The Re-Gentrification of North Philadelphia

While riding through North Philadelphia, one might think, "Lock the doors! Roll up the windows! Let’s get out of here as soon as possible." I have read numerous articles on the subject, recently including one on Booksie.com by Sophia Radcliffe. Follow this link to see my opinion on her article, as I thought it was more important to give my take on re-gentrification for this blog.

The dilapidation of a once thriving working class neighborhood is quite depressing. Where there used to be bustling Avenues with department stores and small businesses are now beauty supply shops and liquor stores. This is the scene on Cecil B. Moore, Girard, and 22nd Street, all once home to quality businesses that sold quality products to the hard working people of North Philadelphia.

But when you ride a little more, empty lots filled with trash and vacant homes seem to be replaced by upscale condos and refurbished brownstones. This sight rings true especially if you are near the Temple University campus or in Brewerytown. This is re-gentrification.

At one time, these neighborhoods were filled with factory workers and their families (many of them white). Then there was suburban sprawl and the closing down of many factories between the 1950s to n1970s. Many of the working class home-owners moved to the suburbs, and the neighborhoods were transformed into ghettos, filled with section 8 (welfare) housing and lost cost rentals that were poorly cared for. Most of the residents are African-American. Almost all the reputable businesses left, leaving these areas devoid even of a good supermarket. The schools were given a fraction of the funding the suburban schools received and North Philadelphia became a breeding ground for violence, crime, and drugs.

So why would the suburbanites return? Developers ceased an opportunity to buy lots of cheap inner-city land and housing and transform it into a marketable place to live. The new developments are all near either downtown or the major universities. So if you’re a white collar suburbanite who travels an hour in traffic jams to and from work into downtown Philadelphia, these new inner-city developments would look quite attractive.

But the million dollar question is, what happens to the people living in the neighborhood now? Even the hard-working home-owners might get pushed out of their homes if they can’t afford the higher property taxes. This can’t be fair. So where do we go from here?