Get back to the basics, follow the models of the great European and world cities, and put Philadelphia back on the world map with quality architecture. Implode and level the loft district except for a few gems and build a mini World Village. Not the cheesy Disneyland fiasco but a real life living breathing slice of great European + world culture. A few blocks of architecture and culture from each of the great cities of the world eg. Rome,Prague,Madrid,Amsterdam,Paris,London,Dublin,B erlin,Tokyo,Moscow etc etc etc. The suburbanites +European transplants from NYC and DC would flock here, live here, spend money here if you did things right. The black + white Philadlephia isnt working too well, this city is a joke as far as diversity goes. Do something grande to change that , it's disgusting to read about cheap townhouses being the big draw for the renaissance of the Delaware River.

Stop thinking small time and emulating anywhere USA. e.g Waterfront Square. Hancock Square. Think big time, think large scale,think quality.

How about turning this american mess into a world attraction.

Loft district


Prague

I'm not sure if it's fair to put people's wish lists up for dissection, but I just want to add my two cents...

I think the idea of Philadelphia as an international city is a great one to strive for, but I don't think emulating other cities' architecture or planning is the way to go. For one, the places you name have histories and cultures going back for thousands of years and have had time to develop at their own pace and in their own context. Also, I'm not sure if it's possible to create what you describe and not make it look like disneyland or the bellagio...

I think our unique industrial-era history is one we should embrace. Yes those townhomes are ugly and yes there is plenty of lackluster development happening throughout the city. But we're also host to some great ideas as well- onions flats, the $100k house and the big green building to name a few. each of these are reactions to that same industrial component we've been privy to and i think successful, unique ventures we'll be seeing more of in the years ahead. combined with a new mayor that has some big ideas of his own and those same transplants from other cities you mention, i think philadelphia's international reputation will continue to build.

__________________
designphiladelphia.wordpress.com

blah, blah, blah. all has been said before.

thanks for sharing! now stand back- some of us have work to do....

"We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who hope that their dreams will come true."

-Woodrow Wilson

__________________
designphiladelphia.wordpress.com

You mean like this one?

Country Club Plaza, Kansas City (Mo.)


(Named one of "60 of the World's Great Places" by the Project for Public Spaces)

Sorry: Fond of the Country Club Plaza as I am--and it really is worth a trip to Kansas City to experience it; it even has an Apple Store!--instant-Old-World developments in American cities usually seem somewhat artificial. I'm not sure how the Plaza managed to avoid heading in that direction, but somehow, it did. (Perhaps it has something to do with it being built in the 1920s, and as we all know, they just did things better back then.) Nonetheless, one treads down the path you suggest with extreme caution.

__________________
Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
“Basically I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” --Theresa Neilson Hayden

How could this be anything other than gimmicky?

We kind of already have our own version of this, with the tiny, narrow, Colonial streets of Society Hill and Washington Square. Architecture will always be influenced by past styles anywhere from Europe to South America, but photocopying streetscapes from other cultures really only succeeds in a theme park. With that said, I think it is ultimately a good idea look to other cities for inspiration not necessarily carbon-copy ideas, either in the US or globally, and see if they have any practical use in Philadelphia - markets, squares, transportation styles, etc.

__________________
The idealistic are no longer concerned with influencing public opinion and creating a free world of responsible and ethical social choices, but rather imposing opinion through legislation, mandating these ethics, and outlawing choice in what the loudest sample finds offensive.

Ban the Bans. It's a slippery slope between Idealism and Fascism.

Admittedly its ultra-ambitious especially for a city that can't even paint rusty bridges but I'm not suggesting an awkward flimsy poorly built replica of a Swiss Chalet that you would find in Disneyworld, to hell with that. More on the order of an organized army of area developers, city/state/federal legislators,local philanthropists,big regional businesses forming a consolidated corporation to go to Prague,Athens,Madrid,Paris,London,Rome,Tokyo- recruit foreign developers,architects,shop owners,small businesses to be a part of this enormous project. Build a block or two of the Czech Republic that you would see in Prague. Next block Rome with authenic Italian restaurants/shops( at ground level) ideally served by native Italians, above that people living in townhomes modeled after Italian villas. Then a block of Dublin,Berlin,Beijing the possibilities are limitless.

Philadelphia is a perfect spot for such a project, lots of dead space that needs an excuse to be imploded. 50 Million people live within a 6 hour drive and Philadlephia is smack dab between two of the biggest tourist attractions in the USA(NYC+DC). Something like that could put Philadelphia on the world map. It would take the combined efforts of Rendell,Nutter,Suburbs,Brandywine Realty,Liberty Property,Dranoff,Blatstein,Keating,Toll Brothers,Orleans,DavidCutler,Hovanian,Iccobucci,Up enn,Comcast,Sunoco,Aramark,Pew,Nutter etc etc etc. It would need every area heavy hitter that this area has but its something that could conceivably happen if the region acted in unison.

Philadelphia and the metro is slipping slowly but surely in national importance, this would help that problem in a big way.

So your solution is... to turn Philly into EPCOT's lagoon of nations?



Once you get away from the centers of Rome or Paris or Prague or Berlin, they're just as architecturally uninteresting as much of Philly. But what the European cities have going for them is that even if you live in a boring part of town, you can still walk to stores which sell all your basic needs, and your close to the center of [insert historic city here].

To make Philly more exciting and more livable in the way European cities are livable, we'd have to stimulate commercial development in the neighborhoods and public transit connections.

We also (apparently) have to work on getting to tourists to areas outside of "Olde" City and fight the idea that Philly's just a quaint historic colonial town like Annapolis or Williamsburg. It's a shame we demolished so much Victorian architecture in the 1950's, as the draw of Frank Furness and some of the more over-the-top mansion on north Sroad Street (I'm thinking of the Widener mansion, for one), would have provided a way to draw people into coming here for 19th century Philly, which is as interesting as 18th century Philly.

Philadelphia and the region recently bumped Boston out of the #2 slot for historically-minded leisure visitors. We are now directly behind Washington DC and ahead of NYC in that particular niche.

In my opinion (and it's only my opinion) we'd do much better to work on interpreting more of Philadelphia's history. For example: Philadelphia was the back office of the Union effort during the Civil War -- there's no need for us to be a one-war town. To my mind, we should look at more of this "implosion-worthy" city for assets that can be conserved and repurposed.

To give just one idea of the quantity of assets available, go here and look at the map of Civil War-related sites in Philadelphia:

http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/cwgis/

[scroll scroll scroll]

I see someone else is making that same point about being tied to the Revolution and the Independence Park district in a post that I should have read before replying. I personally think that West Philadelphia in the "Centennial District" and Germantown/Mt. Airy/Chestnut Hill are excellent candidates for increased cultural and heritage tourism. GPTMC is making some strides in that regard with its "Quest For Freedom" abolition underground railroad initiative.

__________________
LBphilly
lb_philly@yahoo.com
"Free speech is enhanced by civility."--Tim O'Reilly

Phillyblog's best tool to enhance civility
Look far left on the blue bar, right over the Google search bar:
User CP > Miscellaneous > Buddy/Ignore Lists