Once dismissed as a rusting industrial has-been--the Next Detroit--Philadelphia has enjoyed an astonishing comeback in the 21st century.
The proverbial first draft of history, these columns tell the story of how a great City shape-shifted before our very eyes..
What emerges in these 80 pieces is a remarkable narrative of a remarkable time.
Even as she celebrates Philadelphia\'s resurgence, she considers how it finds Itself grappling with the problems of success: gentrification, poverty, privatization, and the unequal distribution of public services.
A fearless crusader who is also a seasoned reporter, Saffron ranges beyond the usual boundaries of architectural criticism to explore how big money and politics intersect with design, profoundly shaping our everyday experience of City life.
Becoming Philadelphia collects the best of Saffron\'s work, plus a new introduction reflecting on the stunning changes the City has undergone.
Through her Pulitzer Prize-winning columns on architecture and urbanism in the Philadelphia Inquirer , she has tracked the city\'s revival on a weekly basis.
Over the past two decades, Inga Saffron has served as the premier chronicler of the city\'s physical transformation as it emerged from a half century of decline.
Once dismissed as a rusting industrial has-been--the Next Detroit--Philadelphia has enjoyed an astonishing comeback in the 21st century
