I’m deeply proud and honored to have helped develop a vision statement for Philadelphia for the next 250 years. An earlier version was shared last summer here. I shared this new version more widely for one last round of resident feedback in an Inquirer op-ed here.
The statement, a place to give feedback and information on the process can be found at PH.LY.
Below is the vision statement as it stands now.
That statement:
We descend from those who first declared our freedom, those denied it, those who fought for it and those who defend it still. We hold fast to our grit, grace and good humor.
We remain a city of immigrants and makers, where hard work and honesty mix with creativity, invention and love of neighbor. We honor no tool before the people it serves. Hoagies endure.
Come what may, Philadelphians still walk, sit on steps and solve more problems than we create. We build to last and put art on the walls. From democracy’s many messy hands, we shape a freer, fairer, more human future.
They do not all love us, but they remember us. We will still boo you.