Center City getting better, survey says

But students are still not opting to live downtown after graduating college. Center City is just a pit stop for graduate students, few of whom are likely to settle in Philadelphia after they get their degrees, according to a recent study. According to the Center City District's third annual "State of Center City" report, eight out of 10 survey respondents feel that the "general atmosphere" of Center City improved this year. Last year, about 70 percent of respondents expressed similar sentiments. But only 6 percent of respondents under the age of 30 rank the region as an "excellent" place to live. As a result, the study said retaining "well-educated, upwardly mobile people in the region" should be top a goal for the city. About 4,081 students from Penn and Drexel live downtown, the study says. According to the survey, the large number of students living in the Philadelphia area make it a close second to the New York City region. But the difference between the two cities is that "we're not getting enough students to settle" in Philadelphia, said CCD Executive Director Paul Levy. Levy said he did not know why more students were not settling in Center City. Crime continues to fall in Center City, as it has for the past few years. Serious crimes -- including homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and auto theft -- fell 30 percent from 1996 to 1997, and 1,080 new light fixtures were installed last year. Still, the study says the area continues to be plagued by auto theft. The CCD is a 7-year-old quasi-governmental agency in charge of improving cleanliness, lighting, retail and safety downtown. The District, which gets its revenue from taxes on local businesses, is the model for the recently-created University City District. Several University graduate students, reinforcing Levy's concerns, said a variety of factors contributed to their decision to leave Center City after graduation. Tara Gibson, a sixth-year Biomedical graduate student, said it is unlikely she will ultimately remain in Center City, mainly because "job opportunities will take [her] to other institutions" outside Philadelphia. Second-year Wharton graduate student Jeff Schiamberg also said he plans to leave Center City and return home to Los Angeles when he graduates in May, noting that Wharton students tend to "return to where they are from after graduation." Still, students said they enjoyed living downtown, saying they believed the area was safe and vibrant. The survey also reported that the number of restaurants in Center City has increased to 475 establishments, a 28 percent increase from one year ago. Gibson said she and her husband chose to live downtown because of the area's cultural, shopping and dining opportunities. "Barnes and Noble and everything in Rittenhouse [Square] is open late, and there's always a lot of people out late and enjoying the city," Gibson said. Gibson lived in West Philadelphia during the first two years of her graduate study. But she moved downtown because Penn offered her "no place to hang out at night" and because she thought Center City was "safer." Sixty-seven percent of the respondents said they feel safe "always" or "most of the time" in Center City. The figure represents an increase from the 61 percent of respondents who gave a similar answer last year. Schiamberg said he feels the area's appearance has improved this year. "There are fewer homeless people accosting you on your way back from class," Schiamberg said. "It does seem like, in general, things have gotten a little more tame." Gibson added that although she has never been a victim of crime, she recognizes that anything could happen near her home near 22nd and Locust streets. A murder and carjacking recently occurred near her residence, she said. Schiamberg said he originally chose to live in Center City because officials at a Wharton School orientation encouraged students to do so. Also, "since we do a lot of work in groups, it makes sense that we all live near each other downtown," he said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.