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Date:                   Feb. 5, 2007

Location:             Mayfair Community Development Center

Participants:        About 20 

Inquirer observer: Chris Satullo, Editorial Page editor

  

Participants were first asked to describe one hope or one fear as the city enters its election year.  Then, participants were asked to imagine they were giving a good friend’s family advice on whether to move to Philadelphia.

  • What would be the pros and cons of that move?
  • What forces and factors underlie those pros and cons?
  • What steps could the city and region take to strengthen those pros or weaken those cons?

For a full description of the exercise, see http://go.philly.com/friendsdilemma

Moderators' Report:

By Jean di Sabatino and Alan Shavarsky  

 

What were the group's most striking hopes/fears?

 

HOPES:

  • After the election, we will be a city of brotherly love or sisterly affection.

  • We will find a way to be open to different folks.

  • There will be a resolution of the drug problem.

  • Leaders and citizens will take a longer, generational view at solving problems.

  • There will be more funding for schools, and schools will improve.

  • Candidates will listen to the people.

  • There’ll be increased confidence in schools.

  • New mayor will talk to the people and care about the city.

  • Crime and violence will be reduced.

  • There will be open, honest racial dialogue.

  • Outcome to elections will keep neighborhoods strong.

  • Increased programs (playgrounds) for children.

  • Clean city that is more environmentally friendly.

  • Politicians will listen to the citizen voices from the forums. 

FEARS:

  • There will be politics as usual.

  • Pay-to-play will continue.

  • Level of violence will remain unchanged.

  • Bankrupt city.

  • No follow through on promises.

  • No change in leadership.

What "pros" emerged as most important?

1. Teaching hospitals and universities

2. Diversity (culture and neighborhoods)

3. History and beauty of the city 

 

What "cons" emerged as most important?

1. Unequal access to services, health care and good schools

2. Crime, drugs, violence 

3. Forces that are changing the neighborhoods

4. Fatalistic, can’t fight city hall attitudes

 

Let's look at the pros and cons in detail:

 

1. Pro: History and beauty of the neighborhood and city

Why is this pro important?

  • Contributes to quality of life.
  • Promotes tourism and increases revenue.

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • Parks, vistas along river – Boat House row

  • Walkability, something to look at

  • Easy transportation into Center City

  • Museums

  • Beautiful western approach to the city

  • Skyline

  • Mummers

What action steps could strengthen it? What actors should do them?

  • Develop exchange trips to various neighborhoods; residents spend the day in a different neighborhood.
  • “Guest Neighborhood Days” with special events like parades, walking tours.
  • Scavenger hunts through the neighborhood – “Get to Know Us”
  • Neighborhood groups designate their own historic sites.
  • Improve the tourist bureau; it does not currently represent all aspects of city.
  • Open historical and entertainment venues to residents that don’t traditionally take advantage of the offerings: Give reduced admission coupons to city residents, and venues should offer free events.
  • Offer entertainment on the Schuylkill River, such as row boats and paddleboats, and expand Segway tours.

2. Pro: Diversity of neighborhoods and cultures  

Why is this pro important?

  • Living with folks different from us potentially promotes tolerance.
  • Adds richness to arts, entertainment.
  • Provides stimulating place for continuous learning.

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • Integrated churches; churches are most segregated institutions.  Mount Airy is an example of diverse community with integrated churches. 

  • Changes to neighborhoods are not always understood or accepted.  Parochialism keeps us from welcoming others.
         --     White flight as an example
         -- Generations living in same neighborhood.
         --     New folks moving in change “shared vision” of what neighborhood use to be.
         --     Neighborhoods were defined by single race, creed, ethnicity – “closed neighborhoods”

  • Schools have greatest potential for promoting understanding of different cultural groups.

What action steps could strengthen it? What actors should do them?

  • Need to find creative ways to accept changing neighborhoods. Look to diverse neighborhoods for examples, e.g. Mount Airy, Frankford and Columbia Avenue at Third.
  • Civic, association, neighborhood groups welcome newcomers – provide “Welcome Wagon.”
  • Have block parties or open-house pot-luck. For example, have a “Pink Flamingo” Party: plastic pink flamingo placed on lawn of house sponsoring the open-house. Flamingo rotates throughout the neighborhood.

3. Pro: Teaching hospitals and universities  

Why is this pro important?

  • Good community-college system providing affordable education to larger number of residents, many of whom are first-generation college students.
  • Creates variety of jobs.
  • World-class services are available to residents. Best medical hospital for children: CHOP – international reputation; St. Christopher’s.
  • Energy of students (graduates) can be “harnessed to fill community needs” through community service supported by universities.

What forces or factors underlie it?

     Historical legacy

Now, the cons ...

1. Con: Unequal access to services, health care and good schools 

Why is this con important?

  • Essential for well-being of all residents.
  • This is a “two-tier city” – haves and have-nots, those with access and those without.  Division is getting greater.  This is detrimental to the future of the city.
  • Can transform city, give opportunity, equalize playing field.
  • If not dealt with, it can remain root cause of violence and crime.

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • Lack of efficient, timely transportation system from every neighborhood prohibits access to services, especially for poorer and elderly residents.

  • World-class health care and delivery systems are unevenly distributed.

  • Lack of information or access to information about city services.

  • Limited number of seats in best schools. 

  • Neighborhood schools are not all equal.  The good schools are really good, the poor schools very poor.

  • Limited mental-health services.

  • Certain residents know how to access the best services of the city; many do not.

  • Lack of strategic city planning that involves stakeholders from all groups.

What action steps could weaken it? What actors should do them?

  • Neighborhood or city advocates for citizens – ombudsmen to help citizens connect to services, increase access to information.
    --     Create materials and run community workshops, such as “How to be Your Own Advocate," or  “How to Navigate Systems to Get Services You Need.” Also develop these in form of games for children to use.
  • Harness power of retirees – “Baby boomers with energy” – to serve as volunteers using specific expertise – e.g. RSVP.

  • Improve access, quantity and quality services by giving tuition reduction or loan forgiveness for local college students willing to give to city through service, service learning
    --     Partner with undergraduate internships.
    --     Develop “City Year” type program.

  • Religious institutions need to encourage volunteers that will work in schools and community, e.g. reading volunteers to listen to children read aloud.

    Develop “Block Grandparent” program
    --     “Safe houses” for children after school.
    --     Caring adults look after children – “takes a village….” concept.

2. Con: Crime, drugs and violence 

Why is this con important?

  • Most critical factor to improve quality of life.
  • Businesses will not come into city if there is a violent place to live and work.

What forces or factors underlie it?

  • Frustration with delay in police response.

  • Judicial system lets folks free.

  • Lack of prison space

  • Judicial elections – don’t get the best candidates.

  • Folks not able to take responsibility for their own neighborhood. When did we surrender control of our own neighborhoods?

  • What do statistics say? We’re addressing the wrong end of the problem – not focusing on preventing via better education and better services such as mental health services. We’re focusing too much on incarceration. We need to emphasize making city better for children. 

What action steps could weaken it? What actors should do them?

  • Revitalize community-based groups to help keep neighborhoods safe.  Engage the Mayfair CDC in more community-building activities: Town Watch, block-captain program; Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.
  • Promote quick response by having police department designate a Town Watch police car that can handle neighborhood calls from Town Watch group.
  • Different cultural groups police in different ways. 
  • Provide more culturally sensitivity training to police and neighborhood watch groups.
  • Use crime listings in newspaper to spot crime trends and target response and solutions to specific offenses.