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City Planning

    1970 Development Plan for the Drexel Institute of Technology

    Drexel's plan for 1970 development expanded the school's campus into RDA Unit 5, part of the University Redevelopment Area.

    Certified Urban Renewal Areas in 1965

    Urban renewal areas certified by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, as they appeared in 1965.

    Urban Renewal in West Philadelphia

    Following World War II, urban renewal provided the resources for city officials and developers to create dramatic changes to the physical and social landscape of West Philadelphia.

    University Redevelopment Area in 1965

    This map, recreated from the Redevelopment Authority's 1965 Annual Report, represents the approximate boundaries of the major initiatives from 1948–1965.

    A mosaic displaying a bulldozer approaching a row of houses filled with African American residents.
    Collateral Damage in Unit 3

    The University of Pennsylvania’s role in the creation of the University City Science Center in RDA Unit 3, a working-poor, majority-African American neighborhood known locally as the “Black Bottom,” severely damaged its community relations for decades to come.

    Federal- and State-Funded Urban Renewal at the University of Pennsylvania

    In the 1960s, the University expanded west and north in Redevelopment Authority Unit 4, drawing upon both federal and state urban renewal building funds.

    Woodland Avenue and Creating Penn’s Pedestrian Campus

    In the 1950s, the City facilitated Penn’s plans to create its modern pedestrian campus by putting the Penn trolleys underground and deeding the footprint of Woodland Avenue to the University. 

    Development Projects Altering University of Pennsylvania Campus in 1959

    Phases of the $100-million building program at the University of Pennsylvania are charted on an aerial photograph of the West Philadelphia area.