It's not just University officials who are praising Penn's urban-development initiatives these days. Yesterday, it was mayors from across the country.
During a three-day conference about universities' relationships with their cities, Providence, R.I., Mayor David Cicilline said that Penn has been "the model of the way universities and cities can work together."
Though University City is sometimes criticized for high crime rates and gentrification, participants in the Mayors' Institute on City Design agreed that Penn's relationship with Philadelphia is exemplary.
The 19-year-old Mayors' Institute holds yearly national symposiums on city design. But this is the first time the Institute has held a conference on city partnerships with universities.
Mayors from Providence, Salt Lake City, Miami, Pasadena, Calif., and Bethlehem, Pa., traveled with their city's university leaders to Philadelphia for the sessions.
Mayor Ross Anderson of Salt Lake City said that the program was "unique" and very informative. He added that the "best thing that came out of this was that it helped us focus where we really weren't on the opportunities."
Others at the conference agreed, some going so far as to say the city sets the "gold standard" for town-gown relations.
Philadelphia Mayor John Street said that with Penn being the largest employer in Philadelphia, it is a "strong force for development. ... We are very lucky to have Penn ... with us."
Cicilline said that the "civic commitment of this university goes beyond student housing and parking to a communal responsibility."
One responsibility is the Penn-Alexander School, created from a partnership between Penn and the Philadelphia School District.
Aaron Koch, the director of the Mayors' Institute, said that "Penn realized that more than [its] faculty, it has to serve people who live in the neighborhood."
However, while conference attendees gave glowing reviews of Penn's behavior in the neighborhood, there has been tension in the past between the University and its neighborhoods.
Many times in its history, the University has displaced neighborhoods to expand its facilities. More recently, community members have voiced fears of gentrification.
Former University President Judith Rodin, who attended the conference, worked to revitalize the community during her 10-year term through the West Philadelphia Initiatives.
"What universities had to learn was to be a good citizen," Rodin said. "For many of us, that was a very hard lesson to learn. ... We have to better appreciate the part of the sector that isn't going to leave."
