Rat's Nest of Urban Politics Behind Philly's 'Big Stall'

Lamenting the lack of progress in another urban redevelopment project, Karen Heller takes aim at the Pennsylvania Convention Center expansion in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Center expansion has been in the works since 1993, spurring numerous building demolitions, but few new constructions: in short, North Broad Street, advertised as a coming “avenue of the arts” is closer to “the Boulevard of Parking.”

"Boston has the Big Dig; we have the Big Stall—infected with the politics, patronage, herculean egos and internecine warfare that is Philadelphia's core business," Heller rants. "The questions remain: Who will subsidize such novelty, and where will the costs end? Best not to worry, as all's for the best in this best of all possible convention centers." (More Philadelphia stories.)