Neighborhood Transformation
Changing Neighborhood
As a thriving, inner-city neighborhood, West Mt. Airy is facing rapidly increasing development pressures due primarily to increased value of land, the inherent attractiveness of the community and its assets, the current availability of inexpensive capital and proximity to mass-transit. Recent changes to the City of Philadelphia Zoning map as part of Phila 2035 and decades of suppressed investment levels play a significant role in new development as well.
As these developments rise around us, and older buildings fall, the resultant multiple, rapid changes to our built environment can feel unsettling and disruptive. These changes require recognition of neighbors’ concerns and interests, commitment to involvement in shaping our built environment, and preserving historic buildings, many of which are threatened by new development.
Our Role:
Serve as a neutral facilitator (ombudsman) of informational meetings between citizens and developers whose projects may or may not be required to come before the West Mt Airy Zoning Committee
Provide information to residents of West Mt Airy regarding historic preservation issues in WMAN territory and advocate for stronger preservation legislation and protections
Map and in other ways display on the WMAN website longitudinal information on the socio/economic and physical transformations of Mt. Airy
Serve to facilitate discussions on these topics with other institutions and organizations
Neighborhood Transformation
This committee’s aim is to keep our community informed about new development pressures, to provide accurate information regarding development, to help facilitate open and civil conversations between developers and neighbors, to encourage citizen activism, and to help explain how city policy is shaping development pressures in our community.
