planning

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA: NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVE

What is NTI?

Events

Neighborhood
Transformation Initiative
Eva Gladstein
Director
One Parkway
1515 Arch St.
12th Floor
Philadelphia
PA 19102
215-683-2154
Fax 215-683-2162

©2007
City of Philadelphia

Terms of Use

Site design
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Planning

Successful neighborhood development requires careful and extensive preparation. Planning is the process that helps communities sort through and prioritize needs while assisting the City in allocating resources to meet those needs. Under the leadership of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC), the city is committed to an NTI community planning effort that will underlie its revitalization activities.

Program Description
During the initial phase of NTI, the City began to facilitate and support community-based planning and the development of area plans that reflect citywide and neighborhood visions. Under the leadership of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC), the City committed to an NTI community planning effort to provide a foundation for NTI revitalization activities. The City’s neighborhood planning process has developed:

Planning principles and a transparent process for community-based planning and land use review;
Community-wide meetings and feedback systems to ensure that community residents have an opportunity to review and comment on any proposed plan; and
Contexts for community planning that encourage a larger framework for decision-making other than simply neighborhood boundaries.

PCPC has produced an “Existing Conditions Report” for thirty-four targeted neighborhoods and/or corridors. These reports serve as springboards for a neighborhood plan for the thirty-four neighborhoods. The Planning Commission has completed six community plans ( Strawberry Mansion, South of South, Mantua, Parkwood, North Broad Corridor and Lancaster Avenue Corridor). PCPC has participated in three additional plans funded by DVRPC: Chinatown, Mt. Airy and West Powelton. Additionally, local CDCs and non-profits located in seven NTI Planning Areas have created new plans with Planning Commission participation. PCPC remains fully engaged in community planning and intends to complete three additional community plans during 2007.

During the current phase of NTI, two citywide planning initiatives are complementing and reinforcing other NTI revitalization efforts, GreenPlan Philadelphia, and ReStore Philadelphia Corridors. As part of greening Philadelphia's neighborhoods, Greenplan Philadelphia seeks to create a comprehensive plan for open space citywide that takes into account the availability of vacant land, the proximity of residents, and the relationship of these land uses to existing parks. GreenPlan Philadelphia has completed initial community outreach in each of the City's 12 planning areas, and work has begun on compiling this input and preparing an open space plan for the future. Greenplan Philadelphia has been recognized as a national model for strengthening the relationship between government and local greening and environmental organizations, including the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society/Philadelphia Green, and neighborhood groups citywide.

As part of NTI’s effort to revitalize neighborhoods, much attention has been given to the economic health of commercial corridors. Working with private foundations and community groups, this year the City will invest substantially in commercial revitalization through it’s ReStore Philadelphia Corridors program, coordinating efforts to attract and bolster existing and new commercial uses. This support includes the creation of transit-oriented plans in key commercial areas, funding streetscape improvements, support of facade improvement programs, and the study and adjustment of zoning regulations in selected commercial areas.

Neighborhood Planning Areas
Planning Process
Citizen Participation
Other Planning Activities

Neighborhood Planning Areas
NTI planning activities take place in 31 neighborhoods and three commercial corridors. See map and list below. For details of each area go to Reports and review Appendix B in the FY07 Program Statement and Budget. For a printable version of the map below, click on the map.

Planning Areas

Nicetown
Tioga
Mt. Airy
Germantown
Olney
North Central
Strawberry Mansion
Sharswood/ Brewerytown
Francisville
Fairmount
Fairhill/ St. Hugh
Hawthorne

South of South
Point Breeze
Grays Ferry
Jefferson Square/ 7th Street
Kingsessing and
West Shore
Mantua
West Powelton and Saunders Park
Wynnefield
West Parkside
Overbrook, Carroll Park and Haddington
Frankford
Wissinoming

Fox Chase
Burholme
Upper Northwood
Lawndale/ Lawncrest
Upper Holmesburg
Parkwood
Callowhill/ Chinatown North

Commercial Corridors
1. North Broad Street/ Avenue of the Arts
2. Lancaster Avenue from 52nd to 63rd Streets
3. AMTRAK rail corridor in Philadelphia

Planning Process
The PCPC staff provides information, technical assistance, and guidance as each community moves through the process of neighborhood planning. PCPC reviews plans submitted by private developers and community development corporations.

The planning process includes:

Reveiw of NTI goals and objectives
Discussion and assessment of community vision;
Evaluation of community needs within the context of that vision;
Preparation of an "Assessment," a formal Existing Conditions study or updates of existing assessments or studies;
Review of NTI investment strategy for the area;
Evaluation of available resources;
Review and discussion of district and citywide goals and objectives;
Review, discussion, and vetting of options and alternatives;
Development of a Community Plan;
Development of an implementation strategy, identifying critical activities and assigning agency/entity responsibility; and
Presentation and distribution of the draft Community Plan.

Results of the planning process help guide future investments, preservation strategies and priorities for acquisition and demolition.

To link to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission click here

Citizen Participation
Community residents participate at all stages of the planning process. This process prioritizes:

A high degree of interaction;
Broad outreach to all segments of the community;
Continuous information sharing;
Education and training opportunities where necessary to promote informed participation;
Opportunities for community review of work in progress; and
Orientation towards resolving differences and achieving compromise, whenever possible

Other Planning Activities
Transportation and Community Development Initiative (TCDI)
PCPC has been awarded funding for several projects that are consistent with the goals and strategies of NTI. Each project has the potential to maximize the regional impact of investments in transportation and urban revitalization. Projects are the Centennial District Economic Development Strategy Study and the Pedestrian Transit Corridor Crime Prevention Project.

1. West Market Corridor Concept Plan
PCPC has updated development policies and incentives to spur transit-oriented development associated with the Market Elevated Reconstruction Project and stations in West Philadelphia and Millbourne, Delaware County.

2. Allegheny West Industrial Corridor Plan
A transit, highway, streetscape and parking strategy was developed for the industrially-zoned corridors in the vicinity of the Roosevelt Boulevard Extension (Route 1); SEPTA's R6, R8, Reading Trunk Line, and; the Hunting Park Conrail line.

3. Reinvestment Guidelines: Vicinity of the Frankford Transportation Center
New design/development guidelines have been developed to ensure the community, City, and Region capture the full benefit of SEPTA's investment in public infrastructure at the Frankford Transportation Center.

4. Center City Parking Policy Evaluation
A new evaluation of parking policy to ensure that public actions reinforce Center City's strengths as the dense, diverse, and non-auto dependent hub of the area.

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) developed comprehensive community-based neighborhood plans for Chinatown, Mt. Airy and West Powelton to identify priority investments for NTI, actions by City agencies and other public, private and non-profit stakeholders.