Powelton: The Little Hamlet That Could
So, the hamlet of Powelton Village is in the midst of a transformation. Located in West Philadelphia adjacent to Drexel University, it finds itself in a unique growth phase. It no longer looks like a completely disinvested urban slum, doesn’t want to become a version of Penn State Philadelphia, and desires thoughtful growth that will contribute to Philadelphia’s heritage as being a city of neighborhoods.
Taken up by Brown & Keener of Philadelphia, the plan is on it’s way to addressing neighborhood concerns as well as creating a strategic implementation plan to catalyze each subsequent step of the masterplan’s goals.
Each post, I’ll expound more on the strategies and recommendations for Powelton Village (as seen by an outsider…who is on a first-name basis with some of the insiders) and how issues like these reverberate to other communities in the city and America- specifically Housing, Retail, Transportation, and the Public Realm.
Oh, and speaking of Drexel, they (with Erdy McHenry) caused the majority of West Philadelphia residents’ brains to explode by building this:
