New Philly Slots Site May Help Gambling Fit Better

13 September 2008 - 9:00am

Philadelphia is still trying to figure out where to put its two approved casinos as it prepares to become the nation's biggest city to host gambling. In this piece, Inga Saffron says a new proposed site could make gambling work for Philly.

"After years of hearing Rendell insist that, like it or not, two boxy slots parlors would be built on the city's majestic Delaware River, it was refreshing to have him concede yesterday that he is exploring other sites for the Foxwoods casino, the more intrusive of the halls. The leading option, at the west end of Market Street's Gallery mall, has real possibilities and should not be immediately dismissed."

"The proposed relocation of Foxwoods offers a precious second chance to get gambling right in Philadelphia. It should be the starting point for a vigorous public discussion about what form an urban casino should take."

"As the largest city in America to host gambling, Philadelphia deserves a casino tailored to its economic and planning goals - and not merely a cash cow for the state. This is the state's gambling flagship, and the casino design should reflect that."

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 2008
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It is hard to think of a starker contrast than that between Moses modernism and Jacobs localism. Yet the standoff between Jacobs and Moses only ever sparred two separate wings of the middle class concerning how to build and rebuild the city for people of greater rather than lesser class privilege.