Have you every really taken the time to explore the complex web of Philly-based blogs that exist on the interweb tubes? No, I'm not talking about phillyblog, a great resource, but it makes my brain hurt to read some of those posts.
I'm just talking about clicking through the blog rolls of some of your primary, everyday destinations. The original work and writing being done on some of these off-off Broad Street blogs - at least, they're off-off for me, they may be your primary reads - is fascinating. Here's just a sample of what I found after just 10 minutes of browsing:
I'm not Generation X. Apparently I'm in a generation known as "The Net Generation." I found this out on YPP, admittedly one of my daily reads. But guess who is Generation X or, as the article referenced by the blog post calls it "OGX - Original Generation X": Michael Nutter and Barack Obama. The author of the YPP post goes on to ask some interesting questions about the generational shift in Philadelphia politics that seems to be happening with Mayor Nutter as its standard bearer. The article referenced in the post, a Boston Globe/Braniac piece by Joshua Glenn, is here.
Via the blog Kensingdelphia, here's another excellent piece, also, coincidentally, from the Boston Globe that explains why cities have had no place in presidential politics.
Here's a taste:
Our cities are as important today as they were in 1968, but you wouldn't know it from the first caucus and primary, held in states without big cities. The economy is powered by the idea-rich clusters around New York and San Francisco, not the black soil of Iowa. Yet, Republicans now ignore cities altogether, and Democratic urban policies cater too much to well-organized urban interests. We need national politicians to pay more attention to urban problems, and this will only happen when we start judging them on their urban policies.
Sounds a lot like the message that Mayor delivered to his endorsee, Senator Clinton.
Finally, Phillyskyline.com has a series by Philadelphia-based writer Nathaniel Popkin called "The Possible City." There have been 8 installments so far, but the most current, about SEPTA and its shortcomings as a bus-centric mass transit system effectively explains one of the major reasons why SEPTA is perceived so poorly:
Philadelphia's transit system seems inadequate in comparison to other cities because it is based on the bus. Bus lines don't translate well to conceptual maps and they lack a physical presence, which means they are hard for most people to grasp. A subway system, on the other hand, has stations, stops, and maps so conceptual they simplify city life. And a subway station is a natural place to disseminate information. It is also manned.
He's sooo right. If I could jump on a subway to Manayunk or Chestnut Hill, rather than pay so much more for regional rail or cram myself onto a bus, or, for shame, drive my car, I'd find myself up there a whole lot more.
Reading this led me to click through to Popkin's blog itself, where I found this essay that I missed in the City Paper. Apparently, the palm and tarot card readers say that 2008 is going to be a good year for Philadelphia. But where Popkin really pops is in his description of what this city has gone through - a description that makes one wonder how Philadelphia even exists today:
We have survived, after all. Not merely eight years of John Street, but assault and neglect from every possible corner. We have survived despite the NRA, 1950s zoning, the business privilege tax and Bush tax policy; despite councilmanic prerogative, crack and heroin and meth; despite the barricades at Independence Hall, the loss of Steve Lopez, G-Love and AI; despite 97 straight combined seasons without a championship, Sam Rappaport, Greek-style pizza, and the blown deal for Meyer Werft; despite Vince Fumo and Faye Moore; despite the suburbanization of public housing, the proliferation of the curb cut, the expectation of Sugarhouse and Foxwoods.
Consider that the literary interpretation of this week's events.
WHYY's Liz Fiedler also has an audio version of the whirlwind of events surrounding the inauguration/beatification of Philadelphia's new mayor.
Comments (7)
Michael Nutter is going to be a great Mayor. Notwithstanding, all of his recent appointments include nobody from the ranks of the young professionals who supported him strongly in the primary.
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