Five years after the start of the pandemic, Center City is still struggling to change misconceptions over safety, office space demand, and residential appeal, writes Michaelle Bond for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
According to Prema Katari Gupta, president and CEO of Center City District, despite data to the contrary, these narratives have had “remarkable staying power” and are influencing where people live, work, and spend their time and money.
“It‘s up to us, with data and with events and with programming and with fun stuff like Open Streets, to change the narrative,” said Gupta.
Center City District released its annual report on the health of downtown Philadelphia and the surrounding area last week. This highlighted the business improvement district’s new vision statement: “Center City is Philadelphia’s heart of commerce, culture, and connection, generating opportunity and prosperity for the entire city and region.”
According to the report, pedestrian traffic in core Center City reached 90 percent of 2019 levels as of March, averaging over 400,000 people downtown daily.
The report also highlights downtown as a job hub, with nearly two in five jobs in Philadelphia located in greater Center City in 2022, the most recent data available.
Read more about the report and Center City’s continued pandemic recovery in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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