Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - On Sept. 29, just minutes into freshman convocation, Liz Magill's first major speech as University of Pennsylvania president was disrupted by about 100 protesters. As the city transitioned towards a post-industrial economy in the ensuing decades, neighborhood revival became a key focus for municipal government. While the pace of Philadelphia-area redevelopment lagged behind other rapidly revitalizing citiesnotably, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C.the specter of displacement troubled government officials and longtime residents alike. The Save UC Townhomes movement has confronted many key architects and executors of displacement in Philadelphia. Attendees said that groups of residents are trying to fend off gentrification in West Philadelphia. Pictured here years before his appointment as Executive Director of the Philadelphia Housing Association, Edmund Bacon is sometimes referred to as The Father of Modern Philadelphia. Born in the Philadelphia suburbs in 1910, he studied architecture at Cornell University and introduced a plan for a new civic center for Philadelphia as part of his senior thesis. As Philadelphias population rose for the first time since World War II, an increasing number of neighborhoods outside of Center City began to experience a revival. Penns Civic House sponsored an urban studies class (URBS 178) on universitycommunity relations that addresses the schools difficult history with its surroundings. Its one of the few places where folks who are on public housing vouchers can still access things like public transportation, a public library, medical care, markets, local stores, and other essential amenities with relative ease, said Davids. Many were put off by their new neighbors perceived unfriendliness or condescension. Rents rise, and residents like Clare Finn, who grew up in West Philly and lives there now as an adult, are priced out of their own neighborhoods.. Its not just homes. As middle-class residents returned, formerly moribund commercial corridors came alive with restaurants and shops catering to the well-heeled. At 78.5 percent African American in 1990, the neighborhood was less than one-third Black by 2014. New Light Beulah Baptist was a historical landmark and an important fixture in . Earning a national reputation during the mid-century era of urban renewal, he was featured in Time and Life magazines and was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to the White House's Conference on Recreation and Natural Beauty. During the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, newly built suburbs outside of Center City intensified these divisions. To direct the neighborhoods ground-level renewal, Greater Philadelphia in turn spawned another interest group, the Old Philadelphia Development Corporation (OPDC), to coordinate the actions of bankers, finance capital, and homeowners. In a few short years, Southwark saw a dramatic decline in its working-class population along with the conversion of its mixed-use streetscapes into expensive residential-only corridors. However, due to political and financial disagreements, Bacons vision was never realized. Even though Black residents fought gentrificationforming an anti-displacement group that demanded low-income housing optionstheir efforts were largely unsuccessful. This house on the corner of Second and Lombard Streets used building materials typically used in adjacent row houses, such as brick and concrete, but applied a modernist design to give the building its distinctive look. As anticipated, property values soared, rising nearly 250 percent during the 1960s. He is the co-host and producer of the podcast Millennials Are Killing Capitalism. This "process" is very dangerous as it has a notorious reputation of displacing old residents and creating terrible living situations for those it has not displaced. This suggests that some 8% of Philadelphia's gun violence can be attributed to gentrification destabilizing the city's illicit drug markets. Phyllis Dennis (C 76), then a PVDA employee, recalls the meeting, saying that Penns representatives brought in a massive map covered in blue and red pins, which represented planned university development both on and offcampus. More by Jared Ware. The University bought the land and the building and now uses it as an incubator for local startups and student research. West Philly gentrification means upheaval for these longtime residents. Johnson says one small breakthrough came when they helped defend a resident facing an immediate eviction and were able to stop that process. Sterling Johnson, an organizer with Philadelphia Housing Action, recalls a small meeting last fall with Gerald Sid Bolling from the Black Bottom Tribe that included some residents. Cedar Park is one of the hottest areas in the city, and housing values are spiking dramatically. In 1977, against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding Penn, the University of Pennsylvanias Real Estate Development Office called the Powelton Village Development Agency (PVDA) to a meeting. Residents say Magill has ducked meeting requests for months. I think for now Eastwicks outside of [Penns] reach, Phil said wryly. Many native West Philadelphians declare, often on bumper stickers: This is West Philly. These land seizures, coupled with the 1963 construction of the University City Science Center, fractured the community. Philadelphia did not become the international stage as Bacon had hoped. Yet even in the midst of this apparent nadir, there were glimmers of hope. . Johnson attended the meeting along with his collaborator Wiley Cunningham, folks from Police Free Penn, a police abolitionist student organization from the University of Pennsylvania, and members of Penn Housing 4 All. Does it push long-time residents out in favor of the highest bidder? The gentrification of drug blocks specifically, as opposed to all gentrifying blocks in Philadelphia, accounted for roughly 2,400 additional shootings during the 10 years of his study. West Philadelphia has been called many names over the years. The owner intends to sell the property. Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy, TheEncyclopedia To him, its untouched by the tentacles of development, a community similar to West Philly 20 years ago. Housing activists and UC Townhomes residents fight gentrification in West Philadelphia Housing activists, university students, and residents have staged protests and encampments to defend low-income housing in UC Townhomes by Jared Ware October 7th, 2022 A NYC cannabis community space is harming their workers and Black-led businesses, Industrialized water containment projects ignore the needs of Indigenous communities, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Its stated aim was to make Penn reasonable, alive, and healthy once again. In particular, the western stretch of this arearebranded as Graduate Hospitalsaw a dramatic influx of young, white, well-off residents, drawn by its proximity to tony Rittenhouse Square and easy accessibility to the University of Pennsylvania. Study: Philly's gentrifying neighborhoods are resegregating. The rapid influx of wealthier homebuyers triggered alarming demographic changes. Or does it help low-income communities? Johnson notes that these actions started out small but were continuous and built up over time. About 75 people took part in the event, held four days before a critical vote at a Zoning Board of Adjustments hearing. Restoring the citys historic housing stock, Bacon reasoned, would encourage upper-income residents to move back to the citythereby stabilizing its dwindling tax base and upgrading real estate values. The building was used sparingly in the 1990s as new owners attempted to find a market, but the building remained largely unoccupied and the whole complex was demolished in 2002. As manufacturing jobs continued to declinefrom 350,000 in 1950 to a meager 31,000 by 2005white working-class residents fled to suburbs in Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. "West Philly is the new Africa," one resident warned at a community meeting. It garnered media attention, brought the community into the fight, and helped residents build greater connection with activists, students, and organized labor in the city. Gentrification had become a policy problem necessitating a public response. As of 2010, the neighborhood is majority-white for the first time since 1970, a stunning reversal . On Sept. 29, just minutes into freshman convocation, Liz Magills first major speech as University of Pennsylvania president was disrupted by about 100 protesters. These actions lasted for months and were eventually settled through an agreement by Philadelphia Housing Authority and the City of Philadelphia to hand over 50 vacant publicly owned houses to a community land trust. That's typical for a gentrifying city. The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, a city agency, spearheaded the project. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013. Ethnic businesseskosher wine merchants, haberdasheries, and furrierswere reincarnated as vegetarian restaurants, feminist bookstores, and hip clothing boutiques. Business owners opened smaller boutiques, restaurants, and bars that catered to youthful adults who preferred to live within walking distance of dining and other diversions. Both Alexander and Johnson attest that constant meetings and forcing the owner to extend the HUD contract multiple times has been stressful on the residents. What these struggles make plain is the violence that is fundamentally intertwined with private property rights and the shadowy public-private partnerships often involved. Housing prices soared even more quickly than they had in Queen Village. In 2014, Philadelphia City Council enacted the Longtime Owner Occupants Program (LOOP). One 1978 study estimated that real estate taxes in Queen Village had increased almost 300 percent since the start of the decade. The blocks surrounding Dock Street continued to be popular in the nineteenth century, as hundreds of merchants established distribution warehouses and sidewalk storefronts to sell a variety of food to other Philadelphia businesses and individuals. Many of these working-class immigrants were employed in restaurant and domestic servicesa sector that grew along with Philadelphias affluent urban class. In many cases, this results in the demise of historically and culturally valuable communal institutions. But for existing communities facing the gentrification of their neighborhood, those dreams of revival were dampened by fears of displacement. The students have been moved into a new building at 4901 Chestnut. While she might be new to her role, her institutions legacy is inescapablelocal NPR/PBS affiliate WHYY has noted that Penn has undertaken policies that produced some of the most acute gentrification Philadelphia has ever seen.. By 1990, that figure had fallen to 20 percent. "They're creating enclaves of whiteness," said Chad Dion Lassiter, a social worker, lifelong. A critical vote at a Zoning Board of Adjustments hearing now uses it as an incubator for local startups student..., Phil said wryly defend a resident facing an immediate eviction and were able to stop that.. Transitioned towards a post-industrial economy in the ensuing decades, neighborhood revival a! West Philadelphia defend a resident facing an immediate eviction and were able to stop process... 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