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Date:                   Feb. 17, 2007

Location:             The Inquirer building

Participants:        15 students from Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Moderators:        Chris Satullo and Harris Sokoloff

 

Participants in each group were first asked to describe one hope or one fear as the city enters its election year.

Then, participants were asked to imagine that it's 2015 and that the city has mobilized to fulfill its pontential as The Next Great City. Participants put together a narrative about what it's like to live in Philadelphia, what the city does that it didn't use to do, and what does better than before.

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

 

Moderator's Report:

By Harris Sokoloff

 

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

 

HOPES:

  • Elected officials do what they say.

  • Mayor does something about crime; rates decrease.

  • Poverty decreases.

  • Better alternatives for those who do commit crimes.

  • More money for Philadelphia schools.

  • More polices in streets.

  • People will vote on the issues.

FEARS:

  • Murder situation will get worse.

  • Next mayor will surround himself with old buddies, rather than the most qualified.

What issues emerged as most important?

1. Cleanliness

2. Culture/Things to do

3. Crime

4. Poverty

5. Mass transit

6. International business

7. Wireless access everywhere 

8. Education 

9. Welfare 

10. More-affordable health insurance   

Let's look at each issue in detail:

 

1. Clean and beautiful  

 What success looks like in 2015:

  • Streets are clean and attractive.
  • Streets are landscaped with trees, flowers and related objects.
  • There are more mural projects around the city, in the neighborhoods.

What was done to achieve it?

  • The mural-arts project was expanded, to include more incarcerated adults and youth, building their skills and sense of ownership for their communities.
  • Corporations (including law firms, accounting and financial-services firms and institutions including higher education and hospitals) participated as well.
  • An effort, modeled off the mural project, focusing on flowers, trees and landscaping was developed and grew across the city.
  • Public-school students design and implement projects to make the city more beautiful.
  • Courts and jail system have criminals working to clean and improve their neighborhoods.
  • Communities developed beautification projects and competitions.

What actors/resources were vital?

  • Criminal-justice system cooperates with mural arts project and with the greening project.
  • Public schools adopted neighborhoods and streets. 

2. Education  

What success looks like in 2015:

  • Schools have more money for up-to-date texts for students, computers and adequate supplies in all areas (including arts and music).

  • Class size is limited by law to 17, and the law is enforced.

  • New schools have been built in neighborhoods, and others schools have been fixed-up.

  • Bathrooms, once the bane of every school, are clean and have adequate supplies.

  • Curriculum is up-to-date and engage students.

  • Area colleges have become even more involved in public schools – using the Penn Center for Community Partnerships and Temple’s Youth Voices as examples.

  • There are more scholarships than in 2006. In 2006, there were some at $3,000 each for local colleges and universities; now they are more than $5,000 each and for schools in the city and around the country.

  • Schools worked hard to recruit and retain younger teachers, who might develop closer relationships with young students and with high school students.

  • Graduation rates are up and more go to college while those who don’t find jobs in local businesses which are booming.

What actors/resources were vital?

  • Money came from more taxes. There is a larger tax base because the city’s and region’s population is higher and there are more businesses in the city.
  • Taxes are on a graduated system.
  • People don’t seem to mind the taxes because the city has less crime and is cleaner – and they see these improvements as the fruits of those taxes.

3. Public transportation  

 

What success looks like in 2015:

  • Trains and buses run on time and more frequently.

  • There are more routes.

  • Seats are comfortable.

  • Bus interiors are the same – look and feel, even if some buses are smaller and others are larger.

  • Fares are reasonable, and there are no "extras" for going outside of the city.

  • There is a fare card at reduced rates for multiple trips.

  • There is entertainment on buses (video screens), and newspapers are available – more than just Metro but The Inquirer as well.

  • Drivers are better informed (of routes and how to deal with crowds) and have schedules for connecting routes.

  • Drivers are more customer-oriented – polite and welcoming.

  • There is more competition – we have not only SEPTA, but other companies as wells – and fewer strikes.

4. Crime  

 

What success looks like in 2015:

  • The murder rate is half of what is was in 2007.

  • There are more police walking some beats (where needed), and they are assigned to those communities so they know people.

  • Police are more responsive – both overall and in speed - to calls.

  • The witness protection unit is larger and more effective, with people willing to talk.

  • There are fewer guns on the street. The 2007 "groceries for guns" exchange program and other programs have developed, including "tickets to athletic events for guns" and "tickets to culture events for guns" programs.

  • There is less fighting in schools, in part because of a "crime education" program that was integrated into regular courses. This program includes teaching respect, peace education and conflict-resolution methods. Moreover, students who fight in schools are no longer expelled. Rather they are given additional responsibilities and taught conflict resolution.

  • Taxes were increased on automatic weapons and mandatory sentences were given for those caught with illegal guns.

  • There was also an increased tax on buying bullets to make them more expensive. 

5. Celebrities support improvements in the city  

 

What success looks like in 2015:

  • There are more recreation centers in neighborhoods, good housing in the poorest neighborhoods, and schools for performing arts, trades, etc.

  • Celebrities regularly visit the centers, schools, neighborhoods they support, encouraging adults and youth alike. 

What was done to achieve it?

  • The city built on the success of the Gate’s Microsoft High School of the Future, to get other companies and celebrities to sponsor schools and organizations.
  • Leaders recruited Philadelphia-based celebrities to develop projects in their areas of expertise/interest for Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhoods.

What actors/resources were vital:

  • Kobe Bryant (and Richard Hamilton) created recreation centers and leagues for young people. They also brought in scouts from colleges and pro teams.
  • Will Smith lead an effort of Philadelphia-born actors to create schools for performing arts. The first was at Overbrook High School (where he went to school).
  • Oprah Winfrey built new houses in the poorest neighborhoods and underwrote first-year expenses so people could get a head start.