Boston vs. Philadelphia vs. San Francisco

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

PATCO Speedline should be integrated a lot better than it is and extended within Philadelphia to serve as an actual third heavy rail line for the city.

Agreed. In fact, I'd argue that Philadelphia's subway system overall is VERY underutilized for a system with a lot more capacity than is used now, although I think that will change over time with larger developments creeping into farther flung parts of the city adjacent to transit lines.

It was reported about a half-year ago that PATCO is also planning to re-open a long-shuttered subway station (Franklin Square), which could really serve as a catalyst for more development in that area: http://www.phillyvoice.com/five-year...tation-philly/. Every little bit helps.

[stanley-88888888]

by-and-by, rep. capuano (big up, somerville !) did a interview on the morning show on b87.7; he mentioned he is paying out of his campaign funds free fares to the dorchester and mattapan stops on the fairmont commuter rail line for the next few weeks to encourage people to spend money in the neighborhoods.

[thedirtypirate]

Everyone views SF and BOS as the economic juggernauts, as they should, but Philadelphia has been on a roll over the last year and a half over so.

Year over Year job growth has been fastest in the Philadelphia area compared to the other two: https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atla...ages/37748.gif

Housing Prices in the city are spiking at ridiculous percentage that isn't matched anywhere: The nation

Philadelphia's retail footprint dominated the country through Q1 2017, absorbing over 20% of all the new leased space in the US: http://www.us.jll.com/united-states/...1-2017-JLL.pdf

The city still has a long road ahead in terms of righting the public school district, fixing some really old infrastructure, and creating a city that works for everyone, but I truly think Philly is on the right track on making the true underdog comeback.