Editing Richardson Dilworth (section)

== Mayor of Philadelphia ==

When Joseph Clark decided not to seek reelection in 1955, Dilworth won the Democratic nomination and the mayoralty. His administration continued Clark's reform agenda while proving more politically savvy about building the coalitions necessary to sustain reform. Dilworth was more comfortable than Clark with the give-and-take of democratic politics; he could work with ward leaders and union officials without compromising essential reform principles. His personal charm and evident enjoyment of politics made him popular in ways that the more austere Clark had not been.<ref name="weigley"/>

Dilworth's tenure as mayor coincided with Philadelphia's most ambitious urban renewal efforts. Projects like Society Hill—transforming a declining neighborhood near Independence Hall into an upscale residential area—showed what renewal could achieve. But other projects displaced communities, destroyed affordable housing, and failed to deliver promised benefits. The food distribution center built in South Philadelphia proved successful; highway projects that carved through neighborhoods proved destructive. Dilworth believed in renewal's promise and defended controversial projects, but the mixed results illustrated the limits of top-down planning. Urban renewal became one of his most contested legacies.<ref name="binzen"/>