The City Planning Commission has legal responsibilities related to urban renewal, which involves the condemnation of land and buildings for public purposes, including neighborhood and economic development. The process is governed by Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law and is primarily carried out by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA). The City Planning Commission is responsible for determining areas eligible for urban renewal, and for reviewing urban renewal plans and proposals developed by the PRA.
Before urban renewal can occur, the City Planning Commission must establish a Redevelopment Area by (1) certifying the area as blighted and (2) preparing a Redevelopment Area Plan. The plan establishes goals for future development with recommendations land use, zoning, and site planning. Blight certification is an initial requirement, and a given area is sometimes certified a second or third time to update the documentation.
Listed below are all blight and redevelopment reports published by PCPC since 2000, with a few selected reports from earlier years. Many older redevelopment area plans (dating back to 1946) can be viewed at a website hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.
CITY-WIDE CONTEXT