A half-century trend of steady population decline in Philadelphia has been reversed with the release of official
U.S. Census figures from 2010 on Wednesday, the same day the city was named one of 24 worldwide recipients of $50 million in
IBM Smarter Cities grants.
The city's population increased by nearly 8,500 to 1,526,006--a 0.6 percent uptick since the 2000 census. Population peaked here in 1950 at nearly 2.1 million. Elsewhere in Greater Philadelphia, populations in Chester (15.1 percent to 498,886) Montgomery (6.6 percent to 799,874), Bucks (4.6 percent to 625,249) and Delaware (1.5 percent to 558,979) all increased.
Bigger, on this day, also means smarter. In June, Mayor Michael Nutter led a forum of 150 local leaders to address the possibility of population growth and the potential stresses on older infrastructures and shifting worker skills, to name just two. Today, Nutter announced the city's selection to IBM's competitive grant program, which will award grants for technology and services to 100 municipalities worldwide over the next three years. The value of the individual grants are about $400,000 apiece, and six IBM consultants will arrive in Philly later this year to begin work.
Data generated by urban interactions and transactions will be collected, shared and analyzed as part of the process going forward, in order to develop innovative and cost effective strategies to address a variety of challenges.
"We know that we need to have a better educated and better trained workforce if Philadelphia is going to continue to compete in the global economy," said Nutter, according to a City-issued press release, at a news conference on Wednesday.
"We want to help more youth and adults use technology like smart phones and laptops to access literacy programs and workforce training anytime, anywhere and at their own pace. This partnership with IBM is a critical first step in helping us develop a road map to get us to where we know we want to be."
JOE PETRUCCI is managing editor of Flying Kite. Send feedback here.