I've Got a Fever, and the Only Prescription is More Philadelphians

 

First of all, let me give credit where credit is due: the case for more Philadelphians in Philadelphia has been forcefully made before. See for example Philadelphia 3.0's article, "The Next Mayor Should Set a Goal for 2 Million Philadelphians." I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment. Here's my reasons:

1. Economically, much of City government's annual operating expenditures are fixed in nature. We pay the mayor's salary, take care of roads, and pick up the trash no matter if we have one million or two million residents, so we might as well as have more people, more jobs, more activity, and more tax base within city limits to generate funds for those expenditures.
2. Cities are not for everyone, so if you prefer a suburban or rural existence, go in peace. But, there is a way in which the density that you find in cities is a catalyst for commercial innovation, artistic flourishing, and social tolerance. And that's because human creativity is stimulated by ideas, interactions, and differences. Our great research and cultural hubs tend to be in cities. And, the larger the population and the denser the opportunity for circulation, the greater the dynamism. 
3. And, ideally, the greater the push for and accomplishment of inclusion. More tax base creates a flow of resources to support public services that are essential for our most marginalized households. And more contact across walks of life ideally creates more empathy, more of a sense of our shared humanity, and more of an opportunity to help.
4. Fear of growth, unless it is stoked by racist/nativist/reactionary impulses, usually comes from a fixed-pie mindset. Sure, if population goes up without more new housing and jobs, then existing households will suffer from housing unaffordability and from unemployment. But that's the point of growth, is to create the demand for and then the supply of new housing and new jobs, in response to and in many cases produced by newcomers.

OK, so having established why Philly should grow, let's get to how. Which I'll just touch on today, by taking a quick look at the different ways a city can grow:

1. More births than deaths. Not suggesting we import a bunch of babies and shove out elderly folks! But, given that this is one mechanism by which a population grows, how can we take care of our youngest and oldest? How can we create a city in which people want to have and raise babies? How can we create a city in which the oldest among us are supported in their health and wellness? There are some obvious solutions here that just require persistence and focus, which an agreed upon goal can provide clarity of purpose towards.
2. More domestic in-migration than out. This is typically where cities lose, which is that people move to the suburbs. The familiar reasons are schools, crime, and a front lawn, all of which can be addressed by a City government committed to stemming the outflow of residents and even attracting a higher rate in.
3. More non-US in-migration. Hat tip to my friend Anuj Gupta who runs the Welcoming Center and who has been a long-time voice for the power of welcoming the world to our city. Look, I get the impulse to be unwelcoming, as if we are enjoying a hole-in-the-wall place and don't want the world to encroach upon our secret haven. But, we are all better if we have more people around, even and especially if they come from different countries and have different customs and speak different languages. The best of Philadelphia's future, I suspect, will be defined by international diversity, whether it is a championship sports team or an amazing foodie scene or a world-beating industry cluster. 
4. Annex adjacent jurisdictions. Sounds crazy, just like the great annexation of the 1850s must've been back then. But I suspect that if we start humming on the other 3 things, neighboring inner-ring suburbs will at least entertain the conversation. To be determined...

Let's get to it! More Philadelphians!