Sixteen true Philadelphians gathered at the Klein Branch of the Jewish Community Center on Jan. 12. It was striking how many spoke of Philadelphia as ``beautiful,'' ``comfortable,'' as, in John Gilbert's words, ``a convenient place to live.'' Lowell Kravitz and others valued the city's ``amazing cultural attractions'' and history. Mike Davis had the quote of the night when he said, ``Near my house you have a Wawa, a video store, a bakery and a gas station. What else do you need?''

In preparing for the future airing of the Oprah Winfrey show, four groups began to tackle the issues. One began with the link between education and falling crime rates. One began with improving city services (as one participant asked, ``How can we get city government to be responsive to the citizens who actually are paying the taxes?''). A third mulls ways to attract Center-City-style improvements to other sections of the city, such as the Northwest. A fourth group discussed ways to create more youth activities to cut down on crime, delinquency and alienation from the community.

On the Oprah show 2010, the panel astonished everyone by reporting a resurgence in development throughout the city, spurring a grand improvement in city services and maintenance. The city became even more beautiful, even more attractive to new businesses. A booming economy was behind it all. With swollen coffers, federal and state governments could finally fund mandated services fully. Schools were improved, classes were smaller, there were better supplies and books and there was a reduction in crime.

(It was fascinating that the group spent so little time worrying about crime. Those assembled appeared to assume that if the city could right its economic ship, social problems such as crime and race tension would also improve.)

Mayor Rendell's policies were continued by his successors. ``Pro-business'' was no longer a dirty word. Business taxes were decreased, bringing new businesses and jobs into the city.

Finally, the panel announced that the city's attitude had changed from the old culture of complaint to a pride in the city. With a good economy and improved city services, citizens were motivated to assume collective responsibility for their community.

The question-and-answer session was civil but pointed.

Question: How did city services get so good?

Answer: Improved working relations between the city and the state.

Q: Where did leadership come from?

A: Strong central figures, starting with the mayors. Community leaders followed suit, motivating their neighbors to take ownership of their communities.

Q: How did the city attract new businesses?

A: Tax abatements played a big role. The city did not disdain creative financing to retain businesses once they came -- but, in return, the city required businesses to make some sort of contractual commitment to stay in Philadelphia once arrived.

Q: How did discipline improve in the schools?

A: A fascinating concept, the Teen Court, required the miscreant student to appear before a tribunal of his or her peers, who then imposed appropriate punishment -- which was to work on a teen jury in judgment of other wayward students. The Teen Court was mentored by teachers and parents.

A city-wide system of peer counseling and early-intervention measures got young people involved in policing their own neighborhoods, anticipating and avoiding crime. This meshed well with renewed civic efforts. Parents were better able to guide their families, and teen pregnancies continued to fall.

With an economy pumping money into a new business hub, Philadelphians felt better about their town, and their town did a better job. As Shirley Elkins put it, ``There was more collective consciousness.''

The session ended with a single question, which brought no answer but did bring a huge laugh: ``When did you build the stadium?''