GreatExpectations2007 - Center City REPORT ON CITIZENS FORUM

Date: Jan. 14, 2007

Location: The Inquirer Building

Citizens attending: 92 participants, mainly from Center City. Others were from Fairmount, Northwest Philadelphia and Northern Liberties.

Inquirer observer: Russell Cooke, Editorial Board

Check out reports from the dialogues:

Group One: Led by moderators Ilene Wasserman and Jim Rosenstein.

Group Two: Led by moderators Jean di Sabatino and Jose Morales.

Group Three: Led by moderators Dick Gross and Cathy Smith.

Group Four: Led by moderators Louise Giugliano and Alan Sharavsky.

Group Five: Led by moderators Stacie Molnar-Main and Beth Falkof.

Group Six: Led by moderators Steven N. Pyser and Carol Lydon.

Group Seven: Led by moderator Ellen Petersen.

Participants in each group were first asked to describe one hope or one fear as the city enters its election year. Then each group did an exercise that asked participants 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

Observer's Notes:

Russell Cooke

Editorial Board

Philadelphia could be one step away from being the next great city – literally.

To the thousands of people for whom one doorstep – or more – means that they cannot enter an office building, restaurant, theater or art gallery, the city is being held back by old-style thinking about handicapped access.

That’s a key issue for Great Expectations participant Jennifer Lawson, who gets around in a wheelchair. In terms of recommending her city to visitors and prospective residents, Jennifer thinks of the “three-quarters of businesses” that she cannot enter because of physical barriers as simple as one step.

In one of the several breakout sessions at The Inquirer Building, Jennifer and her husband, Brian, suggested the city adopt a program similar to "one-step rule." That is, if a business entrance is separated from the pavement by only one step, there's an expectation by the city that the owner will install a small ramp.

In the late 1990s, New York City began trying to encourage ramp-building by small businesses by waiving building permits for these minor renovations to storefronts.

Why not Philly, these forum participants asked?

Their group of 13 participants - including old-timers and newcomers to the city, plus a Cherry Hill resident who's worked here all his life - also focused on the need to enhance the city's cultural and entertainment assets. How about coordinating ticket sales among institutions, they suggested?

There was a great deal of affection for the city expressed by members of this group. Boil down their reasons, and they'd fall under the category of livability.

As Bob Davidson, a 40-year resident well-familiar with the logistical hassles of living in New York, said: "Philadelphia is unique because it's a small-scale big city."