Editing John Street (section)

== Legacy ==

Street left office in 2008 with a mixed legacy. His supporters credited NTI with addressing blight that previous administrations had ignored, focusing attention on neighborhoods that had been neglected during Rendell's Center City renaissance, and representing African American interests in city government. Critics pointed to corruption scandals, management shortcomings, and NTI's unfulfilled promises. The city that Street inherited from Rendell was in better condition than the city Rendell had inherited; the city Street left to his successor Michael Nutter faced new challenges including the 2008 financial crisis but was not worse off than other American cities.<ref name="bissinger"/>

Street's post-mayoral career took an unexpected turn: he became an ordained minister and largely withdrew from public life. His preference for privacy contrasted with Rendell's continued visibility. Street's mayoral tenure is now viewed as a transitional period—between Rendell's turnaround and Nutter's reforms—rather than as a distinct era. His focus on neighborhood transformation anticipated later debates about gentrification and development equity. His administration's problems with corruption illustrated ongoing challenges in Philadelphia governance. John Street was neither the transformative leader his supporters hoped for nor the failure his critics charged, but a complicated figure who governed a complicated city through challenging times.<ref name="kromer"/>