Philadelphia’s future overall? The number one reason is simple: Cities never die.

Yes, they go through down periods occasionally — sometimes big ones. Philadelphia suffered greatly in the late 1970s and 1980s, when our population was dropping and crime was growing. We’ve faced more challenges in the past few years, thanks to COVID and all the issues it brought with it. But in my experience, whenever cities — ­Philadelphia included — confront setbacks, they figure out ways to reinvent themselves and thrive again.

I believe we’re already witnessing signs of our city being reborn. For starters, I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen from our new mayor, Cherelle Parker, particularly with her focus on public safety and crime reduction. From an economic perspective, nothing is more important. People don’t want to live, work or play in a place where they don’t feel safe. Mayor Parker made a great choice for police commissioner in Kevin Bethel (a protégé of standout commissioner Charles Ramsey), and she’s rightly prioritized shutting down the open-air drug market in Kensington, which is at the root of many of our crime and quality-of-life issues. Making our city safer is a necessary first step if we want a strong economy. Keep reading …

5 Big Reasons to Be Optimistic About Philly’s Food Scene

There are so many reasons to be optimistic on Philly’s food scene. / Photo-Illustration by Leticia R. Albano; Photography by Mike Prince (5); Branca: Kerri Sitrin; Crudo: Stuart Goldenberg; Fire Roasted Ulam Platter: Neal Santos

There’s been a palpable sense of exuberance around Philly’s restaurant scene lately. With all the national accolades and awards, the industry is responding with ambitious projects, over-the-top menus, decadent dinner parties, and once-in-a-lifetime nights that produce stories prefaced with “You just had to be there.” It’s giving Gatsby. It’s giving razzle-dazzle. It’s giving that flurry of post-pandemic let-loose energy akin to the Roaring ’20s. Here’s what we’re looking forward to as we frolic in Philly’s dining boom. Keep reading …

12 New Philly Real Estate Projects to Dream On

From parks to a face-life for 30th Street Station, these upcoming real estate development projects make us hopeful for Philadelphia’s future.

Any discussion about development in Philadelphia eventually ends up at the elephant in the room: 76 Place, the proposed downtown basketball arena that is, depending on your perspective, either a game-changer or a world-ender. But lo! There’s a whole city full of other, less contentious development projects to get excited about. From sprawling life-sciences complexes to a face-lift for 30th Street Station to downtown-redefining highway-cap parks, here are 12 projects we’re unabashedly excited about. Keep reading …

Believe It Or Not, Philadelphia Is Getting Cleaner

/ Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress; illustration via Getty Images

A few years ago, my wife and I moved into a house in South Philly. It’s a great house, full of light and warmth and laughter, a home where our two kids will, we hope, spend their whole childhoods.

It wasn’t until we’d moved in that I realized it’s also downwind from Pat’s and Geno’s, which means that a tumbleweed of beefy wrappers billows down the block daily, winding around car tires and jamming storm drains. Some days, this morass is joined by my neighbor’s stack of Pick-3 tickets, and on others by a frankly impressive fleet of Modelo cans. A few times a month, I head out with a pair of gloves, my trash claw, and a pumped-up sense of civic pride, and I clean my block.

During these excursions, I’ve noticed one thing missing from the maw: plastic bags. In just the first year following the city’s ban on their distribution in July 2021, an estimated 200 million bags (yes, you read that correctly) were suppressed from the system, clearing up storm drains and relieving our water management system. (Don’t believe me? Head to your nearest creek, where plastic bags once regularly dotted the banks post-flooding.) And this is just a small piece of my rose-colored optimism. Keep reading …

10 Philly Voices That Give Us Hope for the Future of City Politics

New energy is coming to Philadelphia politics, and the future is bright. / Photography by PA House Democratic Caucus; Chris Baker Evans; Drew Dennis; Jared Piper; Cambriae W. Lee/ACLU-PA; Desmond McKinson; Vernon Ray Jr.

Though we all like to laugh at that old Lincoln Steffens quote about Philadelphia being “corrupt and contented,” there’s truth behind its longevity. Philly politics has given us no shortage of reasons — from abject corruption to criminal lethargy — to feel despondent about our city officials in recent decades. However, this year, the tide feels like it — knocks on wood — could be turning, thanks to a group of politicians, activists, and community advocates, some new and some simply bringing new energy, giving us hope that things can be different. Keep reading …

40 Random, Totally Unrelated Reasons Why We’re Optimistic About Philly

There’s just so many reasons to feel good about Philadelphia. So we put them on a chart. (Who doesn’t love charts?) Click chart to enlarge.

Published as “An Optimist’s Guide to Philadelphia” in the April 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.