Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of my time traveling all over the city talking and listening to people.
In my conversations, I hear a variety of things. I hear stories of life in Harrisburg. I hear about what the city used to be. I hear about what the city is and isn’t. I hear about what people think the city could be.
I’m enlightened, inspired, motivated and saddened by what I hear. I’m saddened because I know there are many people who have become cynical and doubtful of the potential of this capital city along the river. This particularly hits hard when I’m conversing with youth who have no pride or faith in this place.
The eternal optimist that I am, though, I continue to take in everything to reinforce my resolve that this city will be better.
However, there is one prominent theme that troubles me the most and plagues my strategies to collaborate with fellow residents to succeed in the goal of reconstructing Harrisburg as a model of urban renewal.
It’s the notion that “some parts” of the city get things “other parts” don’t get. It’s the accusation that “those people and neighborhoods” are the favored and “these people and neighborhoods” aren’t.
Yes, I’ve often written about the “us” and “them” dynamics that challenge our city, but this theme I’m referring to is much more insidious than that. It’s more nuanced and dangerous, I think.
First off, it’s more overt. It’s being said in community meetings, quoted in media and posted on public forums.
Secondly, it’s being stated by city leaders, not just the elected but by community activists, block captains and personalities of prominence.
While I do not refute that our distinct neighborhoods have distinct problems, the claims I keep primarily hearing can actually be proved to be false.
These proclamations include, “The administration gives Midtown whatever they want.”
“City Councilors only listen to the people who voted for them.”
“Bellevue Park and Shipoke get their potholes and storm drains fixed faster than other neighborhoods.”
“Allison Hill is always getting more enforcement and services than Uptown.”
In some cases, I can understand where there are issues of perception versus reality, but that’s where I’m severely troubled by the irresponsibility of the proclaimers for not checking reality.
Through inquiry, onsite visits, informal investigation and my own experiences, I know many of these claims aren’t true and can’t be true.
When I look into it—which is not that difficult to do in this small city—reality is not substantiating the statements nor are the statements sufficiently backed by evidence.
Instead, when I ask, “How do you know?” I typically get, “Oh, I know. I know how it is around here. I know how things are done.”
Yes, but where’s the proof?
I’m not necessarily seeing it. And, fortunately, I’m not alone. Once in awhile, when these claims are made in a crowd, someone else steps up to offer an alternative point-of-view or some information otherwise.
Yet, what worries me the most is that there isn’t always someone around willing to step up and question the accuracy or dispute the claims.
So, then the claims become the narratives that are believed, passed around, built upon and established.
They become “facts,” although, like I said above, “facts” without sufficient evidence.
Please understand that I’m not denying the existence of some very real social challenges we face in this city. Nor am I denying that some parts are more redeveloped or that there are more concentrated areas of disintegration.
But here are the simple truths.
Every single neighborhood in this city has disinvestment.
Every single neighborhood in this city has neglect and dumps.
Every single neighborhood in this city has poverty.
Every single neighborhood in this city has potholes, broken streetlights, clogged drains, faded crosswalks, overgrown lots, overflowing trashcans, bad neighbors, good neighbors, engaged residents and value.
I wince every time I hear someone say, “Well, you know that would never happen in Midtown,” or “All of Allison Hill is a burnt-out mess.”
The people, leaders especially, who are saying these things are being reckless in their claims.
They are perpetuating myths that reinforce the fragmentation that becomes the ultimate deteriorating factor of our urban fabric—the “us” and “them” mentality.
Instead of working together to fix this city as a whole, we’re continually pitting neighborhoods against each other. The one basic fact we should all remember is that this city is broken.
In total, it’s broken, and, in total, we can fix it.
Only, though, if we start rising above our perceived differences and share in the reality of Harrisburg’s current state together.
Tara Leo Auchey is the creator and editor of today’s the day, Harrisburg. www.todaysthedayhbg.com.
