[kvanbrunt2]

Actually philly is experiencing a renaissance. Remember the news you hear is MSM. Empty nesters or whoever are moving in and buying 200k to 1m condos. (i don’t think they care if the schools suck) All the old downtown office buildings are now luxury condos and they are building more everywhere — 18th and chestnut, 21th and market today, and i believe another 40 story condo at 20th, 2 at the waterfront, several in old city, and my neighborhood Northern Liberties.

[fortunecookie]

Well, that's good to hear. I had heard the 'base' was crumbling, and, of course, Rendell will use any port in a storm, if it means he can raise taxes. So if that means the MSM has Philly hard luck and rising murder rate stories, oh well. Out here, I hear a mix of good and bad Philly stories, though I haven't been there in years. It should be (re-)elevated to the status of other 'historical' cities, as the birthplace of our constitution. Of course the MSM would need to have any number of disparaging constitution stories at bay if it is, i.e. their interpretation of the 2nd amendment, for starters.

Pittsburgh, closer to me, has had it's share of revitalizations, it's nice to hear Philly is joining in.

[LenS]

A few visible projects in the Center City area doesn’t hide the fact that the city has lost more population (69,000) since the 2000 Census than it did in the entire previous decade (68,000). Philly continues to hemorrhage people. I suspect the recent explosion in crime is only going to accelerate that process as even many of the poorest finally give up and head out. It’s rapidly becoming a city with only the trapped poor and the rich, who can afford to pay for the extra security in Center City.

[BykrBayb]

That pales in comparison to the housing, schools, shopping centers, etc that are popping up on the outskirts of Philly. I recently got lost on a country road I’ve travelled many times. There was an entire town where there should have been farms.