Philadelphia's New Arrivals Are Unapologetic Gentrifiers

Holly Otterbein of PhillyMag reports that the arrival of the 'New Philadelphians' into the city's less affluent neighborhoods has triggered a contentious back-and-forth between existing residents, and surprisingly within factions of the new arrivals themselves. A contingent of the New Philadelphians is pushing for swift change in their neighborhoods, advocating loudly and sometimes antagonistically for improvements to city infrastructure and for the little things, like pop-up beer gardens.

"When four old-school state lawmakers complained about pop-up beer gardens, writing in a letter that the establishments were a 'grave concern,' newcomers blew up their phone lines and convinced them to back off. One of those legislators, who had been in office for 29 years, told me he’d never gotten more calls about a single issue in his career. Not even schools."

Others within the community of New Philadelphians have decried the tone of some of the advocates for gentrification, which has strayed from collaborative to combative. Further the focus of the new arrivals has tended to focus on the little things (see pop-up beer gardens above), while the city's educational system continues to decline, leaving some to wonder if the politically active newcomers are fighting the right fights.