No! I definitely dont want an Epcot Center in the middle of Philadelphia and thats not what I suggested.



First off it should be mentioned that Epcot and the "Lagoon of Nations" helps Orlando to annually rank as the top tourist destination in the US.. So you could do worse in choosing places/concepts to emulate. Even with that being said the Lagoon of Nations is a joke, a stage prop if you will.Its a great place if you want to order a Belgian Waffle from an exchange student from Brussels, walk 15 feet and order some Japanese Sushi etc etc from a cute Japanese girl.Thats kidsplay. I'm talking about taking that concept to a completely different level. How about a living breathing authentic slice of world culture becoming a integral part of the city of Philadelphia. Cover the Vine Street Expressway, knock down some of those post industrial dinosaurs and build 2 or 3 blocks of authenic Rome/Naples filled with Italian bistros, opera singers,villas next to present day Chinatown.And so on and so on expanding world culture throughout Philadelphia(which has the land but needs the culture + vision).

Just about the entire Delaware Riverfront needs to be developed. Think big. We are in the middle of the 2nd biggest megalopolis on the planet, if it can work anywhere it would be here. You would probably have to build a second international airport eventually for a such a project.

I think that there should be a citizens patrol armed with tazers zapping all litterbugs, and public spitters, pissers, and dog owning poo-no-picker-uppers.

Oh, yeah the rest of you have some good ideas, too.

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Everything seems to come back to making Philadelphia look like the Disney version of city life. Philadelphia has its own unique history and population to make something great. From the old colonial buildings throughout the city, the Italian Market, sections of Chestnut Hill and Mt Airy that look like something from a Cotswold village, and the Ben Franklin Parkway that is way underdeveloped, there are so many attributes to build on.
Now perhaps the riverfront is the area to really think about a more futuristic development for the city since it's largely a blank canvas.

We need more parking.

In my dream city we would knock down all these empty buildings and put more parking in. For all you damn tree huggers we can plant a tree in the lot. That will make the city more sustainable.

Then you'd see this city realy take off!!!

Actually I think that more parking lots at the periphery of core areas is not such a bad idea.

Those of us who live on "the periphery of core areas" disagree with you.

This city has plenty of parking lots. The problem is suburbanites want to come to the city and park in front of their destination. Hello, welcome to the big city. Park in a garage and walk. If you don't want to pay for parking, take the train. You don't see people in New York or Washington bulldozing their skyline to accommodate the Yellow-tags too lazy to walk a few blocks to the Olive Garden.

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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.

Start by instituting a moratorium on parking lots and garages.

A land usage tax that would encourage parking lots to become parking garages.

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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.

Or a land use tax that turns parking lots in buildings that happen to have parking lots.

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