1) empower Eastwick residents through an inclusive process to shape the future of their community; and Use the maps above to examine Eastwick over the past 150 years!
The consultants and the redevelopment authority had to earn back the trust of residents who had lived through decades of broken promises from public officials and developers.
Ekistics and the New Urban Agenda Carolyn Moseley More than 60 years after a failed urban renewal project in Eastwick displaced 8,636 people for development that never happened, city officials have released final recommendations to turn the resulting vacant land into a “village in the city.”.
[2] Yet although planners described Eastwick as "open land," it actually constituted an integrated community of some 19,000, the majority of whom owned their homes. ", © 2020 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC Terms of Use/Privacy Policy, City seeks end to troubled, 60-year Eastwick urban renewal effort. The redevelopment plan and declaration of eminent domain was met with intense rejection from Eastwick residents. By the 1950s wetland acreage was reduced to 1,660 acres. Director, Office of Sustainability Terry Williams' family was mandated to move for redevelopment. The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and the City committed financial compensation to NEC and agreed to carry out a planning and feasibility study to engage the community in determining the best use for the land. The neighborhood is within a floodplain, as much of it was marshland before it was filled and leveled for development. Eastwick is a neighborhood in the Southwest section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.It is the southwesternmost neighborhood in the city, bordering Philadelphia International Airport and the city line with Delaware County, Pennsylvania at Cobbs Creek and Darby Creek.The Elmwood Park neighborhood borders it to the northeast. Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia used eminent domain powers to declare Eastwick “blighted” and condemn over 2100 acres of property, displacing over 8,600 residents from their homes as part of the largest “urban renewal” plan in the country. The Greater Eastwick Improvement Association was organized in the mid-1920s and campaigned for streetlight installation, highway improvement, and for the Philadelphia International Airport to be built in Eastwick. info@phdc.phila.gov, Employees "We think the number is below fair market value," Abernathy said. Lamar Gore, refuge manager at Heinz, could not confirm that the U.S. The Eastwick Urban Renewal Plan called for a $78 million redevelopment that would make Eastwick a “City within a City,” complete with homes, schools, parks, and commercial and industrial areas. Listen to John Hemphill III discuss pre- and early colonial history of Eastwick and Philadelphia. Sensationalism aside, this stereotype did not fit Eastwick, where 72% of residents owned their own home. The second step of the redevelopment process was for the Redevelopment Authority to obtain title to and demolish homes. The city plans on building project homes and apartments to clutter up these green fields, laying a model foundation for a slum area to develop...If City Council passes this bill Eastwick residents will be a mass of displaced persons forced to buy other homes, many beyond their means. ©2000-2020 ITHAKA. A thought provoking, engaging and timely show that tackles wide ranging issues of concern to listeners in the Delaware Valley, the nation and beyond. It thus produced a "tragic irony," seeing as its realization required "the destruction of the area's unique existing community," which was one of the few integrated neighborhoods in Philadelphia at the time. Angel Rodriguez However, the Housing Act coupled provisions to construct new housing with funds designated for slum clearance. In August of this year, Korman again sought to take title to the site, according to Abernathy. In 1958, Eastwick was declared the largest urban renewal project in the country, with the Korman Company making plans to replace the allegedly "poorly maintained and blighted homes" with newer, suburban-style construction in the 1960s and 70s. This Strategy was produced in partnership with a Steering Committee comprised of community residents and public-sector stakeholders. In 2006, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission recertified Eastwick as "blighted" on the basis of a vacant lot which had become overgrown under the management of the Redevelopment Authority. What will it take to correct past mistakes? Some blocks are located in a flood plain, leading to flooded, abandoned homes and vacant lots that are often used for illegal dumping. Local government in Philadelphia had long been supportive of national trend toward public housing.
Airy, Online Submission RFP Point Breeze, Cross Street et al, Online Submission for RFP for East Poplar Playground Renovations, Sign Up for Notification of PHDC Land Management Sales and RFPs, Sign Up for Notification of RFPs and Sales. “But it’s not comprehensive, it’s not complete.”. History 1234 Market St., 17th Floor “Our promise to the community is that every step will continue to engage and empower the residents of Eastwick through an inclusive process.