Reforming Philadelphia, 1682-2022

Reforming Philadelphia explores the cyclical efforts of insurgents to change the city's government over 350 years, focusing on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It evaluates the terms of Mayors Frank Rizzo, Wilson Goode, and Ed Rendell, as well as John Street, Michael Nutter, and Jim Kenney, to illustrate how power and resistance function and how Philadelphias political history and reform cycles offer a conceptual model for other cities.

Format: Hardback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 23 January 2023
Publisher: Temple University Press,U.S.

Reforming Philadelphia delves into the enduring efforts of insurgents to reshape the governance of the city over a span of nearly 350 years. Political scientist Richardson Dilworth closely follows these reformers as they strive to create a new purpose for the city or adapt the government to reflect emerging ideas. Some aim to dismantle the "corrupt machine," while others seek to seize control of the government through electoral means. These actors form alliances and organizations to disrupt the established order, driven by the hope of transforming the city and potentially enriching themselves.

Dilworth's comprehensive examination spans Philadelphia's early development, including significant transformations from the adoption of its new city charter in 1885 and the emergence of the Republican machine around the same time. He also explores the city's transition to a Democratic stronghold in the 1950s, coinciding with a racial transition. Focusing primarily on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Dilworth assesses the terms of mayors such as Frank Rizzo, Wilson Goode, and Ed Rendell, as well as John Street, Michael Nutter, and Jim Kenney, to illustrate how power and resistance operate within Philadelphia's political landscape. By examining the city's political history and reform cycles, Dilworth offers a conceptual model that can be easily applied to other cities, providing a valuable framework for understanding the evolving relationship between national politics and local, city politics.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781439920060