Ch 4- The North American Political Economy

Philadelphia's economy previously was focused in the primary and secondary sectors. The backbone of the city's economy used to be manufacturing and the related distribution sector (citydata). Since the beginning of railroads in the US, Philadelphia has served as a hub of rail transportation and companies. Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Railroad both maintained a large presence in the city. Immigrant populations helped build and work on the rail road. As the transportation grew, Philly became a major port of transportation. This provided many of the jobs in the 17-1800s.

Today, Philly's economy relies mostly on Tertiary and Quaternary sectors. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, logging and mining make up 40,000 jobs, while the city creates almost 6 million non-farm jobs. Information and service-based business dominate the city's economics. Several corporations in computing, finance, insurance, printing and publishing industries are all flourishing. And with large universities near by, the medical field continues to grow. As we have previously discussed, the amount of tourist attractions in Philadelphia make tourism one of Philly's top areas of income. This tertiary aspect of the city is essential to its great fiscal success. 

Since its conception, Philly has been a tremendously diverse city with many ethnoburbs. According to Quickfacts, the ethnic breakdowns are as follows: Black/African American-44.3%, White, non-Hispanic- 37%, Hispanic or Latino, 12.6%, Asian- 6.6%. There are also traces of Pacific Islanders and American Indians. The largest change about the city's racial make up is the decline of white people and influx of minorities living in the city. From 1990 to 2010, Philly's white population has decreased by 31.9%, while the 'Multi-race and Other' population has increased by a monumental 637.9%. 

The official districts of Philadelphia

To visualize how demographics of Philly have changed, view the Mapping America Project, by NY Times.  

The Germantown Community has traditionally been (surprise), German. The Port Richmond community was typically Polish. Irish Catholics could be found in the Northeast (where my family is from), and other enclaves in South Philly. South and West Philadelphia used to be where Black people lived. Today, however, the African American population is more fluid, and have spread out into many areas of the city. 

As time passes, these unofficial ethnic communities change. Regardless, there continues to be  a rich sense of diversity throughout the city.