The issues for today (Thursday) are in contrast.
The constellation of trends and concerns that we've gathered under the heading Neighborhoods in Flux is tremendously complex. This is one of the gnarliest, most emotional, least understood issues that the Agenda addresses. And it is one whose dimensions and visceral pop emerged (for me, at least) as the biggest surprise out of the forums we did last winter around the city, hitting 30 neighborhoods in 30 nights. I had little idea before those sessions that the prospect of rising property values and new neighbors with nice incomes was cause for such high anxiety for so many. But night after night of hearing people say their biggest fear was "more condos" kind of drove the message home.
The action steps for this issue include some interesting ideas, but I have no doubt that this part of the Agenda falls short of addressing the full nuances and possibilities of the topic. There's so much more that could be said or done on the issue of helping neighborhoods in transition cope, and on the goal of fostering stable, diverse, mixed-income neighborhoods.
We are pretty well persuaded, though, that putting off a tax revaluation again is not one of the helpful steps. In-depth reporting by my Inquirer colleague Tony Wood has established for anyone who cares about evidence that the current system is a machine for punishing homeowners who live in struggling areas. It forces them to subsidize the tax bills of other people with higher incomes and rising equity.
Anyway, this agenda is just a draft; we're looking for your insights and ideas.
By comparison, Arts and Culture is a breeze. It's just a matter of preserving and extending one of the region's best success stories. We had a hard time coming up with really dramatic action steps, particularly for the short term, because the city, the arts community and the tourism industry have made so many right moves in the last decade. To a degree, the message is: keep doing what you're doing, only harder, and we'll try to get you a little more support to do it.
Anyway, fire away when ready. We look forward to your feedback.
-- Chris Satullo
Comments (4)
I agree that the well funded arts institutions are doing well. I would have a hard time knowing that if I looked for any Arts reporting on the Philly.com web pages. Why not have a direct link to visual art reviews on the home page?
Posted by Charles Hankin | November 29, 2007 8:11 AM
Posted on November 29, 2007 08:11
Yes, I second that!
More coverage of the art and design scenes from the major media players. Crime is a concern, but it's far from the only story.
Posted by phillyc | November 29, 2007 5:56 PM
Posted on November 29, 2007 17:56
>I believe very strongly that if we want to
>continue to grow the Arts in Phila. we
>MUST put the Arts back into the Schools,
>at ALL levels, not just in "Special" schools.
>At one time Philadlephia had one of the
>finest &most respected public school Art
>Programs in the world. This was accom-
>panied by after school & Saturday programs
>such as the School Art League. This is one
>reasons Philadelphia has produced so many
>Artists. We were nurtured within the system
>itself, instead of being thrown back out to
>fend for ourselves. I've been both the stu-
>dent & teacher as well as an Artist, in Phila.,
>LA & other cities accross the country. Use
>the Arts to teach Math, Reading, Science,
>History, Language,etc. The Arts help to
>bring everything to life, & give kids the
>extra motivation to come to & stay in school.
Gesshel
Posted by B. GESSHEL | November 30, 2007 12:07 PM
Posted on November 30, 2007 12:07
As an independant commercial artist, we need to figure out how and who is going to help us in city government. Lots of other cities have programs for small businesses and individuals doing arts and culture work. Also, the people who did the Culture, Creativity and the City Town Hall, are on to something. They get that our work is important to the economy as small businesses.
Posted by J.B.H. | December 1, 2007 8:40 AM
Posted on December 1, 2007 08:40