Report

• The Library in the City: Changing Demands and a Challenging Future

  Mar 07, 2012 - Big-city public libraries have rarely been as popular as they are today and rarely as besieged. This report looks at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s operations and the challenges facing urban libraries across America.

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• Poll: Philadelphians Increasingly Concerned About Overall Local Tax Burden but Willing to Pay More for Better Services

  Feb 28, 2012 - A new public opinion poll commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that Philadelphians are increasingly concerned about the overall local tax burden but many residents are willing to pay more in return for better services.

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• Public Opinion Poll: Mayor Nutter's Ratings Improve, but Philadelphians Worry About Crime and Direction of the City

  Feb 14, 2012 - A new public opinion poll commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that Mayor Michael Nutter’s job approval ratings have improved over the past year, even as Philadelphians voice concerns about violent crime and the overall direction of the city.

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• Poll: Philadelphians Highly Respect Police, Support Stop-and-Frisk

  Mar 23, 2011 - A new poll by the Pew Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that Philadelphians have considerable respect for city police and that most residents support Mayor Nutter's stop-and-frisk policy, but some question how it is used.

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• Poll: Philadelphians Feel Less Positive About Their City

  Mar 07, 2011 - A new public opinion poll commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative shows a downward drift in Philadelphians’ attitudes about their city and its government.

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• Poll: Suburbanites Value Philadelphia as a Place to Visit but not Live

  Dec 15, 2010 - A new public opinion poll commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative shows that residents of seven counties surrounding Philadelphia have a generally positive impression of the city, though they value it more as a place to visit than as a place to live.

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• Philadelphians Remain Optimistic About City’s Direction; Concern About Crime Is Down, Impact of the Recession Is Deep

  Feb 23, 2010 - A new poll from Pew's Philadelphia Research Initiative shows that Philadelphians are optimistic about their city’s prospects even though many of them have suffered personally as a result of the economic downturn of the past 18 months. One factor in their generally upbeat view appears to be a somewhat diminished worry about crime, although crime still outranks all other concerns about the city.

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• Mayor Nutter Gets High Marks from Philadelphians; Residents Split Over City Budget Options and Sales Tax Increase

  Feb 09, 2010 - A new poll from Pew’s Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that Mayor Nutter continues to get generally high marks from city residents after a tough economic year, but residents are divided over the wisdom of the sales tax increase, and they remain split over whether the priority moving forward should be preserving services or holding down taxes.

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• Pew Survey Finds Philadelphians Favor Bringing Slot Machines to City, But Oppose Center City Location

  Apr 29, 2009 - Philadelphians favor bringing slot-machine gambling to the city and support the plan to build a casino along the Delaware River in Fishtown. But they oppose the idea of a casino on Market Street East in Center City.

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• Philadelphians Oppose Mayor’s Proposals to Raise Taxes to Close the City’s Budget Gap

  Apr 23, 2009 - This survey of 800 Philadelphians finds residents generally oppose raising taxes, particularly the property tax, to help address the city’s projected $1.4 billion budget gap. But they offer city officials little guidance about how the budget should be balanced.

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• Philadelphia Quality of Life Survey

  Feb 25, 2009 - This Philadelphia Research Initiative survey finds that residents see crime as the top problem facing Philadelphia, but they find a lot to like about their city.

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• Public Opinion Poll: Philadelphians are Optimistic about Their City But Residents are Split Over Budget Options

  Feb 05, 2009 - A wide-ranging poll of 1,600 city residents commissioned by Pew's Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that Mayor Nutter is favorably viewed by most city residents.

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