Metropolitan Philadelphia

As America's fifth largest city and fourth largest metropolitan region, Philadelphia is tied to its surrounding counties and suburban neighborhoods. It is this vital relationship, suggests Steven Conn, that will make or break greater Philadelphia. The Philadelphia region has witnessed virtually every major political, economic, and social transformation of American life. Having once been an industrial giant, the region is now struggling to fashion a new identity in a postindustrial world. On the one hand, Center City has been transformed into a vibrant hub with its array of restaurants, shops, cultural venues, and restored public spaces. On the other, unchecked suburban sprawl has generated concerns over rising energy costs and loss of agriculture and open spaces. In the final analysis, the region will need a dynamic central city for its future, while the city will also need a healthy sustainable region for its long-term viability. Central to the identity of a twenty-first century Metropolitan Philadelphia, Conn argues, is the deep and complicated interplay of past and present. Looking at the region through the wide lens of its culture and history, Metropolitan Philadelphia moves seamlessly between past and present. Displaying a specialist's knowledge of the area as well as a deep personal connection to his subject, Conn examines the shifting meaning of the region's history, the utopian impulse behind its founding, the role of the region in creating the American middle class, the regional watershed, and the way art and cultural institutions have given shape to a resident identity. Impressionistic and beautifully written, Metropolitan Philadelphia will be of great interest to urbanists and at the same time accessible to the wider public intrigued in the rich history and cultural dynamics of this fascinating region. What emerges from the book is a wide-ranging understanding of what it means to say, "I'm from Philadelphia."

Looking for regional solutions to local limitations of opportunity in education, jobs and housing.

Best Bike Rides Philadelphia describes 40 of the greatest recreational rides in the Philadelphia area, including road rides, rail trails, bike paths, and single-track mountain bike rides. Most rides are in the 5 to 30 mile range, allowing for great afternoon outings and family adventures. Each ride includes a map, a log of significant milepoints, a text description of the ride, the GPS coordinates of the start-finish point, and color photos of one the ride’s features. Also included are information on local restaurants, lodging, maps, bicycle shops, other facilities for cyclists, and community resources.

The emergence of the metropolitan complex as the characteristic urban form in the United States has raised the question of the adequacy of traditional local governments to cope with changed local conditions. Most studies on this subject have focused on the attempts by suburbs to achieve metropolitan forms of government, stressing the interdependence of local units of government and the resulting need for integrative governments to formulate and execute area-wide policies. This book takes note of the failures of the metropolitan governmental proposals and turns attention to the forces for decentralization in the government of metropolitan areas. In other words, this is a study of the forces for independence—the values that impel local units to cherish and protect their separate identities. It seeks to describe these values not as sentiments, but as actual public policies realized through the actions of local governments. Specifically, it analyzes the way in which local municipal and school fiscal policies and the patterns of inter-local cooperative arrangements reflect the discrete circumstances of the individual suburbs. The locus of the study is the Philadelphia area, but its findings will be of interest to a national as well as a local audience. Approximately 300 municipalities are covered in the analysis. The findings of the study are discussed for their implications for future changes in the governing of metropolitan areas. Although scholarly in its approach to urban problems, this empirical study has been written in a way that will make it understandable and valuable to the lay reader. It is illustrated with maps and charts, and includes a lengthy statistical appendix.

From Academy Award-winning multi-talent Jamie Foxx, a hilariously candid look at the joys and pitfalls of being the father of two daughters. Jamie Foxx has won an Academy Award and a Grammy Award, laughed with sitting presidents, and partied with the biggest names in hip-hop. But he is most proud of his role as father to two very independent young women, Corinne and Anelise. Jamie might not always know what he’s doing when it comes to raising girls—especially when they talk to him about TikTok (PlikPlok?) and don’t share his enthusiasm for flashy Rolls Royces—but he does his best to show up for them every single day. Luckily, he has a strong example to follow: his beloved late grandmother, Estelle Marie Talley. Jamie learned everything he knows about parenting from the fierce woman who raised him: As he puts it, she’s “Madea before Tyler Perry put on the pumps and the gray wig.” In Act Like You Got Some Sense—a title inspired by Estelle—Jamie shares up close and personal stories about the tough love and old-school values he learned growing up in the small town of Terrell, Texas; his early days trying to make it in Hollywood; the joys and challenges of achieving stardom; and how each phase of his life shaped his parenting journey. Hilarious, poignant, and always brutally honest, this is Jamie Foxx like we’ve never seen him before.