The Racialized History of Philadelphia’s Toxic Public Schools

January 13, 2022.Reading time 32 minutes.

Editor’s note: This is the fourth post in our theme for January 2022, Urban Environmentalism. Additional entries can be seen at the end of this article. By Erika M. Kitzmiller and Akira Drake Rodriguez The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred national conversations about the substandard conditions in our nation’s public schools. Research shows that indoor air […]

Hyping Philly One More Time: A Round Up of our March Metro of the Month with additional Bibliography

April 3, 2019.Reading time 14 minutes.

As historians gather their kits together to embark on the quest that is #OAH19, The Metropole would like to provide some Philadelphia-centric reading material to those travelling the highways and byways of America to reach the City of Brotherly Love. We offer, first, a round up of our March coverage of the Philly for our […]

Under Two Flags: How Nancy Giddens Built Bridges between Black and Puerto Rican Neighbors

April 2, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

Editor’s note: In anticipation of this week’s #OAH2019/#OAH19 in Philadelphia, the March Metro of the Month was the City of Brotherly love (you can see here for all of our offerings; it begins with the post below but if you scroll down you’ll find all the others). We offer a final new post to whet […]

Building the Hospital City: The Redevelopment of Philadelphia General Hospital

March 21, 2019.Reading time 32 minutes.

By Guian McKee Visitors to this year’s OAH conference in Philadelphia will likely spend much of their time amidst the revitalized restaurants, bars, arts venues, and office towers of Center City. All this is one part of post-industrial Philadelphia, but historians seeking to understand the actual core of the city’s new economy would do well […]

African American Politics in the City of Brotherly Love

March 20, 2019.Reading time 14 minutes.

By James Wolfinger A Huffington Post reporter contacted me in early August, 2016. “What’s going on in Philadelphia?” he wanted to know. “How can you as a historian help me make sense of what I’m hearing?” Donald Trump had just received the Republican Party’s nomination a couple weeks earlier and the Huffington Post was canvassing […]

Buried Legacies: Former Landfills and Philadelphia’s Future

March 11, 2019.Reading time 14 minutes.

By James Cook-Thajudeen Garbage, rubbish, litter, and other forms of solid waste are among the most pressing policy challenges faced by Philadelphia in the early twenty-first century. Bold efforts such as Philadelphia’s Zero Waste by 2035 goal and the city’s seemingly endless battle against illegal dumping and littering have recently been front-page news and fodder […]

Sanctuary and the City

March 6, 2019.Reading time 26 minutes.

Editor’s note: In anticipation of next’s month’s #OAH2019/#OAH19 in Philadelphia, the March Metro of the Month is the City of Brotherly love. To get more info about the conference click over to the organization’s website, where you can also download the OAH’s program for the event. By Domenic Vitiello In the age of President Donald Trump, most Americans […]

The Complexities of Brotherly Love: Frank Rizzo, Blue Collar Conservatism and LGBTQ Rights in 1970’s Philadelphia

March 4, 2019.Reading time 38 minutes.

Editor’s note: In anticipation of next’s month’s #OAH2019/#OAH19 in Philadelphia, the March Metro of the Month is the City of Brotherly love. To get more info about the conference click over to the organization’s website, where you can also download the OAH’s program for the event. “You know how it works in South Philly. Our strength has always […]