What better way to start a rainy, post-holiday Monday than to see this letter in the Inquirer. The Inquirer reported and editorialized about a recent visit by the mayor-elect to our neighbor to the south, Chester County.
It doesn't appear that they got much of a response, and the response they did get is an indication of how hard Mayor Nutter is going to have to work to foster that sense of "we're all in this together" with the 'burbs.
So, defenders of regionalism (and opponents, I welcome all perspectives), feel free to comment on why this letter is wrong or right. Here's my attempt:
The common problems listed in last Sunday's article such as education, transportation, taxes and open space are local issues. As such, each area needs to deal with its own problems since each solution will only be suitable for its individual area.
(Me) Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. EDUCATION is only a local issue because of the screwed up way that state funding for schools has made districts so dependent on local sources of money. If the entire Southeastern PA region could get together and demand that the state fund it to the level that the state's own study says it should, then the quality of a child's education wouldn't depend on his or her zip code. TRANSPORTATION is also a very regional issue. No small town, or even city, can support it's own public transit system. Without a vital public transit system to move people from city to suburb and from suburb to suburb, counties will be forced to plan for more roads and highways. Those roads and highways will continue to be congested and once quiet, leafy suburban streets will be choked off by cars. And when it comes time to pay for the necessary infrastructure improvements, education funding, traffic lights, road repairs and everything else that comes with sprawl, guess who's TAXES will be going up? That's right. Everyone's. And why are the surrounding counties finding it necessary to borrow huge sums of money to preserve OPEN SPACE? Ignoring the issues of the core city and the older, more densely populated inner-ring suburbs has led to a mass exodus from those areas - to the developments that occupy formerly idyllic pastures and woodlands.
In contrast, gun control, robberies, killings and related violence are where Mayor-elect Nutter should concentrate on improving/curing the problem first and proving himself before venturing beyond city limits.
(Me) If he's going to have any success, Mayor-elect Nutter will have to be able to attack several issues at once and see that many of these issues are so intertwined that they have to be dealt with at the same time. He doesn't have the luxury of creating a check list and checking off the top of the list before moving on. In fact, if the suburbs cooperate, they may find solutions to their problems - congestion, underfunded arts programs, strained infrastructure.
Local governments have enough difficulty dealing only with issues of area importance, let alone involving outside area governments as well as state and federal governments.
(Me) So does that mean such cooperation shouldn't be attempted? If the people represented by each of these "outside area governments" demanded that their elected officials start working together or face retribution on Election Day, that "difficulty" would disappear pretty quickly. The same goes for demanding that the state and federal government step up and start dealing with issues facing major metropolitan areas.
Basically, issues within Philadelphia only affect suburbanites when they enter the city. In reality they affect only a minor number of non-Philadelphians.
(Me) I won't even get into how many "non-Philadelphians" travel into the city on a regular basis to work, visit a restaurant, see friends and relatives, take in a show, use Fairmount Park, tour historical areas, travel from 30th Street Station or the Airport, and go to one of the many colleges and universities. I'm pretty sure it's not a "minor number."
Let's focus on someone who truly never travels to the city. Every time parkland or open space near that person is used to build a new corporate office center, they're affected by a "Greater" Philadelphia issue (taxes, transportation, building and zoning, etc.) Every time air quality reached dangerous levels or they're stuck in a traffic jam on West Chester Pike, they're affected by a "Greater" Philadelphia issue (again, transportation, environmental regulations).
A. Schantz
West Chester
Thanks, A. Schantz, for sparking today's conversation. To the comments!
Comments (2)
I already said Michael has to earn respect remember. Because he was elected mayor plainly everyone doesn't agree with his notice of priviledged intentions or his forte.
Some of his words might be pleasing to the ear but considering what's real , Michael hasn't proved any structure bracing.
Maybe after he is sworn in he may actually learn to place his mind in the direction of a true transmission sender. Right now his basis of coverage is new to him because he is constantly given the prevailing air of satisfaction 24/7 which is becoming very boring.
Posted by Jasper Zeigler Jr | November 26, 2007 4:12 PM
Dan,
I read that letter, and man am I glad someone took it up. It demonstrates exactly why regional governments are so absent from American goverment. Instead of cooperating as a region -- as so few places do -- so many American towns have simply attempted to shun central and neighboring cities, believing they can have their own little utopia unaffected by their neighbors. Unfortunately for them, we don't get to live in bubbles. So goes the city, so goes the region. Just look at Detroit.
It's similar to what Penn has learned in the last two decades. Where in the 60s and 70s Penn attempted to shut itself off from the outside (designing its buildings to literally turn their backs on the Streets, aiming doors inward), the school has now realized that it is OF, not just in, the city of philadelphia.
Suburbs should take note. Cooperation helps everyone. Someone in Miami who is considering moving to Abington who sees stories about Philadelphia's crime will think twice, even if the shooting took place at 48th and Lancaster.
In conclusion, Amen Dan.
Posted by Goose | November 26, 2007 4:52 PM