Center for Greater Philadelphia

The Center for Greater Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1985 by Penn Public Policy and History Professor Theodore Hershberg. Dr. Hershberg served as the Assistant to the Mayor of Philadelphia for Strategic Planning and Policy Development in 1984-1985. His service at the city convinced him that the region needed strategic responses to the challenges from two of the profound trends shaping America -- the development of a global economy and the emergence of the state as a pivotal force in the federal system. Given his belief that the region was the unit of competition in the global economy and that cities and their surrounding counties working cooperatively as a region could more effectively leverage resources from their states, he founded, upon his return to the University, the Center as a neutral convener and researcher of public policy affecting the region.

The Center's first initiative was to launch the Southeastern Pennsylvania State Legislators' Conference, which enabled Senators, Representatives and corporate leaders from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties to meet annually from 1985 to 1994. The final meeting came as part of the much larger "Call to Action Conference." Held in May 1995, it brought together 2000 of the region's leaders to adopt a regional agenda, and was itself part of a year-long set of activities devoted to promoting regional awareness.

...