The People’s Platform

As people who live and work in the City of Philadelphia, we are grounded in the impact that our elected officials, particularly Philadelphia’s City Council and Mayor, have on our everyday lives. The 2023 People’s Platform for a Just Philadelphia is a vision for our city that prioritizes communities over corporations and centers the needs of all Philadelphians, especially Black and brown, immigrant, refugee, poor and working class residents who bear the brunt of systemic neglect. 

We have a vision of a city where everyone can thrive and where safety is something tangible we can feel, not an empty promise. In order for this vision to be real, it means our elected leaders must do what’s necessary to invest in the services and public institutions we all need while divesting from the broken systems that harm our communities. This framework means that we don’t merely put a bandaid on the symptoms, but deeply address the root causes of the challenges our city faces. We need elected officials who will stand with us in our vision for a Just Philadelphia. What does a safe and thriving Philadelphia that belongs to us look like?  

We believe in and are ready to fight for:

An Economy for All

Everyone deserves the highest quality public services, yet we’re constantly told there’s no money to fund the city that we deserve. Our city budget is disproportionately funded by working class Philadelphians and, after decades of underpaying, it is time that the wealthiest residents pay what they owe to Philadelphia. Taxes are an investment in our city, and we demand that the City enact progressive revenue policies that require corporations, the ultra-rich and universities to pay what they owe to fund our communities.

Justice for All

Everyone deserves safety, dignity, and the ability to thrive in their communities, yet Black and Brown communities instead face a gun violence crisis that steals our young peoples’ futures alongside incarceration and trauma from unaccountable police and courts systems. We know that more police and more cages has not made our society less violent – yet our city continues to pour money into a police department that fails to protect and serve our communities and neglects the social services and public goods that actually create safety we can feel. There is endless research that connects quality healthcare, good paying jobs, community green space, and stable housing to reducing community violence. . We demand investments in communities, not incarceration – and a true reimagining of public safety that centers on meeting people’s needs and creating a culture of accountability within our communities and across every institution.

Land & Housing for All

Everyone deserves an affordable, accessible, safe, healthy place to live– regardless of their race, class, or neighborhood. Our City has a legacy of adopting policies that have damaged Black and Brown communities especially in areas where families have limited economic
resources. While the pandemic has changed the world for everyone, it has clearly compounded the structural injustice that too many poor, disabled, and working families experience. Community open space and gardens are quickly being lost to profit-driven development; renters aren’t being protected from careless landlords; and homeowners are struggling to maintain older homes. We demand that our City prioritize long-term affordability that withstands development pressure, prioritizes land for community needs, and reduces displacement of communities.

Education for All

We deserve quality, fully and fairly funded schools that transform the lives of Black, Brown and working class young people, their families , district staff , school communities and neighborhoods by addressing their needs and desires. However, for decades, our school communities have been forced to do more with less, facing underfunding, understaffing, decaying school buildings, and curriculums that don’t reflect our communities. It’s been five years since the City of Philadelphia took back local control of our schools – yet still the School District, City Hall and Harrisburg have constantly pointed fingers at each other without giving our young people what they deserve. We demand that the Mayor and City Council take on responsibility for our schools and use all their powers to make our schools accountable, representative and transparent, to empower youth, to protect our students through sanctuary policies and getting police out of schools, to halt charter expansion, to invest in healthy schools and to tax the rich to fund the change we need.

Environmental Justice for All

Everyone deserves a healthy, livable climate and clean environment. But big climate polluters have profited, but poisoned our bodies and heated up the planet, while those who have contributed the least suffer most from the consequences. Meanwhile, decades of disinvestment and unaccountable development have left many working class Philadelphians with unhealthy homes and school buildings, crumbling infrastructure, and trash-strewn streets. To protect and heal our communities in the midst of a climate emergency, we demand that City officials invest in transforming our buildings, utilities, streets, and waste systems, require an urgent shift away from fossil fuels, and plan for a livable future.

Good Jobs for All

Everyone deserves a stable job with family sustaining wages, free of intimidation or harassment, regardless of their employment status. For far too many Philadelphians this is not the case. We demand that the City enact and fully fund policies that protect the rights of Philadelphia’s workers and ensure a safe and well-paid workspace.

Health for All

Everyone deserves to thrive, and that is only possible when everyone has access to affordable and robust healthcare. However, most people struggle to afford the care they need to, and often avoid seeking care because of costs and because mental health services and reproductive care are often not covered. We demand City officials protect our communities right to reproductive, mental health, and harm reduction services while advancing the fight for Medicare for All.

Public Services for All

Everyone deserves the highest quality public services, yet we’re constantly told there’s no money to fund the city that we deserve. Our city budget is disproportionately funded by working class Philadelphians and, after decades of underpaying, it is time that the wealthiest residents pay what they owe to Philadelphia. Taxes are an investment in our city, and we demand that the City enact progressive revenue policies that require corporations, the ultra-rich and universities to pay what they owe to fund our communities.

Sanctuary for All

All people deserve to live free from fear, and in peace. However, our immigrant, refugee and undocumented community continues to live day to day in fear of ICE detention, raids, and deportation. We demand that our elected officials continue to adhere to their commitment for Philadelphia to be a Sanctuary City; and ensure that our limited English proficient neighbors have full access to all city agencies and services.

Democracy for All

All Philadelphians, whether voters or candidates, deserve to have free and fair elections where we count every vote and make sure every voice is heard. However, the act of voting remains inaccessible to residents who don’t speak English and our options for candidates are limited to those who can afford the high costs of running a campaign against opponents who receive large contributions from big businesses, developers, and political action groups invested in greed. Because we live in a majority Black and brown city, Philadelphians have faced voter suppression and intimidation, inaccessibility and attempts to stop our votes from being counted. We demand that the process of voting, running for office and participating in electoral policy making is equally possible for every Philadelphian.

Alliance for a Just Philadelphia

The 2023 People’s Platform for a Just Philadelphia was developed by the Alliance for a Just Philadelphia with input from Philadelphia community members during our 2022 People’s Assembly.

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