How do we make downtowns fun again?

 

Cities today are looking to arts and entertainment, drinking and dining, and special events as a way to draw crowds back into urban centers.  As with so many issues facing cities, the challenges and prescriptions are nothing new.

 

When Ed Rendell became mayor of Philadelphia in 1992, the city was going broke, crime was rampant and businesses were fleeing. Philly's future looked bleak, so what to do?  Inject fun into the city.

 

Rendell relentlessly promoted Philadelphia, showing up everywhere all at once.  He legalized sidewalk seating for restaurants so that Center City Philadelphia had more than 400 outdoor dining sites even pre-Covid.  And he introduced the idea of turning Wednesdays after work into a giant outdoor happy hour all over downtown that continues as Center City District Sips today.

 

Hear from former Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor, Ed Rendell, about putting the fun back into Philly:

As part of Wednesday Night Out, Rendell convinced Center City restaurants to offer discounts, coordinated with local museums to stay open late, and increased visible police patrols to make visitors feel safe. 

 

Like Rendell, Mayor Daniel Lurie in today's San Francisco is seen all over town, even at openings of small cafes and coffee shops.  And the city's recovering downtown is now home to a series of fortunate events from Downtown First Thursdays (a three-block street festival that draws up to 20,000 people each month) to regular concerts in a variety of downtown parks to special events such as December's Let's Glow projected light shows.

 

Outdoor dining at Philadelphia's Parc bistro opposite Rittenhouse Square is below:

 

Saving the City creator Ron Blatman was just featured in an extended interview in The Planning Report, a journal about cities out of Los Angeles.

 

 

One of many CCD Sips venues in Center City Philadelphia on a summer Wednesday after work is below:

 

 

Roller skating in summer and ice skating in winter at Dilworth Park abutting Philadelphia's City Hall are below:

 

Movies on The Mall in Center City Philadelphia with Independence Hall in the background:

 

If you like the idea of sharing ways to help make our cities better places (such as making downtowns fun again), join us to help complete the first four 60-minute episodes of the Saving the City series.  

 

. Why Cities Matter

. Living Downtown

. Parks & Recreation

. Family Ties

 

We're finalizing and clearing rights for hundreds of historic images and dozens of archival film clips that appear in our initial group of stories.

 

We are also working on an updated website to be released soon.

 

And, we are seeking a lead funder so we can start on our next six episodes, covering topics such as transportation, homelessness, urban universities and climate change.

 

 

Please share this newsletter with friends and family.  Our newsletter archive is here.

 

And check out our work and let us know what you think.  We're always eager to learn about new stories and be referred to people we should know about.

 

After watching Saving the City, you will never look at cities the same way again.

 

 

“What's the use of a great city having temptations if fellows don't yield to them?”

 

PG Wodehouse, British writer and humorist

The Liberty Bell was originally called the State House Bell. The bell was located in the Pennsylvania State House that was later renamed Independence Hall. When Independence Hall was renamed, so was the bell.