Can you imagine a Philadelphia where citizens are so engaged in the city's future that 340,000 of them would show up for an urban planning exhibit? Neither can we.
But apparently that's exactly what happened over two astonishing months in 1947 when the Better Philadelphia Exhibit was on display in Gimbel's Department Store. The exhibit - anchored by a massive model of Center City's present and proposed future - captivated Philadelphians and got residents thinking about the look and feel of the city in a way they never had before.
The Delaware Valley Regional Plannning Commission is hosting a timely retrospective on the exhibit Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m., in the American College of Physician's Building on the corner of 6th and Arch. Why timely? Because a new city commission has just begun the giant task of overhauling Philadelphia's zoning code, a job that will require massive public involvement to be done right.
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