Open-air drug situations always get the attention (google Philadelphia Badlands for previous coverage). But if you drive around Philadelphia without knowing wh

Open-air drug situations always get the attention (google Philadelphia Badlands for previous coverage). But if you drive around Philadelphia without knowing which areas to avoid, you'll quickly realize that no part of the city is more than a handful of blocks away from extreme poverty and all the mayhem that comes with it. (Aside: one of my Philly cousins has a steel plate in his head after being attacked with a baseball bat near the Temple campus a few years ago; another one keeps a gun at work in North Philadelphia and has had to use it.)