Storytelling and gentrification in Wilmington

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Good afternoon,

The News Journal and parent company Gannett occasionally trot out lengthy pieces in its nationwide newspaper network that are touted as examples of storytelling. The format is said to be more compelling for print and online readers.

The latest piece on Wilmington,  complete with large graphics and generous verbiage,   stitched together a  portrait of a city on its way back that is also leaving many behind.

The story portrayed a less than compassionate city administration that is putting pressure on social service entities that do not fit in its plans.

Tossed in the mix was everything from the closing of a homeless shelter to the decision to largely dismantle the Rodney Square transit hub.

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 There was even a   reference to an upscale dining establishment at the former site of a low-priced chicken restaurant.

The interviews mainly featured well-known figures in the city, with a generous amount of material from the archive also known to us oldtimers as the   “morgue.”

With that said, the   story is worth reading, since it offers insights into what many are thinking these days.

To our east, we are  seeing displacement of poorer  residents in some Philadelphia neighborhoods. Wilmington is nowhere near that point.

One omission in the story was a look at the power structure in the city that had strong ties to the social service sector.   Such entities and their leaders had long been a  force in municipal politics while also  serving as a  source of jobs for the well connected.

That changed to some extent with the election of Mike Purzycki as mayor. It is also clear that some pushback has taken place from the old guard.

Purzycki points out that the city cannot be expected to bear the entire social service burden and suggests New Castle County needs to lend a hand. The county also has limited resources and blighted neighborhoods of its own in need of help.

It would be great if the story triggers conversations and future actions that blunt the negative effects of gentrification.

A sense of perspective is also important. It was not that long ago that the city was in intensive care as the Murdertown USA storyline went viral and came close to becoming a TV series.

  Since that time,  Wilmington ‘s condition has improved more rapidly than many of us  had hoped. The problems we now see are manageable. In some places that is known as progress. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.

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