Philadelphia, PA
One of the oldest cities in the United States and home to the country’s first International Style skyscraper, Philadelphia is, unfortunately, now associated more with cheesesteaks and colonial kitsch than with successful American urbanism.
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No doubt, Philadelphia has seen better days. Even in 2009, whole neighborhoods resemble sets from a zombie horror film, and the City of Brotherly Love’s reputation hasn’t fully recovered from the controversial police fire-bombing of a West Philly block of row houses in 1985. But Philadelphia deserves to stand, if not equal to, at least favorably compared with its East Coast neighbors. New York is just a train ride away—–but why make the trip at all when there’s so much here to discover?
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