Option A: Even with the protests against the arena, it is important to keep moving forward finding ways to include the opposition.
Option B: After thinking about this experience, it’s important that the city and the 76ers halt the development process.
How do I set this up? Below I am telling you exactly what do – please follow this template
Part I First Paragraph
- Identify who you are
- State who you are addressing – you can find the Director of the Department of Planning and DevelopmentLinks to an external site. on the City’s website.
- A recommendation of yes or no – should the city support or reject this arena project?
Part I Second paragraph
- Summary of what your recommendation is. This is the highlights section of your paper and it should be completed last. I recommend you make 3-4 bullet points (yes actually bullet points) of the major reasons you are making the ‘yes or no’ recommendation.
Part II 3-4 paragraphs
- Start your argument here by describing the history of Philadelphia’s Center City. You are starting to make the case of why you made an either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ recommendation. Only tell a story/include the history/facts that support your recommendation. This information can come from the links above and your own research.
- Provide one or more graphs made in Excel (you practiced this already) that support your argument. Find data online and use statistics like employment, population, or income. Think about it logically – what graph or graphs will make a stronger case for your recommendation. Perhaps you would like to show how displacement increased in D.C. following the construction of the stadium or how a new stadium in a city was beneficial for the local economy.
The Pew Charitable Trusts has an immense amount data and publish Philadelphia: State of the City each year. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2022/04/philadelphia-2022-state-of-the-cityLinks to an external site.. Use this source or any external source to find the data.
Please make sure to cite where you are getting your data/information from.
You can easily create Excel charts using our assignment as a template – you just have to replace numbers on the Excel sheet I gave you.
- Explain the graphs you make. The graphs should be referenced in text and included at the end of the paper.
Part III About about 2 pages – this is the main course…
- Make your argument FOR/AGAINST the new Sixers arena.
a) The main task is to review the Sixers website, background articles and apply what we have learned in the class thus far. Make a recommendation based on what you think are the potential benefits and drawbacks based on the readings and the 76Place.com website. Be sure to define anchoring and confirmation bias. Apply these lenses of analysis in service of your argument – use them to strengthen your for/against the recommendation and integrate them into your narrative. How might these forms of bias play a role in the acceptance or rejection of the project? (address counter-arguments and your own biases) Be consistent – are you FOR or AGAINST.
b) Review 76Place.com website, and learn about their work to dateLinks to an external site..
If you are FOR the arena, review 76Place.com website, and learn about their work to dateLinks to an external site.. You can write why you support the Sixers and their plan. Add your analysis as well as research examples from other cities to find out how they have been successful.
The website states, “We are inspired by the success of downtown arenas in other cities. After careful evaluation, this site was selected primarily due to the unmatched access to public transit, the ability to repurpose an existing entertainment asset and the natural synergies that will exist with the surrounding businesses of Center City.” The Sixers Owner, David Adelman, has cited new arenas in Milwaukee, San Francisco, Brooklyn and Toronto as examples to follow.
If you are AGAINST the arena, use the evidence to make an alternative case for the development of the site. Chinatown advocates point to the experience of Washington D.C. as an example of why the project should not go forward. My suggestion is to talk about the potential harms, like gentrification, but it is important to also have an alternative vision for the site. If not an arena, then what should be there? Are there examples from other cities? Can you imagine one like Ed Bacon?
Both arguments should address the subjects from the previous three assignments (Here are some suggested questions?): How will this affect the ethnic enclave, abutting the site? How will the Sixers arena create public spaces to be used for the general public, and how will it ensure public safety? How will the arena support homeless individuals currently staying in Center City and contribute to their safety as well as overall public order?
Part IV A Conclusion reiterating/summarizing your claims/recommendations
- If you are ‘FOR’ the arena, find an example in another city in which you feel building an arena had a positive impact and is a possible model for Philadelphia. THIS MAY BE HARD. The change is not always visible and a lot of the projects have happened relatively recently. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but maybe parts of a project had a real impact! That may mean choosing some arena or stadium development that occurred 10-15 years earlier.
Draw those positive points out and show how they changed the landscape. Go to Google Street View and pick a specific site and show how a stadium/arena changed a site by using the ‘pegman’ tool and the time slider. - If you are ‘AGAINST’ find an example in Philadelphia or another city in which you feel community concerns were heard and longtime residents were included in a revitalization effort. Include Google Street View shots
of this successful revitalization effort as evidence using the ‘pegman’ tool and the time slider.