PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia has its first nighttime economy director. Raheem Manning hopes to turn the city into a destination every hour of the night.
By the time Manning ended his first day on the job, this week, his Twitter mentions were overflowing with ideas.
“I was just so excited there were so many people who had ideas about what the nighttime economy should look like, and that just reaffirmed that we’re going in the right direction,” Manning said.
He co-chaired the city’s Arts and Culture Task Force, which recommended the city create the position.
Manning has a travel and event business which has allowed him to visit more than 200 cities worldwide, and he said he spotted a trend involving the different needs an economy needs to flourish at night.
“Cities of the future are moving to be 24 hours, and that means having a plan for what happens after 5 p.m.,” said Manning.
Related
“There are a lot of cities that are making really great strides to being true 24-hour cities. Philly, it’s our time to catch on and plan to be a 24-hour city.”
“I’m just excited the position is finally here, and we’re looking forward to working with Raheem to provide quality services and experiences to businesses and those who (frequent) those businesses,” Councilmember Isaiah Thomas said. He sponsored the bill creating the job.
“A position like this, done the right way, will put Philadelphia in a position to compete with cities across the country.”
Related
Cities like Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, New York, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. each have similar positions, following the direction of cities like London, Paris and Zurich, according to the American Planning Association.
Manning said his first step will be to listen to people whose businesses are geared toward evening, to find out what the city can do to support them. He expects safety to be a big issue.