University
City is the name given to an area of campuses and
neighborhoods in West Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Its boundaries, as defined by the non-profit University City
District organization, are: the Schuylkill River to the east;
Spring Garden Street, Powelton Avenue, and Market Street to
the north; Civic Center Boulevard, University Avenue and Woodland
Avenue to the south; and 52nd Street to the west. These boundaries
encompass the neighborhoods of Cedar Park, Garden Court, Spruce
Hill, Squirrel Hill, Powelton Village, Walnut Hill, and Woodland
Terrace. The boundaries also encompass several historic districts
(view map) and the zip codes 19104, 19139, and 19143.
The name
University City was coined in the mid-1950s in an effort to
encourage University of Pennsylvania faculty to move into
the nearby neighborhoods as part of an urban-renewal effort.
At that time, Penn was the only university in the area, but
the name now reflects the proximity of other institutions
of higher education, including Drexel University (formerly
the Drexel Institute of Technology) and the University of
the Sciences in Philadelphia (formerly the Philadelphia College
of Pharmacy), and Lincoln University, PA Graduate Center (now
know as Lincoln University Plaza). The eastern area of University
City is home to the Penn and Drexel campuses, several medical
institutions (including the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia),
independent centers of scientific research, 30th Street Station,
and the Cira Centre. The western area, with its Victorian
and early 20th century housing stock, is primarily residential
and is home to a diverse population.
Names
of the Region
Blockley is one of the earliest names applied to this region.
In 1677, William Warner, purchased 1,500 acres (6.1 km²)
from the local Indian tribe and named the area. Blockley Township
did not have a great reputation in 19th century. "It
was an ideal hideout for shadowy characters and evil-doers
who crossed the river in skiffs after a thieving or smuggling
job south of the city. As late as 1850 it was considered hazardous
to be abroad alone in this area." The Blockley Almshouse,
later known as Philadelphia General Hospital, was located
here. Philadelphia proper was actually founded 5 years after
Blockley, but its influence was quickly felt. People soon
started calling the Township of Blockley by the made up name
West Philadelphia. Later, parts of Blockley were carved out
to form the District of West Philadelphia.
In 1735,
Andrew Hamilton, a "Philadelphia Lawyer", purchased
300 acres (1.2 km²) of land within Blockley Township.
This area came to be known as Hamilton Village and The Woodlands,
a sprawling botanical garden and mansion were built here.
The gardens is now the Woodlands Cemetery. Much of the rest
of Hamilton Village is now covered by the 40th St. retail
corridor.
A small
section on the northern side of this area was once known as
Greenville. Situated near Lancaster Ave, Powelton Ave, and
Market St., Greenville served as a way point for travelers
and cattle drivers. Many taverns and inns accommodated the
generally rowdy travelers. Later, the area expanded in all
directions with many German immigrants and offered much more
than simple taverns. By the mid-20th century, the area had
changed again to a neighborhood that was colloquially referred
to as the Black Bottom, a nickname that referenced the neighborhood's
racial and economic status. Much of this neighborhood was
destroyed as part of a gentrification plan in the 1960s.
The late
19th and early 20th centuries were a time of enormous growth
in the area. The arrival of electrified streetcars in the
1890s kickstarted development to the west of 43rd Street,
and bridges and a tunnel in the first decade of the 20th century
allowed people to easily commute into Center City. This led
to rapid development within the borders of University City
and far beyond. It was around this time that the "local"
neighborhood names like Spruce Hill and Cedar Park were established.
In the
mid-1950s, the name University City was coined as a marketing
tool by two realtors (former Penn graduates) in an attempt
to attract Penn faculty back to the neighborhoods near Penn.
The boundaries were defined as extending from the "Schuylkill
River to 52nd Street, and from Haverford Avenue to the Media-line
railroad tracks south of Kingsessing Avenue — though
over the years many have viewed it as a smaller domain".
This has led to some community tension; some saw it as an
attempt to secede from West Philadelphia.
Town
and Gown
University City has a history of strained town and gown relations,
particularly with Penn. Since the 1960s, Penn has led a series
of gentrification and redevelopment programs that have changed
the character of the area. Some locals call this "Penntrification"
or "McPenntrification"as it seems to only benefit
those with a relationship to Penn.
Some,
including local anarchists, believe Penn's actions divide
the community. The Sadie Alexander public elementary school,
which Penn helped to build and currently subsidizes, is closed
to students outside its "catchment". The Penn Mortgage
program is available only to Penn employees and only for homes
purchased within Penn's definition of the boundaries of University
City. The university is also active in branding the area as
"University City", with its logo showing up next
to the name on signs and bridges.
For decades,
it had been generally understood that 40th Street was the
"invisible campus boundary" between the residential
neighborhoods to the west and the Penn campus to the east.
In recent years the "Penn bubble" is said to have
expanded further west.
Major
Redevelopment Projects
University
City Science Center
As part
of the Housing Act of 1949, Congress established the "Slum
Clearance and Community Development and Redevelopment"
program, commissioning federal funds to "assist local
communities in eliminating their slums and blighted areas
and in providing the maximum opportunity for the redevelopment
of project areas by private enterprise." A few years
prior, in 1945, the Redevelopment Authority of the City of
Philadelphia (RDA) was formed with the power to acquire and
redevelop land through condemnation proceedings. This power
to take land reached University City when The West Philadelphia
Corporation (WPC) was formed in 1959 by a group of local institutions
including Penn. By 1965, the WPC had developed a massive plan
to demolish homes and redevelop the land as a center of private
scientific research. Within four years, the University City
Science Center had been established and most of the buildings
on Market St. between 34th St. and 40th St. had been demolished.
Penn's
"Superblock", the area between 38th, 40th, Spruce,
and Walnut streets, was also cleared and redeveloped as a
follow-up to this plan.
Planned
development along the Schuylkill's west bank
In 2007,
Penn bought 24 acres between its campus and the Schuylkill
river, an area largely previously occupied by the United States
Postal Service and known as the Postal Lands. (This 1994 map
shows the area before the GE building was refurbished into
the Left Bank and the Cira Centre was built.) According to
plans in the works since 2005, Penn officials intend to build
several facilities and to connect its campus with the riverfront
and Center City. New buildings will include a college house,
parking garages, hotel and conference spaces and more green
space on campus. A walkway will extend from Locust Walk across
the Schuylkill River to Center City.
Slated
to begin in 2007, the first of four construction stages will
cost an estimated $1.94 billion, including about $194 million
from city axpayers.
In addition,
the former post office is to be turned into office space for
the Internal Revenue Service. In November 2007, Cira Center
developer Brandywine Realty Trust broke ground for a 28-story
mixed-used high-rise called Cira Center South, to be completed
in 2010.
University
City District
University City is not to be confused with the University
City District (UCD). University City is the name of the area
of neighborhoods and campuses, while University City District
is the name of a private, non-profit organization created
by the University of Pennsylvania and other local institutions
in 1997 in an effort to provide the area with additional safety,
cleanup, and marketing services as well as help in coordinating
district initiatives.
The UCD
has been criticized for its director's involvement in the
Philadelphia mayoral election, 2007 and recent crimes committed
by one of its employees.
Demographics
Report
In 2007,
the University City District released its updated University
City Report Card. This report card provided a detailed look
at the area. The following information was accurate as of
2006.
There
are 45,787 people, living in 16,625 households in University
City. 29% of these households are classified as "Family"
households and the remaining 71% are classified as "Non-Family".
The average household size is 2.0 people. Median household
income is $23,749, and the median age of the residents is
23.8 years. Median "Family" household income is
$40,042. 8.1% of households have incomes of $100,000 or more
and 35.2% have incomes of less than $15,000. The racial makeup
of University City is approximately 42% Black, 35% White,
18% Asian/Pacific Islander, 4% Hispanic, with the remainder
not classified. (UC Report Card: Households, Age, Income,
Race; p.7)
There
are 63,878 employees in the area. The largest employers are,
with employee count in parentheses, Penn (13,239), Penn Health
(11,136), CHoP (6,855), Drexel-Main (2,706), AMTRAK (2,551),
and The VA (2,100). The leading employment sectors were, not
surprisingly, educational services (53.1%) and health care
services (21%). (UC Report Card: Employment; p.8)
The median
home sale is $312,000, an increase of 22% over 2005. The average
monthly rent is $667 for a studio apartment, $823 for a one-bedroom
apartment, and $1,174 for a two-bedroom apartment. (UC Report
Card: Housing; p.23)
Source
of Article:
Wikipedia.
(2008). University City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Retrieved May 29, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_City%2C_Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania |
