Grow With Us
Background Section
Table of Contents
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Grow With Us |
Background Section Table of Contents |
Spruce Hill, which is bounded by Woodland Avenue to the south, Market Street to the north, and 39th and 46th Streets to the east and west, is a quintessential Philadelphia place. It overflows with the greatest American architecture and urban design of the late nineteenth century. Its abundance of trees, shrubs, and flowers evokes lush cities of the West Coast. Its people, no longer the residents of one of America's first suburbs, are city dwellers passionately determined to renew their neighborhood. The Spruce Hill Community Renewal Plan was created as a road map for that renewal.
The Plan has been developed by the Spruce Hill Community Association's Community Development Task Force in conjunction with the Center for Community Partnerships, Office of Community Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. The Plan has been made possible by the energy and enthusiasm of the hundreds of residents who surveyed the buildings on their blocks, answered neighborhood needs surveys, and participated in focus groups and meetings.
Of course, this plan is only the beginning of Spruce Hill's renewal. All Spruce Hill residents, businesses, organizations, institutions, and other concerned entities including the City of Philadelphia, share the responsibility of turning words to action, deterioration and decline to renewal. This document is designed to be used as a guide, a reference, a framework, a mediator, and a voice for a community with over 16,000 members. Many of the recommendations of the Plan are directed towards specific entities. However, most of the recommendations are intended to serve as guidelines and are directed more generally.
Send all comments concerning the Spruce Hill Community Renewal Plan to:
Spruce Hill Community Association Community Renewal Commitee 257 S. 45th Street Philadelphia, PA 19104
The plan is available to users of the Internet here via LibertyNet, Philadelphia's community development and information site. Citizens can provide input and information and can volunteer to help implement the plan by contacting the SHCA through LibertyNet at shca@libertynet.org
If you wish to be a part of the implementation of the Spruce Hill Community Renewal Plan you can contact the Community
Renewal Committee at SHCA.
Spruce Hill Community Association Task Force 1994-1995
A. Planning Principles and Strategic Assumptions
It is important for those using this document to fully understand what it is and what are its major assumptions. The
Spruce Hill Community Renewal Plan is a set of strategies developed by neighborhood residents in conjunction with
professional planners which sets an agenda for transformation of the neighborhood. It is at once a broad-based plan to
improve several aspects of Spruce Hill and a call for specified steps to be taken by various entities and organizations
in and around Spruce Hill. It is a clear outline of the priorities, interests, concerns, and creative ideas of the
citizens of Spruce Hill. It is not a list of isolated and unrealistic recommendations, but rather a set of interlinked
and synergistic strategies for renewal. The Plan is intended for use by all local residents, leaders, organizations,
businesses, institutions, and future investors and residents as a blueprint for a new course of action in Spruce Hill.
There is a definitive set of strategic assumptions which guide this plan:
(1) To sustain a neighborhood's revitalization, there must be investment in human resources, organizations,
institutions, amenities, and housing.
(2) Renewal of Spruce Hill demands investment from several key sources: local institutions, local, state and federal
government, businesses, residents, foundations, private developers, and others.
(3) Spruce Hill competes with other city and suburban communities for residents, but specifically exists in a niche
market in the Philadelphia region. Defining qualities of this niche are streetcar neighborhood, distinctive
architecture, easy access to central city employment and cultural amenities, and a highly academic atmosphere.
(4) Spruce Hill wishes to remain a racially and economically diverse population. Current demographic trends show
decreasing economic diversity. It is necessary both to foster economic and ethnic diversity and an increase in the
number of middle income households.
(5) There are specific reasons why middle-income families and individuals choose to not reside in Spruce Hill: poor
public schools/expensive private schools, poor day care opportunities, no after school care, high home maintenance
costs, poor quality retail, perceived lack of safety, and few recreation facilities.
The planning process has involved a series of steps to ensure that the Spruce Hill Community Renewal Plan is a
resident-driven strategy. Resident input is largely responsible for shaping the specific strategies found in the Plan.
The following steps were taken:
(1) The Spruce Hill Community Association appointed David Hochman and Patrick Starr co-chairs of a 13 member
community development task force. The task force is comprised of a diverse (with respect to race, housing tenure,
income, expertise) group of Spruce Hill residents. The task force maintains full responsibility for the final version
of the Spruce Hill Community Renewal Plan. A list of task force members is found on the inside cover of the plan.
(2) Professional support and development of the Spruce Hill Community Renewal Plan was provided by the University of
Pennsylvania's Center for Community Partnerships Office of Community Planning. The planning team was led by the
Office's Program Director N.R. Popkin with assistance from Anne Marie Flatley, Deborah Mahanger, Gregory Nesmith, and
Harmon Zuckerman.
(3) The task force sponsored a neighborhood survey,
designed to gain input on community needs ranging from city services
and education to housing, taxes, and retail.
191 individuals responded to the survey, which was published in the Weekly Press.
The survey is found in the appendix of this document.
The summary of survey responses
is found in the Neighborhood Analysis section of the Renewal Plan.
(4) Individual community members and business owners were interviewed. This includes leaders of city-wide
organizations whose work impacts Spruce Hill.
(5) Focus groups of neighborhood residents, business owners, and organizational and political leaders were conducted
to help shape the goals of the plan and specific strategic recommendations. Eight individual focus groups of 4-7
participants each have provided input to the plan.
(6) Representatives of the Oakland CDC in Pittsburgh (near the University of Pittsburgh) visited Spruce Hill and
discussed their experiences with the task force, the Spruce Hill Board of Directors, and senior administrators of the
University of Pennsylvania.
(7) A Spruce Hill Town Meeting was held in which over 75 members of the community were updated on the progress of
the plan, informed of its scope, and shown illustrative maps of building conditions, status, use, and occupancy.
Residents were also given a chance to learn about two other Philadelphia community revitalization cases: Manayunk
Development Corporation and Advocacy Community Development Corporation.
(8) A "Draft for Public Comment" plan was presented to the public on June 13, 1995 at the Spruce Hill Community
Association board meeting and specifically to Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and Carol Scheman, Vice
President of Government, Community, and Public Affairs of the University of Pennsylvania.
(9) Incorporating the community's comments on the June 13 draft, a final draft of the plan is presented to the
community at the Spruce Hill Town Meeting, October 10, 1995.
(10) The plan is adopted by the Spruce Hill Community Association Board of Directors, November 1995.
These goals serve, first and foremost, to shape the planning process and direct the Plan's strategies. To a
significant extent, the goals were developed by the SHCA Community Development Task Force. They were altered and
refined by two different focus groups of community residents. Though these goals are ranked in order of importance,
each is a necessary component of the whole. The success of this effort is dependent on the realization of all of these
interlocking goals:
(1) Increase the rate of owner-occupancy while respecting and addressing the need for a diversity of housing types
that respond to a range of income levels
(2) Increase the strength of the Spruce Hill Community Association and other community-based organizations while
improving linkage among all neighborhood organizations and institutions
(3) Radically improve public and private education in and around Spruce Hill
(4) Strengthen the "social capital" of Spruce Hill, such as the linkages among neighbors, streetlife, and
neighborhood pride and respect
(5) Significantly improve the retail areas in and around Spruce Hill
(6) Develop formal relationships with the University of Pennsylvania and engage Penn in Spruce Hill's long-term
strategy
(7) Reduce crime and the perception of crime in and around Spruce Hill
(8) Increase the cleanliness of Spruce Hill
Go to Top of Present Section: "Background"
With the help of... The Office of Community Planning at The Center for Community Partnerships of the University of Pennsylvania:
Go Forward to Next Section: "Neighborhood Analysis"
Go to Table of Contents for Renewal Plan
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