Report

• Take the Philadelphia State of the City Quiz

  May 15, 2013 - How well do you know Philadelphia by the numbers? Go ahead and test yourself by taking our short 12-question quiz.

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• AVI: The Shift in the Tax Burden

  May 13, 2013 - As proposed, the Actual Value Initiative (AVI), Philadelphia’s sweeping property tax overhaul, is revenue neutral. The plan is to raise the same amount of revenue through real estate taxes, $1.2 billion, in 2014 as in 2013.

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• Event Summary: Philadelphia Taxes: Past, Present, Future

  May 03, 2013 - Nearly 200 concerned Philadelphians came to the Pennsylvania Convention Center on May 3 to hear elected officials, academics, economists, and business leaders talk about the city's tax structure, its impact on the local economy, and ideas for reforming it.

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• Philadelphia 2013: The State of the City

  Mar 23, 2013 -

  This annual study presents a multi-dimensional, fact-based portrait of America’s fifth-largest city through 81 graphics and interactive charts. It compares Philadelphia to a group of nine other major cities on household income, crime, educational attainment, public transit use, cost of living, poverty, and more. It also provides a neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at income, poverty, home sales, crime and ethnic diversity in Philadelphia.   

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• Philadelphia and Other Big Cities Struggle to Find Uses for Closed Schools

  Feb 11, 2013 - Shuttered Public Schools: The Struggle to Bring Old Buildings New Life looks at what happens to the buildings themselves, studying the experiences of Philadelphia and 11 other cities that have decommissioned large numbers of schools in recent years: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Mo., Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tulsa and Washington.

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• The Actual Value Initiative: Overhauling Property Taxes in Philadelphia

  Nov 28, 2012 - As Philadelphia prepares to overhaul its property tax system, a new study finds that no other city in recent years has made such significant changes all at one time, and in the absence of state mandates or court orders.

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• Residential Taxes: A Narrowing Gap Between Philadelphia and its Suburbs

  Sep 19, 2012 - A new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that the city of Philadelphia is now more competitive with its Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburban neighbors when it comes to local taxes than it was a dozen years ago.

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• Interactive Chart: A Look Into Philadelphia Tax Burdens

  Sep 19, 2012 - Access an interactive online map from the Philadelphia Research Initiative showing each of the 236 suburban municipalities’ tax burdens for 2000 and 2011/2012 and how they compare to Philadelphia’s.

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• Many Major Cities Gain Population Faster Than The Rest Of Their Metro Areas

  Jul 12, 2012 - A new brief from Pew’s American Cities Project finds America's largest cities are growing more rapidly than their surrounding regions, and the nation as a whole, according to recent Census data.

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• Philadelphia: The State of the City - 2012 Update

  Mar 31, 2012 - Numbers produce an image of a city’s place in time. For Philadelphia in 2012, the picture is of a city in transition on a number of fronts. There are familiar problems and one promising demographic trend. In the past year, unemployment in the city was down, but job creation slowed from the year before. Residential building permits were up, but home sales dropped a sixth straight time. Violent crime fell overall, while the homicide total increased for the second year in a row.

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• 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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• Philadelphia’s Workforce Development Challenge: Serving Employers, Helping Job Seekers and Fixing the System

  Jan 18, 2012 - A new report from Pew’s Philadelphia Research Initiative examines Philadelphia’s workforce development system, which helps residents get jobs or skills and employers find workers, in comparison to others throughout Pennsylvania and nationwide.

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• Closing Public Schools in Philadelphia: Lessons from Six Urban Districts

  Oct 19, 2011 - With nearly one-third of its seats sitting empty, 70,000 in all, the School District of Philadelphia plans to close multiple buildings over the next two years. In doing so, Philadelphia will be following in the footsteps of cities throughout the Northeast and Midwest. This report looks at six cities that have engaged in large-scale public school closings in the past decade—Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Mo., Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Washington—to better understand what is in store for Philadelphia.

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• Philadelphia’s Less Crowded, Less Costly Jails: Taking Stock of a Year of Change and the Challenges That Remain

  Jul 20, 2011 - A new study finds that Philadelphia’s jail population decreased dramatically in 2010. These declines appear to be largely the result of new practices and procedures adopted by the various agencies that comprise the city’s criminal justice system—with the goal of making the system more efficient.

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• A City Transformed: The Racial and Ethnic Changes in Philadelphia Over the Last 20 Years

  Jun 01, 2011 - "A City Transformed: The Racial and Ethnic Changes in Philadelphia Over the Last 20 Years", analyzes 1990 and 2010 Census data and finds that Philadelphia has experienced significant changes in its ethnic and racial composition over the last two decades, with many neighborhoods undergoing sweeping transformations.

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• Philadelphia 2011: The State of the City

  Apr 09, 2011 - Philadelphia 2011: The State of the City portrays a city with some positive trends, but serious and persistent problems. While the population has grown for the first time in decades, other indicators paint a more troubling picture of the city’s well-being. 

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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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• City Councils in Philadelphia and Other Major Cities

  Feb 02, 2011 - A new report by the Philadelphia Research Initiative compares councils in 15 cities, including the 10 most populous, along a number of quantifiable measures. Among these items are council budgets, staffing, salaries, certain electoral conditions, and tenure.

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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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• Local Jails: Working to Reduce Populations and Costs

  Nov 18, 2010 - A report from Pew's Philadelphia Research Initiative that provides an update on the jail populations of large cities and counties, including Philadelphia, and efforts taking place in those jurisdictions to reduce the numbers of inmates.

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• Destination Philadelphia: Tracking the City's Migration Trends

  Oct 06, 2010 - A new report, "Destination Philadelphia: Tracking the City’s Migration Trends", by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that the number of people moving into the city of Philadelphia has increased steadily in recent years, rising at a faster rate than the number of people moving out.

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• Philadelphia’s Changing Schools and What Parents Want from Them

  Jun 29, 2010 - In Philadelphia, K-12 education is in the midst of a sweeping transformation that has left some parents elated, others perplexed and many scrambling to keep up with the range of options available to them. And more change is on the way.

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• Not Out of the Woods: The Recession's Continuing Impact on Big City Taxes, Services and Pensions

  May 26, 2010 - For residents of many major U.S. cities, the recession will mean higher local taxes and new fees in the year ahead, continuing a trend that began this past year. And for some local government workers who retain their jobs, it will mean fewer and costlier employee benefits. Those are some of the conclusions that emerge from our ongoing review of how 13 city governments, including Philadelphia’s, have been coping with hard economic times.

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• Philadelphia’s Crowded, Costly Jails: The Search for Safe Solutions

  May 17, 2010 - A new study from Pew’s Philadelphia Research Initiative provides a comprehensive look at the city’s prison population—including its decades-long increase and recent decline; the measures the city of Philadelphia is taking to decrease the number of inmates; and what other jurisdictions are doing to control their jail populations. 

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• Philadelphia: The State of the City—A 2010 Update

  Mar 27, 2010 - This report is an update of "Philadelphia 2009 The State of the City," the comprehensive, statistical study published by the Philadelphia Research Initiative last March.

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• A Work in Progress: Philadelphia’s 311 System After One Year

  Mar 02, 2010 - A new study from Pew’s Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that Philadelphia’s 311 contact system—a free service available to residents who want to find out about or request city services—made it easier to contact City Hall but challenges remain in dealing with service requests. The study reviewed Philly311 in its first year of operation and in relation to 14 other communities that operate 311 systems.

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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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• Preparing for the 2010 Census: How Philadelphia and Other Cities Are Struggling and Why It Matters

  Oct 12, 2009 - A new study from Pew's Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that Philadelphia is lagging behind other major cities in mounting the kind of local outreach and awareness campaign for the 2010 Census that many experts consider important for achieving a full count.

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• Layoffs, Furloughs and Union Concessions: The Prolonged and Painful Process of Balancing City Budgets

  Sep 22, 2009 - A study by Pew's Philadelphia Research Initiative examines the budget choices that 12 cities have made and tried to make during what has been a difficult time for the governments of many large American cities.

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• Quiet No More: Philadelphia Confronts the Cost of Employee Benefits

  Jun 29, 2009 - This study by Pew's Philadelphia Research Initiative looks at the finances of pensions and health care for city workers at a time when the two topics are front and center both in Harrisburg and in City Hall.

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• Tough Decisions and Limited Options: How Philadelphia and Other Cities are Balancing Budgets in a Time of Recession

  May 18, 2009 - This study from the Philadelphia Research Initiative examines the budget decisions that have been proposed or enacted in Philadelphia, placing its challenges in the context of 12 other cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Columbus (OH), Detroit, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

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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 2009: The State of the City

  Mar 30, 2009 - A wide-ranging "State of the City" report from the Philadelphia Research Initiative depicts a city that has made progress on a number of key fronts but still struggles with long-term forces of decline.

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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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• The Philadelphia Gas Works: Challenges and Solutions

  Oct 21, 2008 - This report, released by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia and commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the William Penn Foundation, provides a look at Philadelphia Gas Works' operational handicaps and burdensome rate structure—and points the way toward still-needed reforms. This report was commissioned by Pew prior to the existence of the Philadelphia Research Initiative.

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• Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits

  Jan 23, 2008 - A report released by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia finds Philadelphia’s pension and health care costs for city employees increasing at a much faster rate than the city’s revenue. This report was released by Pew prior to the existence of the Philadelphia Research Initiative.

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• Comparative Analysis of Philadelphia Conditions and Trends

  Feb 19, 2007 - The Urban Institute revisits an analysis of American cities conducted in 1998. This report was supported by Pew prior to the existence of the Philadelphia Research Initiative.

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• Philadelphia 2007: Prospects and Challenges

  Feb 19, 2007 - This 2007 study evaluates Philadelphia’s strengths and weaknesses relative to six comparable American cities. This report was released by Pew prior to the existence of the Philadelphia Research Initiative.

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