Interface Studio

    Eastern North Philadelphia Community Plan
    Philadelphia, PA

    Wilson Associates and Interface Studio developed a community-driven plan for the Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) and a coalition of organizations serving a neighborhood of Eastern North Philadelphia. The neighborhood was once the center of industry in Philadelphia, with vibrant commercial corridors, factory jobs in close proximity to residential blocks, and a healthy housing market. The shift away from heavy industry and manufacturing took a toll on the community, as businesses closed, jobs disappeared, and those who could afford to move departed, leaving vacancy and abandonment in their wake. However, over the last few years, private investment in housing and business has spilled over from adjacent gentrifying neighborhoods. While this nascent revitalization is a welcome change, it threatens the long-term affordability of the neighborhood, presenting a host of challenges to lower-income residents and the institutions and businesses that serve them.

    The grassroots planning process began in 2008 and addressed opportunities with specific recommendations that cut across five priority areas identified by the neighborhood: vacant land and abandoned buildings, affordable housing, economic development, youth and human services, and overall quality of life. Wilson Associates and Interface Studio developed a feasibility framework to assist WCRP and the Eastern North Philadelphia Coalition (ENPC) in making decisions about specific programs, projects, and activities, and corresponding timeframes for implementation.

    Concurrently, Interface Studio assisted WCRP and ENPC in a study about the potential of transferring vacant publicly-owned land into a community land trust to support projects for public benefit and prevent displacement of low-income families. The goal of the community land trust is to transform neglected public land, which currently attracts crime and illegal dumping, into community assets such as affordable housing, community facilities, open space, and work places.

    Client: Women’s Community Revitalization Project, Eastern North Philadelphia Coalition

    Project Team: Wilson Associates, Inc.

    The process was collaborative and community-driven, with residents, business owners, service providers, religious institutions, community-based organizations, and representatives from City agencies participating every step of the way.
    The process was collaborative and community-driven, with residents, business owners, service providers, religious institutions, community-based organizations, and representatives from City agencies participating every step of the way.
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    Private market development pressure is squeezing the neighborhood from all sides.
    Private market development pressure is squeezing the neighborhood from all sides.
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    Market-rate housing construction far out paces that of affordable units, drawing new, more affluent residents. While the neighborhood can benefit from a mix of incomes, long-term low-income residents fear displacement if revitalization continues without needed affordable housing construction.
    Market-rate housing construction far out paces that of affordable units, drawing new, more affluent residents. While the neighborhood can benefit from a mix of incomes, long-term low-income residents fear displacement if revitalization continues without needed affordable housing construction.
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    Despite recent reinvestment, remaining vacant land amounts to the equivalent of 35 football fields scattered throughout the neighborhood.
    Despite recent reinvestment, remaining vacant land amounts to the equivalent of 35 football fields scattered throughout the neighborhood.
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    The community would like to use some of this vacant land to build housing that will remain affordable in perpetuity.
    The community would like to use some of this vacant land to build housing that will remain affordable in perpetuity.
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    The community hopes to focus new commercial and light-industrial growth along historic corridors that have room for rebuilding.
    The community hopes to focus new commercial and light-industrial growth along historic corridors that have room for rebuilding.
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    The community has embraced the concept of a community land trust as a tool for effecting change and preserving affordability in the neighborhood.
    The community has embraced the concept of a community land trust as a tool for effecting change and preserving affordability in the neighborhood.
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    Soon after completion of the plan, the community took implementation into their own hands.
    Soon after completion of the plan, the community took implementation into their own hands.
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