Penn takes active role in W. Phila. area

Contrary to popular belief, there is life outside of the Penn campus. West Philadelphia is not only a growing source of student off-campus living, but is also a vibrant community within itself -- and the University is working hard to repair the rocky relationship between it and the surrounding area. In fact, University President Judith Rodin and her administration have long said that forging cooperative relations between Penn and the West Philadelphia community is an important part of their agenda. The University's West Philadelphia Initiative, a five-part plan seeking to help revitalize the neighborhood, attempts to not only strengthen University-community ties but also to help make the community a better place in which to live. The plan includes measures to make the area cleaner and safer, attract retail amenities, support local businesses, improve area education and encourage home ownership. Some of the projects set into motion by the plan include the beautifying and "greening" strategies of UC Brite and UC Green, the revitalization of the 40th Street corridor through the development of Hamilton Village and the Sundance Cinema complex and the home loan and mortgage incentive programs aimed at encouraging University staff to invest in the neighborhood. "I'm encouraged and pleased that our relationship with the city seems to be improving all the time," Carol Scheman, Penn's vice president for government, community and public affairs, said earlier this year. "I think we're really moving in the right direction." The University's most recent addition to the West Philadelphia Initiative is the development and support of a new public elementary school on University-owned property at 42nd and Spruce streets. But as with most of Penn's community initiatives, the plan has been opposed by many who say that the school is self-serving and that the University is using it to attract a more affluent population to the community rather than to help existing residents. Penn has tried hard to attract its professors and staff members to the area, going so far as to offer mortgage incentive programs to employees who choose to reside in West Philadelphia. Many have taken the University up on the offer. Consultation with the various community organizations that call West Philadelphia home is an integral part of implementing all of these measures in the surrounding neighborhood. The University City District, one such organization, aims to "improve the public environment by helping to make it cleaner and safer and to upgrade the public image of University City as an interesting, vibrant and attractive community," UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke said last winter. With these goals in mind, the UCD -- whose creation was spearheaded by the University and brings together many of University City's institutions -- provides safety ambassadors to help patrol the area and a maintenance staff which cleans area sidewalks six days a week. The UCD's 3rd Thursdays campaign, which debuted last year, is a special series of events and attractions prepared by over 40 arts organizations and restaurants in order to promote University City as a fun and interesting place. "We'd really like the students to explore this neighborhood, take advantage of all there is to offer and enrich their experience while they're at Penn," Steinke said. The UCD also employs the yellow-jacketed safety ambassadors to help patrol the streets, and recently opened up a new $1.7 million headquarters on the 3900 block of Chestnut Street. Another organization, the Spruce Hill Community Association, aims to "maintain order and a quality of lifestyle in the neighborhood," said Joe Ruane, the organization's president since June 1997, in an interview earlier this year. Members of the SHCA meet monthly with Penn officials to promote cooperation and keep informed about what Penn is doing in the neighborhood. "The housing program and development of 40th Street should only be a plus for the neighborhood and University City in general," Ruane noted. Glenn Bryan, the University's director of community relations, said last winter that his office meets routinely with area community organizations to discuss a variety of matters, including education, retail and economic development issues and student-community relations. "We work a lot together with the Penn Police and the UCD to have a really coordinated response to safety in the area -- it's vastly improved," Bryan said. Bryan also credits the work of local town watch organizations in maintaining a safe environment. The presidents of all six area community organizations -- Spruce Hill, Walnut Hill , Garden Court and Squirrel Hill community associations, Cedar Park Neighbors and Powelton Village Civic Associations -- are represented on the University City Community Council. The UCCC, which also includes members of various special interest organizations, meets every two months to devote time and energy to "those issues one local community association cannot deal with alone," UCCC Secretary Mike Hardy said. All of these organizations frequently lobby the University and do not hesitate to let their opinions be known, whether about a new city ordinance prohibiting food vendors from certain areas around campus or new construction on 40th Street.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.