Seattle: first three weeks

So,

Now we live in Seattle.

We arrived around midnight of May 23-24 after a cross-continent airplane ride with two cats in Sherpa carriers. They engaged in a back-and-forth, call-and-response symphony of meows and crankiness. It could have been worse, I suppose, but I was somewhat concerned when I noticed that one of them was foaming slightly at the mouth near the end of the trip.

All is well. The cats actually look very happy in the new place and seem to be digging the change in weather as much as I am.

Here are some initial observations based on a few weeks of living here. Of course, I reserve the right to change my tune after more time has passed and to deem all these as the naive observations of a new resident.

The "Nice" Factor
I can guess that Seattleites may be tired of hearing this all the time, but it is quite striking how personable, chatty and helpful people are to each other despite being complete strangers. I often find myself in that odd mental state where I am not certain if I am engaging with someone who has some ulterior motive and is about to con me or if I am being regaled with authentic good intentions. Luckily, L. works in the restaurant industry. She can handle these overtures much better than I - I tend to mumble, grumble and change colors to meld into the background...much like an octopus.

That said, I do appreciate this trend when it comes to dealing with, say, public transportation or city services. When the bus drivers wait for people to catch the bus even though they are 1/2 block away or will spend 2 minutes of their time giving directions or helping people figure out the transportation system, you know you are not in SEPTAland (Philly) anymore.

That said, I like this description of the "Seattle Nice" factor:

...a chilly Scandinavian undertow continues to tug at the soul of the city.

"Strangers when they first arrive say this is quite a friendly town," Raban said. "They don't realize that the good manners are usually more of a protective barrier than an invitation to intimacy."

Crosswalks and Cars

People obey the "Walk/Don't Walk" signals here. Apparently this is the result of actual enforcement of jaywalking laws and stiff fines; but it seems to stem from something more fundamental -- a respect for some kind of civic order.

In Philly, crossing the street (whether you had the right of way or not) always involves being sensitive to a matrix of observations, expectations and behavior. In other words, assume you will get run over no matter what. In Seattle, there have been dozens of times where we've done the pedestrian mambo with a car that is trying to turn a corner or coming out of some garage....

Look..shuffle a little...pause...Look...evaluate...shuffle a little...pause...Look...evaluate......

During this sequence, cars stay still and their drivers look at you with benevolence. Cars here will wait and not move until your pedestrian rights and privileges are exercised to their fullest. We must look like neurotic chipmunks.

Here, take a look at this article on the "Seattle Freeze" -- apparently this post is not that original and my newcomer's syndrome has already been pinned and mounted for study.

Weather
So far, it has been about 10-30 degrees cooler in Seattle than in Philly...I've been checking the weather reports...that's what I do. Combine this with maritime features that I love, and I'm abuzz with happy chemicals: breezy, quick moving and low altitude clouds, misty sprinkles, dark clouds that contrast with aquamarine colored skies....you get the picture.

Neighborhood and Seattle Growth
We live in Belltown -- this was an area that used to be a desolate extension of the downtown area that was filled with drug dealing and decrepit buildings. Over the decades, it evolved into a fringe area where artists and musicians emerged and shared the area with the drug culture and is now a condo-happy neighborhood with galleries, restaurants, nightclubs, etc. You know, the usual urban revitalization story...with some differences.

There are still drug dealers around and some kind of equilibrium has been reached between the better-off newer residents and the druggie/hobo presence. Well, there seems to be equilibrium on the streets, but there have been noises about "cleaning up the neighborhood" as more people of my general ilk move here.

Seattle (city) is expected to grow from ~570,000 to about ~600,000 in the next 5 years or so. That whopping growth rate has spurred condo developments all over town -- most notably in the South Lake Union area. At the moment, South Lake Union looks like Berlin in the early nineties -- construction cranes everywhere. Belltown and South Lake Union have managed to remain "low altitude" when it comes to construction. This allows, among other things, a clear view of the Space Needle. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next 5+ years. We'll probably be one of those sparking demand for such construction in the next few years.

OK, that's it for now. So much to write about but I do not want to create a wall of text.

Philadelphia Construction: The Skinny

The folks at Philadelphiaskyline.com have been much more industrious when it comes to keeping up with the state of new construction projects in the city than I have. Take a look at their compendium of projects in The Skinny.

I covers most projects ranging from residential construction, cultural projects, transit projects etc. A good resource.

Philadelphia: an ephemeral city?

Interesting article positing a developing trend in major urban centers around the world:

The Rise of the Ephemeral City

About Philadelphia:

In places like Philadelphia, these central areas serve as "Potemkin cities" that persuade outsiders and suburbanites that the city is still habitable and worth visiting. But those who study the urban condition understand the limitations of this strategy. "Downtown has done great, but it does not represent the rest of Philadelphia," Gyourko says. "That's our story--a bright spot where fundamental decline is still in play."

This link came to me via Peter Merholz's blog.

What's cooking...

Here is a quick recap of some of the events and items capturing my attention these past few weeks:

Flickr
Opened an account in Flickr and placed a photo feed on Elliptic (see the right-sidebar). This will allow me to keep a frequent feed of photos rather than only creating albums every so often. Flickr is an interesting site for many reasons - I've already discussed one of them.

"Home"
My old college friends, Matt and Jen, have made a film that is curently touring the film festival circuit. In true independent (read: financially-strapped) spirit, I was an actor, cameraman, boom operator, lighting monkey and associate producer (among other things). Now if I could only get my act together and assemble a crew to do my own script.

Philadelphia Film Festival
Here is an initial list of films I am planning to view:

• 5 x 2: Five Times Two  dir. Francois Ozon
• Ma Mere  dir. Christophe Honore
• Lonesome Jim  dir. Steve Buscemi
• Clean  dir. Olivier Assayas
• Kings and Queen  dir. Arnaud Desplechin

Philadelphia Bloggers cont.

Since I have been such a slacker at keeping the blog updated, I though I'd post a fresh list of Philadelphia bloggers to keep you occupied until I get my act together.

• A Smoke-Filled Room
  
• Fables of the Reconstruction
• artblog
• Blankbaby
• PhillyLunchBox

Not too sound completely self-obsessed, but I promise to spark this blog up a bit in the near future.

Poked out of my hiatus

Well,

I have neglected this place for a while but have been prodded by a recent flood of comments to two entries about Philadelphia:

• Future Philadelphia Skyscrapers?
• Philadelphia Public Transit in Trouble

Not surprising given the recent news that Comcast will be proceeding with building its national HQ in Center City Philadelphia with, what will be, the tallest tower in the city and the news that SEPTA has been given some stop-gap funding to prevent huge fare increases and substantial reductions in service.

Alright, I have been shamed by the readers who are more willing to post here than I have been. I will re-energize this place.  Thanks.

The Urban Archipelago

From the editors of The Stranger in Seattle:

The Urban Archipelago

I am not in agreement with significant portions of their manifesto and a lot of it is chock-full of excessive rhetorical flourishes -- but it certainly feeds that part of my soul that is a bit pissed off.

Excerpts:

It's time to state something that we've felt for a long time but have been too polite to say out loud: Liberals, progressives, and Democrats do not live in a country that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to Mexico. We live on a chain of islands. We are citizens of the Urban Archipelago, the United Cities of America. We live on islands of sanity, liberalism, and compassion--New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and on and on. And we live on islands in red states too--a fact obscured by that state-by-state map. Denver and Boulder are our islands in Colorado; Austin is our island in Texas; Las Vegas is our island in Nevada; Miami and Fort Lauderdale are our islands in Florida. Citizens of the Urban Archipelago reject heartland "values" like xenophobia, sexism, racism, and homophobia, as well as the more intolerant strains of Christianity that have taken root in this country. And we are the real Americans. They--rural, red-state voters, the denizens of the exurbs--are not real Americans. They are rubes, fools, and hate-mongers.

If Democrats and urban residents want to combat the rising tide of red that threatens to swamp and ruin this country, we need a new identity politics, an urban identity politics, one that argues for the cities, uses a rhetoric of urban values, and creates a tribal identity for liberals that's as powerful and attractive as the tribal identity Republicans have created for their constituents. John Kerry won among the highly educated, Jews, young people, gays and lesbians, and non-whites. What do all these groups have in common? They choose to live in cities. An overwhelming majority of the American popuation chooses to live in cities. And John Kerry won every city with a population above 500,000. He took half the cities with populations between 50,000 and 500,000. The future success of liberalism is tied to winning the cities. An urbanist agenda may not be a recipe for winning the next presidential election--but it may win the Democrats the presidential election in 2012 and create a new Democratic majority.

These, of course, are broad strokes. We all know that not everyone who lives in the suburbs is a raving neo-Christian idiot. The raving neo-Christian idiots are winning, however, so we need to take the fight to them. In this case, the fight is largely spiritual; it consists of embracing the reality that urban life and urban values are the only sustainable response to the modern age of holy war, environmental degradation, and global conflict. More important, it consists of rejecting the impulse to apologize for living in a society that prizes values like liberalism, pluralism, education, and facts. It's time for the Democratic Party to stop pandering to bovine, non-urban America. You don't apologize for being right--especially when you're at war.

| Robert J. Vanderbei's Electoral Map Variations |

Philadelphia Public Transit in Trouble

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has announced that it will be forced to:

• Eliminate all weekend service,
  
• Increase fares an average of 25 percent, and
  
• Fire 16 percent of its empoyees,

by January 1, 2005 if the state legislature does not increase its funding to cover a $62 million deficit.

See "SEPTA warns of deep cuts" in today's Philadelphia Inquirer.

Though I am not privy to the details of SEPTA's operations and budget, I believe they have a serious perception problem to address. SEPTA operates two urban subway lines, a citywide bus and trolley system, eight regional rail routes and one regional high-speed rail line.

The frequency of service does not compare to the frequency offered in other cities with a similar or smaller population number (think Boston or San Francisco). Stations and busses are often dirty, in disrepair and in dire need of renovations.

It is a mystery how a public transit system that is not as active in its service timetables and in its renovation initiatives as other cities can be is in such financial straits.

In a nutshell, the poor quality of SEPTA's service and facilities paired with the fact that its fares rank consistently among the top 3 in the nation makes one wonder whether a serious amount of mismanagement is occurring.

Granted, perhaps it is the case that SEPTA does not receive an adequate amount of state and/or national support. I do not know -- I will research and post what I can find.

Update
From Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers:

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania funds transit in a vastly different way from other states: (1) There is no single adequate, reliable funding source for public transit, (2) Transit agencies must recover half of all costs from their fare box. This has meant years of service cuts and higher fares.

Without reasonable increases in operating support from the Commonwealth, transit in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, is being pushed into a descending spiral of service reductions, fare increases and loss of ridership. For six of the past nine years, the state has not increased subsidies for public transportation; as little as three-percent increase per year would have avoided the crisis public transportation is now facing.

Regardless of whether SEPTA is bailed out or not, the city, state and national agencies need to clamp down on SEPTA and consider a serious overhaul of its operations.

Or so goes the perception of a disgruntled rider.

| Save Transit Coalition |
| Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers |
| Phillyblog Discussion Forum |
| Pennsylvania Senate Bill #1162 (PDF) - for the establishment of dedicated funding to public transportation systems |

Alternative Political Parties

After a screening of "The Corporation," someone approached me asking to sign a petition to include Green Party candidates in the Pennsylvania ballot this November. The Green Party candidates would include three state offices and their presidential candidate. I signed the petition.

A great friend of mine expressed his disappointment at my choice and even though we have not had a chance to discuss it, I wanted to solidify my thoughts. So you, dear reader, get to endure the initial rough draft.

The groundwork:

1. I will vote for John Kerry this November.
2. I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000.
3. I despise what the George W. Bush administration has wrought.
4. I believe that an increased plurality of parties and options on our ballots is, for the most part, a good thing in the long-run
5. Ralph Nader is not the presidential candidate for the Green Party this election.

View 1:

Allowing alternative parties to have a presence in the ballot is tantamount to allowing the possibility of votes moving away from John Kerry and Democrat candidates. This shift in votes presents the clear and present danger of tipping an important state toward George W. Bush and toward Republican candidates for other offices.

There has been no wider chasm, in my lifetime, between voting for the Democratic and Republican parties. The infestation of certain policies and views into government agencies and courts has had and will have an impact on government policy for years to come.

Because of this, it is wiser to put aside more theoretical views endorsing an increased plurality of parties in the long-term and choose the more pragmatic, immediate need of supporting the party that has the best chance of dislodging the present, despicable administration. A stronger formulation: it is irresponsible to make it easier for the present administration to rule another four years and continue placing their policies into our government agencies and courts.

See, for instance, The Nader Factor: a site founded by "a group of Democratic strategists" dedicated to winning over "Nader Democrats," according to the Washington Post.

View 2:

A central tenet of democratic principles includes providing access to as many government options as supported by a society. In order for an option to be viable in a democratic process, it is acceptable to require a minimal threshold of support to be met for such an option to be available to the entire populace (thus the petition signing drives).

If non-traditional parties ask for support to be considered an option during an election, authentic adherence to democratic (little "d") principles should lead one to, at the very least, consider whether that party's platform should be available for evaluation and selection during an election. Choosing to support a party's access to a ballot should not be confused, obviously, with choosing that party during an election.

Even if the presence of those parties creates the possibility of eroding support for the party one supports, principled adherence to democratic principles should lead one to risk that possibility. After all, one should support giving voice to sectors of the populace and the minimal threshold has been met.

The presence of these options should make the political discourse richer -- traditional parties are now pressured to evaluate the positions of those additional parties and choose to incorporate them or offer their own explanations of why and how they differ from those views. The electorate receives an improved spectrum of discourse. Well, one would hope!

My view:

Of course, there are more than those two views and you are welcome to add subtleties and variations I chose to omit. My view is very close to View 2.

I wrestle with View 1 all the time and I do have retrospective regrets for having chosen Nader in 2000. However, this particular case is different. The distinction is between allowing options on the ballot and choosing the option in the ballot that weakens the party that has the best chance to remove George W. Bush.

Is endorsing more theoretical, foundational democratic principles a naive, dangerous position given the contrast between Democrats and Republicans in 2004? I do not think it is naive, but it is dangerous. But this danger is inherent to any system where you allow the populace to decide what people and principles will guide a society.

If the presence of these parties in the ballot results in a GWB victory, I will feel awful. But I will not target the alternative parties as the source of the catastrophe. I will look first at the failure of the Democratic party to appeal to this growing dissatisfaction in the populace and I will look at the electorate's poor judgment. However, I will not regret allowing the options to exercise this judgment to be present in the ballots.

Political Pragmatism:

Some may say that an adherence to abstract and vague "foundational democratic principles" have to be put on hold when the effects of such adherence will have a pivotal impact on whether we will have a better, more humane and sensitive party in power. The pragmatic pull is a strong one and it has swayed me to vote for Kerry.

This pragmatic pull, however, does not sway me when it comes to ballot accessibility by legitimate parties that are trying to meet the threshold lawfully.

Tough cases?:

Case 1: Well, given your principles, would you sign a petition asking for ballot access to the Nazi Party of the U.S.A.?

No. The difference lies in the fact that such parties have platforms that run counter to fundamental democratic and human right principles. There is no contradiction in not choosing to support their presence in a ballot. If they manage to meet the required threshold for presence in ballots, then I worry about the kinds of people in my society.

Perhaps this tough case is a bit of a straw man -- it will get more difficult with less extreme cases that are despicable yet where it is not immediately evident that they violate fundamental democratic and human right principles. Can anyone think of less extreme cases?

Case 2: Some reports have suggested that activists from some alternative political parties have been presenting their petitions as voter registration drives, covering up the language in the petition that makes it clear that it is a petition to give the party presence in state ballots.

| Dems challenging Nader's bid in Pa. |

Despicable behavior that must trigger investigations to determine whether this is party sanctioned behavior or horrible tactics by foot soldiers. If true, either way, those parties should be sanctioned. Though I must admit that I am undecided whether the sanctions should include something as severe as removal of the party from the ballots. Without a doubt, the fraudulent signature should not count toward that end.

-----

If you have other tough cases, please feel free to set them out. There may be tougher ones I have not thought of.

So, given that I have often told people that I am an "apolitical" being and that a central tenet of Elliptic Blog is to pursue "economy of oral or written expression," I seem to have run counter to those statements. I guess I have changed.

Thanks for enduring this.

| Public Agenda |
| League of Women Voter's Democracy.net |
| CNN's "The Issues" - for what that's worth |

Philadelphia's Center City Demographics, continued

The Center City District and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation have made available another report that presents a wealth of demographic, economic and cultural information about Center City Philadelphia.

Here is a sample of some of the illustrations / charts in the reports to give you a sense of what to expect:

| State of Center City 2004 (PDF) |
| Philadelphia's Center City Demographics - Elliptic Blog posting; 1/1/2004 |

"Creating a Competitive Destination City"

The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau has released a report designed to target investment and development initiatives in Philadelphia within the next five years with the aim of enhancing "the visitor experience in Center City Philadelphia." The report was prepared by the Center City District with MGA Partners, Architects.

One of the most interesting aspects of the report involves the discussion of "Gaps in the Fabric of the City" and the recommendation of treating a "Y" shaped area of Center City as top priority when it comes to substantial capital investments. The "Y" pattern is formed by:

• The Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• Market Street East / Center Square
• Broad Street (north and south of City Hall)

It also discusses longer term development in, what it calls, the "Centennial District" and "Independence Harbor" -- the latter including Camden, NJ.

| "Creating a Competitive Destination City" (PDF) |

Slots in Center City?

The Philadelphia Inquirer has a good article by architecture critic Inga Saffron on the impact of proposed casino/slot construction in the Market East area.

A few observations:

• One proposal would like to demolish the entire block between 11th and 12th / Market and Chestnut.


• The proposed building in the article’s illustration is a travesty. Do we really need another concrete box on Market East? Isn’t the Gallery enough damage?


• Can you imagine what adding slot machines to service up to 40,000 people a day will do to that already unappealing area?


• Will the $160 savings in wage taxes per $40,000 of income be worth this?

If we must accept the existence of slots in Center City, couldn't we think of better spots for it? One that comes to mind: Tie them in to the Convention Center area without disrupting Chinatown. Focus on the area between North Broad and 13th Street / Arch and Callowhill.

Even more disturbing:

But the city will have to pay dearly for this infusion of revenue. The slots bill, which was rushed through the legislature without the usual opportunities for public comment, strips Philadelphia of planning and zoning powers over its future casinos. Instead, a seven-member, state-run gambling control board will decide the big design issues, from the location of the casinos down to the location of their garage driveways.

Benjamin Franklin Parkway

The Philadelphia Daily News has posted a special section discussing possible ways to improve the Parkway. In addition to several articles championing different projects and maintaining current features (e.g., introducing a line of cafes along the Parkway, keeping the baseball park, etc.), they offer a couple of PDFs depicting how the western and eastern halves of the Parkway could be developed.

| Philadelphia Daily News: "Rethinking the Parkway" section |
| PDFs: Eastern half :: Western half |

Philadelphia views: 1800 - 1960 - 2000

Someone in the Phillyblog.com forums posted a link to a wonderful site that collects engravings and photographs of spots in Philadelphia as they looked in 1800, 1960 and 2000. The changes and continuities are truly intriguing to view.

| Birch's Views of Philadelphia |

Update: Tax breaks for Comcast Tower

Following up on the previous post about the future of Philadelphia's skyline:

| Philadelphia Inquirer - "Tax breaks for two projects advance" |

Future Philadelphia Skyscrapers?

Skyscraper proposals have been swirling around this city lately. Some of them are residential in nature while others are designed to convince high-profile companies (e.g., Comcast) to stay put. The viability of these proposals depends, in part, on whether developers and tenants receive significant incentives and tax-breaks to make their commitment worth their while.

One particular area of debate with commercial developments is the creation of "Keystone Opportunity Zones" (KOZ) that would give tenants significant tax-breaks for occupying these new developments. The typical KOZ break includes a 10 or 15 year tax-free period. This has caused significant debate that can be sketched out quickly in this way:

KOZ tax-breaks will bring high-occupancy tenants and construction projects to the city leading to an increased number of Center City workers and development that will have a long-term economic impact on the area. Additional employees would pay the city wage tax and spend some of their funds in the city. vs.

The loss of tax-revenue allowed by the KOZ breaks will outweigh the economic impact of tenants and workers that would rather escape the city and spend their time and dollars in their suburban neighborhoods. In particular, the loss of revenue would be most damaging to the school district.

Many Philadelphians are worried that long tax breaks will cut off an important source of revenue for the city and replace it with the less predictable economic impact associated with office workers dwelling in the city. With this in mind, Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr. has introduced an alternative incentive package for some of these proposed developments.

The city is about to undertake significant budget and city service cuts as a result of a shortfall in revenue. It is no longer clear that wage tax breaks that were going to be implemented in the coming years will, in fact, be implemented. Will the creation of KOZ tax breaks help or hinder the city's revenue?

Here are renditions of some of the new proposed developments in the works. Some hinge on the tax break situation, some do not while others are still in the earliest stages of their development.

• One Pennsylvania Plaza
  (commercial, 17th and JFK Blvd, Comcast Tower)
• Cira Centre
  (commercial, next to 30th St. Station)
  web site
• Philadelphia World Trade Square
  
  (commercial)
  web site
• CityCenter Tower
  (residential, off City Hall)
• 1441 Chestnut
  (residential)
  web site
• Symphony House
  (residential, Broad and Pine, near Kimmel Center)
  article
• 17th and Vine
  (unknown)

For those of you interested in the nitty-gritty details, here are some dueling reports to consider:

• The developers of the 17th and JFK Comcast Tower have posted a commissioned analysis of the economic benefits of their project (PDF),
• while the Center City Owners Association has posted a commissioned analysis outlining the potential demerits of the 17 & JFK and Cira Centre projects (PDF).

Philadelphia Bloggers

Though I'd like to think that Elliptic Blog is at the center of the universe, it is good to take note of other blogs and forums that are also concerned with living in Philadelphia. Here are a few to take note of:

Good Grief!: A blog from "a 'senior business intelligence analyst' who works at a Philadelphia-area academic hospital."

Phillyblog.com: Though it hosts multiple blogs, the current and interesting activity happens in the Forum.

Philly Future: A blog that compiles and presents headlines and links from blogs and sites that deal with Philadelphia.

If you are familiar with other ones I should know about, please drop a comment about it.

Supply and Demand - Part III

Alright,

So I have been wondering out loud these past few months about how can Center City Philadelphia support all the residential construction going on given that there has been population drain for the city as a whole.

The Philadelphia Daily News has published an article providing Six reasons why Philly realty is sky high. So, I guess my perennial question is beginning to be answered.

| See: Supply and Demand revisited |

Rittenhouse Square and Development

Inga Saffron, the architecture critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, has written a nice piece on the possible impact of development projects on Rittenhouse Square. Those developments include three new apartment towers, a 10-screen movie complex facing the park on the 1900 block of Walnut and a parking garage to hold 500 cars.

You can track some of the history of the movie complex and garage project by visiting this old post in EllipticBlog. Here's what Saffron has to say about the proposed garage and theater:

So, instead of privately funded housing, a $35.4 million publicly funded garage will be built on the square. It will pay no property taxes. The garage will bring 500 more cars to the overburdened square. Yet, owners of private garages just two blocks north, on Market Street, complain they can't fill their spaces in the evenings and on weekends...

...Individual residents continue to fight the Parking Authority's plan in court. On May 25, the Common Pleas court is expected to decide whether the agency can tear down three historic buildings on the site. Meanwhile, other residents have been waiting for more than a year to learn whether the state Supreme Court will consider their appeal of the city's zoning variances.

One thing we already know is that a garage and theater are not what zoning experts call "highest and best use." The frenzy of apartment construction around Rittenhouse Square is proof that this site has a better use.

| "Changing Skyline | Throngs from a garage and theater pose a threat to Rittenhouse Square" by Inga Saffron |

| Rittenhouse Square - from EllipticBlog's Photo Album |

Philadelphia Film Festival

Well, despite my initial doubts, it looks as if I should get a 10-film pass for the Philadelphia Film Festival this year.

Here are 11 films I would like to see this year:

• Berlin Blues


• She's One of Us


• The Corporation


• The Best Thief in the World


• Distant


• Kill Me Tender


• Last Life in the Universe


• Young Adam


• Bright Young Things


• The First Letter


• Time of the Wolf

So, who is joining me?

Should AI be traded?

The 76ers have enjoyed a stellar, thrilling eight seasons with Allen Iverson. Those seasons, however, have been peppered with annoying and team-eroding actions by Iverson: lack of practice time to develop better team chemistry, petulant refusals to follow directives from head coaches (Larry Brown, Randy Ayers or Chris Ford) and a resistance to altering his training regime to adjust to the demands of the team or the demands on his aging body.

Despite this turbulent tenure, this city loves AI -- he is consistently fearless with this game and a ferocious competitor. He "fits" with the rough-and-tumble aura of Philadelphia. Perhaps more importantly -- he fills the Wachovia Center.

So what is a GM and/or team owner to do?

Let another season go by and treat it as an audition. An argument that has merit points out that the team around AI has been injured and is composed of older veterans that may be wearing down (e.g., Derrick Coleman, Aaron McKie and Eric Snow). Add to this the inordinate amount of injuries throughout the season and a lack of a strong coach to impose a system and...well.

I believe that Billy King has one more try to compose a different team with a strong coach (e.g., Jim O'Brien, Mo Cheeks or George Karl) during this off-season to test whether the "AI problem" is fundamental or whether it is contingent on surrounding factors. If King assembles a new crew and next season looks significantly better, then he can defer addressing whether to trade AI or not.

Granted, building a team around AI has occurred about three or four times already, but this last attempt should not count as a full attempt.

If the team is looking haggard by mid-season, then, try moving AI before the February deadline or, at the latest, during the Summer of 2005. The remaining question at that juncture is this: shall we trade AI for a cluster of younger talent and focus on a rebuilding process or shall we try to get a "superstar" that fits in the mix?

The answer to that question will depend on the kind of crew assembled during the 2004 off-season. I would target the power forward position and try to get a tough-nosed, interior presense with scoring ability -- the Sixers seem to have a track record of getting small forward types that do not get too dirty in the paint (e.g., Keith Van Horn and Glenn Robinson).

So, after all these conditional statements what is the skinny? Trade AI if he does not gel with the new components brought in during this off-season or if the team remains fundamentally unchanged.

Supply and Demand revisited

Finally...one of the rare cases when someone publicly expresses worries about the apparent glut in upcoming construction relative to the demand for office space: Philadelphia Inquirer: "Towers wouldn't just alter skyline."

Now...I wonder if someone could write up a similar piece on the residential market. I expect the same kind of discrepancy to be the case despite the optimism exhibited by all the developers building all those residential towers.

| See: Supply and Demand |

What is wrong with the Sixers

The Sixers are 20-29 and are 2-8 in their last ten games.

They have shown some signs of the team they were expected to be only to swing downward in a display of, to be frank, sloppiness and lack of effort. This is what is wrong:

Injuries
Throughout the season they have been without the following players for extended periods of time: Allen Iverson, Glenn Robinson, Kenny Thomas, Derrick Coleman, Marc Jackson, Aaron McKie, Todd McCulloch (all season), Willie Green and Greg Buckner.

The lack of a cohesive unit practicing and playing together is a nightmare when trying to install any system and it is evident on the court that players are not comfortable with each others habits and court positioning. Even when the core squad is back and healthy, you have to expect a period of, at least, five games for some continuity to set in. It is too late in the season and they are too deep in a hole to contend for the expected top five spots in the Eastern Conference. The goal now is to secure the seventh or eighth spot in the playoff bracket -- and that is looking bleak.

Coaching
Injuries are not new to this team. In the past, under the Larry Brown years, an injured Sixers team demonstrated a solid understanding of defensive concepts and a tough mindedness. Injured Sixer teams in the past never left observers with the view that they lacked effort. They demonstrated solid rotations, good execution and plenty of moxie. This is not the case this year.

This year, the players (and in particular the core group: Allen Iverson, Eric Snow and Aaron McKie) have had to go near the sidelines repeatedly to discuss strategy with their coach, Randy Ayers. Without fail, the conversations have been long and they have demonstrated either a lack of understanding or resistance to Ayers' instructions.

Defensive rotations are poor -- particularly when it comes to interior defense. Offensive execution looks haggard and often random, activity often begins too late in the shot clock (around 12-14 seconds left).

Granted, injuries may have something to do with it, but a sign of good coaching is a team that does not look lax and provides clear effort. Add to this some puzzling substitutions and a tendency to throw junky zone defenses to stop the opposing team and you have a rudderless team.

Players
Anyone pointing fingers at Iverson is just not paying attention. Even though it pains me to say this, Eric Snow looks lost in the current system. His passes have been sloppy and he over-dribbles the ball deep into the shot clock. He has also been taking plenty of bad shots.

I am not sure whether Snow is in a funk because his abilities have eroded this year or whether he is not comfortable with Ayers' offensive schemes. Related to this -- the addition of Glenn Robinson to the team was supposed to take some pressure off AI. This is not happening and I think Ayers and/or Snow have not figured out how to best use Robinson.

Robinson has been a good addition, but he is a defensive liability. He also tends to float in the perimeter waiting for AI or some other player to pass him the ball after some penetration causes the defense to collapse. He is a good perimeter jump shooter but he needs to be more than that: he needs to do some dirty work near the basket. I don't think Ayers is using Robinson well.

I am still hopeful for a playoff appearance at the number eight seed, but I'm not optimistic about any progress beyond the first round.

I miss Larry Brown. It's time to take a serious look at Mo Cheeks and Jim O'Brien either now or in the off-season. I do not think a trade would fix the situation to make an impact this season and, in fact, I think it may hurt more than help (though I do have some thoughts about getting Rasheed Wallace into the mix).

Say It Ain't So!

Joe K. at OrangeCone.com, has put up a post about where the next "cool place" will emerge. Examples of previous cool places are: "Picasso's Paris, Weimar Berlin, Beatnick San Francisco, Swinging London, Post-Wall Berlin and dotcom San Francisco."

So what happens next? I'm betting that the movement moves back out to the suburbs. New Urbanism, which has been simmering for 20 years, seems to be gathering steam and, frankly, it's not because people are suddenly realizing how much more sense it makes; I think developers are realizing that there's a growing market for a new suburban Bohemia, a brand new, prefab, simulated, yet comfortable environment that symbolically links the values of the urban creative class to the manufacturing technology of the burbs.

Oh God. No. Please say it ain't so, Joe!

| Orange Cone: Manufactured Bohemia |

Old City Update

The residential development of the National Building on 2nd St. and the area between 2nd and 3rd has now become official. It's official title is "The National at Old City" and it will be done by "The Matrix Companies" (yikes!). It will result in 320 new residential units packed within, roughly, a square block area.

Here are some links detailing the latest developments:

Philadelphia Daily News article
Globe St. article
The Matrix Companies site

Philadelphia's Center City District Demographics

The Center City District and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation have made available several reports that present a wealth of demographic, economic and cultural information about Center City Philadelphia.

Here is a sample of some of the illustrations / charts in the reports to give you a sense of what to expect:

| Center City District of Philadelphia Publications |

Bag Jones

I recently saw a beautifully designed briefcase from Nava Design at Fosters Urban Homeware down the street. I did a double-take, thought about getting it, and then simply moved on without it. Sure enough, it disappeared later that day and I cannot find a place on the Internet that has the exact model. Argh!

I can find the canvas versions, but not the brown "ecoleather" version that struck my fancy. Here are the blah midnight blue versions of the Cube Box and the Cube Brief -- not sure which one to get yet.

Here are some links to slake your thirst:

City Comforts Blog - A blog about "cities, architecture, the 'new urbanism,' real estate, historic preservation, urban design, land use law, landscape, transport etc etc from a mildly libertarian stance."

Zach Korb's "an affair with urban policy" - Excellent blog about urban affairs. Don't ignore the Photography section.

Walnut Street (between Front and 2nd St.) - A couple of developments are in the works in this block: the Bookbinders renovation and a residential condominium building at 101 Walnut.

Free Library of Philadelphia: Renovation and Expansion

As some of you know, the Free Library of Philadelphia recently selected Moshe Safdie and Associates Inc. to undertake an expansion of its Central Branch at Logan Circle. The Free Library is one of two buildings in Logan Circle that are replicas of those in the Place de la Concorde in Paris (the other being the Family Court building).

The current building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by architects Horace Trumbauer and Julian Abele and it opened in June 1927.

You can take a look at the selected design and the other three finalists at the Free Library's site. I have not studied them too long but some initial observations:

The Safdie design looks pleasantly airy and light, but I am worried about the curvy, organic shapes becoming too much of a contrast with the neighboring Family Court and at odds with the staid character of Logan Square. Though some might say, "great -- about time."

Also, all designs seem to have the bulk of their construction and visual impact on the north side of the site. This would, in essence, tuck the design away from view. Anyone familiar with the north side of the library knows that this is a visual blind spot.

This said, I think the Safdie addition seems graceful and the least ponderous of the four. Pretty happy that the Ten Arquitectos proposal was not the winner.

| Philadelphia Inquirer article on Safdie and Free Library |
| Additional visuals at Safdie site |

36 N. Front Street

Click for larger version (252 Kb) Added some new shots in the Philadelphia photo album today.