U. prof hopes to heal the city

Most citizens believe that cities should support themselves. However, City Planning Professor Jonathan Barnett mediated a seven-member panel Monday night that challenged this viewpoint. The panel, held before 100 students and community members in the basement of Meyerson Hall, was comprised of several contributors to Barnett's new book, Planning for a New Century: The Regional Agenda. Many City Planning professors required their students to attend the event. Barnett said he sees his book as a "bridge between leaders in academic life and what people in public life need to know." Each chapter of the book provides a brief description of a problem plaguing cities like Philadelphia, plus a prescription to remedy the problem. "The unit of competition in the global economy is not the city or county, but the region," Center for Great Philadelphia Director Ted Hershberg said. Hershberg, also a Penn History and Public Policy professor, argued that the strength of the region depends on the economic vitality of the city. Paul Levy, executive director of the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation, agreed, saying that he sees improving the city's public education system as a priority for both Philadelphia businesses and residents. Businesses need a well developed local work force, according to Levy. Both pointed to the need for additional resources from the state capital. "Harrisburg is not going to respond to Philadelphia, but they will respond to Philadelphia and the surrounding regions," Levy said. Other panelists said Philadelphia's population decline stems from its high 4.5 percent wage tax, a lack of international immigration and a reorganization of the tax base. Audience members criticized some aspects of the panel. "I thought a lot sounded like the traditional chant and wail of gloom," Delaware County Planning Department employee Mike Farrell said. "The glass is definitely half empty, but there is another side to that glass," Levy said during the panel. He emphasized that "badmouthing" would not garner the necessary appeal from Harrisburg. While first-year Graduate School of Fine Arts student Tanya Washington said she enjoyed the panel, she was less enthusiastic about reading Barnett's book -- calling it too basic for her academic studies. "The book is really written for politicians -- lots of times they need it laid out for them very simply," Washington said.