Connor Barwin's Civic Season

This week, the all-pro linebacker and citizen activist measures how our civic health stacks up against Miami

We lost a heartbreaker at home on Sunday to the Miami Dolphins. Off the field, we take the civic matchup against the city of Miami, which is quite small (36 square miles) and located in a much larger county (Miami-Dade) that includes about 30 separate municipalities. According to Professor Richardson Dilworth of Drexel’s Center for Public Policy, our differences complicate the comparison between the two cities. “The city of Miami actually is the equivalent of Center City and South Philadelphia combined, while you can fit about 10 Philadelphias within Miami-Dade County,” he says.

Dilworth points out that Miami should get points for its history as a primary site for refugees, most notably Cubans in the 1960s and Haitians in the 1990s and later; that history helps explain some of the low scores below. “Slightly more than half of Miami-Dade’s population is foreign-born, which is the highest foreign-born population of any county in the United States,” he explains. “As a result, Miami deals with civic issues—multi- and bilingualism in public schools, for example—that Philadelphia doesn’t in quite the same way.”

Finally, there is one factor our chart doesn’t explicitly note. Of all major American cities, Miami faces the greatest threat from climate change. “To put it bluntly, in 100 years, Miami may just not be there,” Dilworth says. “In Philadelphia, climate change doesn’t pose that kind of existential threat. In Miami, part of the city’s strategy is to promote economic development as the way to generate the local taxes needed to build the infrastructure that will preserve property values in the face of climate change.”

Next week we take on Tampa Bay.

Results

Philadelphia

Eagles

vs

Miami

Dolphins

% BA or higher

24.4

7 POINTS

Eagles

% BA or higher

23.3

% Below poverty

27.2

7 POINTS

Eagles

% Below poverty

30.3

% Bike to work

2.1

7 POINTS

Eagles

% Bike to work

0.9

% Moved to city in past year

4.6

7 POINTS

Tie

% Moved to city in past year

4.6

Violent crime per 1,000 residents

11.0

7 POINTS

Eagles

Violent crime per 1,000 residents

11.8

% Volunteer

26.1

7 POINTS

Eagles

% Volunteer

14.3

% Voted in last mayoral election

25

7 POINTS

Eagles

% Voted in last mayoral election

16.24

Income Inequality Index

.51

7 POINTS

Eagles

Income Inequality Index

.56

% of population aged 22 to 34

25.5

7 POINTS

Eagles

% of population aged 22 to 34

20.69

Final Score

56

Philadelphia

Eagles

Final Score

0

Sep. 14
21-35

Falcons

Falcons

Sep. 20
21-42

Cowboys

Cowboys

Sep. 27
28-35

Jets

Jets

Oct. 04
14-42

Redskins

Redskins

Oct. 11
21-42

Saints

Saints

Oct. 19
28-35

Giants

Giants

Oct. 25
21-35

Panthers

Panthers

Nov. 08
21-42

Cowboys

Cowboys

Nov. 15
56-0

Eagles

Dolphins

Nov. 22
35-28

Eagles

Buccaneers

Nov. 26
42-7

Eagles

Lions

Dec. 06
28-35

Patriots

Patriots

Dec. 13
42-21

Eagles

Bills

Oct. 19
35-28

Eagles

Cardinals

Dec. 26
14-42

Redskins

Redskins

Jan. 03
35-28

Eagles

Giants

Civic Record:

EAGLES

Wins

5

Losses

7

Upcoming Games:

Data compiled by Ken Gross, Quantitative Innovations.

All data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey 2011-2013 except: Volunteer rates; crime stats.

Voter turnout rates from Philadelphia’s 2015 general election; Miami’s 2013 general election.

More info on the GINI Index of Income Inequality.

* All team logos are property of the NFL and their respective franchises.

Homepage photo: Brian Garfinkel/Philadelphia Eagles

 

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