recession: Philadelphia Metropolis

The Custodial Mayor

Michael Nutter will be sworn into a second term as mayor of Philadelphia this week. In this Cover Story, senior editor Tom Ferrick offers an appraisal of Nutter's first term and looks forward to the next four years. In Part Two, we examine the broad forces at work that will define Philadelphia during Nutter's second term. (Comments)

Philadelphia 2012

On the week of Mayor Nutter's inauguration, Metropolis takes an in-depth look at Nutter's leadership and the prospects for this second term. In Part Two, we examine the larger trends that define the state of the city in 2011. Read on about the good, the bad and the ugly forces at work in Philadelphia. (Comments)

No Second Act

They say there are no second acts in American lives and that seems especially true of the Occupy Wall Street movement and its local manifestation. In fact, the local protest seems even more askew, at least in its symbolism.  Occupy... (Comments)

The Battle of Point Breeze: Part II

There is a touch of espionage when it comes to people in Point Breeze talking about their neighborhood. Everyone uses code words. Property developers and their supporters aren't building to make money, they're "revitalizing a community." Opposition to development is guised as a fear of "rising property values", instead of a fear of racial change. (Comments)

Answer to No. 7: City Government

The needle has barely moved on city government spending. The general fund, which pays for most government operations, was $3.452 billion 2008, the mayor's first year in office.  This year, it is $3.473 billion, an increase of less than one-half... (Comments)