ABOUT PHILADELPHIA POPULATION: 1,436,287, nation's fifth largest. AREA: 135.1 square miles. LEADING INDUSTRIES: Professional services, retail, manufacturing. WORK FORCE: 513,000. UNEMPLOYMENT: 5.8 percent (1999). PER CAPITA INCOME: $12,091. POLITICS: John Street is a Democrat in his first term as mayor. The city hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1947. VOTER REGISTRATION: Republicans 192,604 - 19 percent; Democrats 738,103 - 74 percent; independent or members of smaller parties 607,030 - 6 percent. NICKNAME: City of Brotherly Love. TAXES: Taxes in Philadelphia generate more than $2.4 billion. Residents pay a real estate tax, levied on the assessed value of property, an occupancy tax, a city wage tax and numerous sales taxes. ECONOMY: The regional economy benefits from its central Atlantic Coast location and transportation network. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical services, publishing and banking flourish. With four medical schools, two dental schools, two pharmacy schools and numerous drug firms and research labs in the area, Philadelphia is a center of the health care industry.

PHILADELPHIA -- When the delegates and media attending the Republican National Convention take in the sights and smells of the city, Philadelphia wants the reaction to be "ooooh," not "ewwww."

Both city and private organizations are scrubbing and planting to make things pleasing to visitors' eyes and noses. From train stations and bus stops to streets and sidewalks, the goal is to beautify the view and prevent the olfactory bouquet that's often a part of city life.

Flowers are being planted, red-white-and-blue banners are decorating storefronts, transit stations are getting fresh paint and new signs. Street-cleaning crews will be working early and late to tidy up and provide information to tourists. Even the city's largest skyscraper, One Liberty Place, is decked out with red, white and blue lights.

"We have every expectation that every one of the thousands of people coming to the RNC will enjoy it here," said Steve Maurer, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, whose members have been working with communities throughout the city to make things more colorful.

Among their efforts: 150 hanging baskets and 150 window flower boxes in the city's Society Hill neighborhood; 1,200 plants throughout the downtown area and 1,500 along the Avenue of the Arts theater and cultural district; 4,000 flowering plants at City Hall, 200 bulbs and 80 trees on John F. Kennedy Boulevard.

"Flowers have a very mollifying effect on the people who live in the neighborhood and on people walking and driving," Maurer said. "We're working on a lot of the gateway areas to the city, and we've made sure that it's all in sync with the RNC so when people arrive they see a beautiful, beautiful city."

Philadelphia International Airport is spending about $5 million to make sure visitors have a good first impression. That means fresh paint for terminals, restroom renovations, a political-theme art exhibit, customer service training for airport workers and fresh flowers and 100 planters featuring GOP elephants.

Lights and banners will decorate 30th Street Station, which will increase its staffing by about 25 percent -- about 10 service workers a day -- during the convention, said Amtrak spokeswoman Karen Dunn.

Earlier this year, partly because of the convention, Mayor John F. Street launched an effort that led to the removal of 33,000 abandoned cars from city streets in 40 days. The city is also increasing the number of cleaning crews along South Street and other busy tourist thoroughfares.

The Southeastern Regional Transportation Authority is also at work in preparation for the July 31-Aug. 4 convention, which is expected to bring more than 40,000 people to the city.

That includes graffiti removal, new signs and lighting, scrubbing train stations and even tunnels.

The Center City District, a private organization paid for by downtown businesses, is adding a third shift of workers to do sidewalk sweeping and pressure washing during the convention.

The group is also hiring additional "community service representatives" to provide information and answer questions.