The Philadelphia Neighborhood Recovery Tour was inspired by Neighborhood Recovery: Reinvestment Policy for the New Hometown (Rutgers Press, 2000) by John Kromer. In that book, Kromer describes his experiences as Philadelphia's director of housing, a post to which he was appointed in 1992 by former mayor Edward G. Rendell. (He also served under current Mayor John Street, until taking a position with the University of Pennsylvania, Fels Center of Government, in 2001.) Part war-story and part how-to manual, Neighborhood Recovery advocates a blending of public-sector leadership and community initiative to produce successful and lasting results in distressed neighborhoods. Topics Kromer addresses include strategic planning, homeownership and financing, housing for homeless people and others with specialized needs, as well as job-readiness training for neighborhood residents.

More information about the book Neighborhood Recovery can be obtained at www.neighborhoodrecovery.com/.