Topic: Breaking up the city Dear Liz,
When I moved to the neighborhood 28 years ago as a young adult, I fell in love with this rare inspiring neighborhood for reasons I believe I share with you, an indigenous resident. Sharrieff described the "great history" and "remarkable tones for diversity," that I also found made an inspiring community to call home despite the big city problems which adversely effected all of the cities of the northeast. For decades the middle class of this country attempted to abandon our cities and blame their spiritual problems on various populations of our fellow citizens left behind. Now this middle class has decided to reoccupy urban areas with the same ignorance and prejudices which motivated their departure. With complete disregard for the voices in great communities like ours; we will get out of their way, one way or the other. I believe that this grand "vision" of which we hear so much might now be deconstructed so that more of us might understand what I began realizing, to my horror, some years ago. It was because of my attempts to serve the community when I returned here in 1996; that I relatively early, discovered the ideology guiding the so called "vision" long before our neighbors were given the overwhelming data to deconstruct it. Corporate America wishes to break up our cities into pockets of homogenized suburbanesque middle class zones like this UCD and further isolate the lower economic classes into impoverished zones around these. Residents of those zones will continue to lose their rights as citizens as well as basic governmental services. I believe the demonizing of government that was the cornerstone of Reaganism should be recognized as a historical point in the development of this ideology and the current "vision" destroying our community. Contained in the vision, the powerless, voiceless, residents of West Philly are to choose to be servants to the elite or they will become the new slave class through the emergent prison industrial complex. Approximately a year ago at Penn, one of these so called "city planning experts" outlined the guiding ideology justifying, in palatable terms, this glorification of middle class prejudices, anger, and hatred. Fundamentally, the powerful good folks don't want to carry the burden of the losers in our society so the city must be divided around class boundaries. Since a heartless middle class unable to escape its misery wants to reoccupy urban zones, this break up of the city is just natural social Darwinism. Thus, the UCD is a God given right for a powerful suburban middle class and the destruction and homogenization of our great community is similarly the God given right of the prejudiced and powerful Everyone on the list has seen my attempts to show the reality behind the "revitalization of Clark Park." The unfortunate reality is that the impoverished Philadelphia Department of Recreation turned Clark Park over to the new order, the UCD, at least 3 years ago. In my opinion, its too late for our great public park at the center of our once successful diverse community I wish our neighbors would look at a prominent demarcation line between Philadelphia and the new UCD. One only needs to walk from the upscale Clark Park across the border to the recreation center in Philadelphia at 47th just south of Woodland. As one of the new leaders of the upscale district barked at me 4 years ago, "the white kids aren't going to play soccer at 47th and Woodland," the appropriate Philadelphia facility for an exclusive upscale soccer league. (Presumably, I was to see and be sympathetic to the UCD/FOCP need to destroy the culture of Clark Park in order to accommodate these powerful middle class prejudices.) I truly hope that it is not too late for those of us who understood the beauty and inspiration of our great but very rare community to organize and reject this bigoted vision for a new plutocracy. I don't know our courageous neighbors whom are putting up the stickers. Personally, I stand with West Philly and I hope you and more of our neighbors will too. Glenn PS. Here is a quote from one of my heroes. "I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life." Mahatma Gandhi ----- Original Message ----- From: Elizabeth F Campion To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 9:58 AM Subject: Re: [UC] New Marketing Campaign How dare you? I was born in West Philly. I live, work and breathe West Philly. Claiming the greater diversity and variety of West Philly is not an "affectation". I don't go so far as to call "University City" dirty words, but I do cringe when the words are conscripted to pretend that anyone without a PhD is low class or worth less or earning less than $60,000 a year is poor. And I get truly riled when the words become part of a coded monologue. Ironically, now that houses prices have soared, a greater percentage of my Buyers have less affiliation with are local universities. Doctors, Lawyers and folks from NYC, LA and the Middle East are buying in south eastern West Philly in larger numbers. I have seen several of the bumper stickers placed on private property. I am against such placement. But I like the stickers, and I applaud volunteer efforts that provoke thought and dialogue. Unfortunately, when I read comments like yours, below, it is clear why some chose an underground approach. Tony, you are still a good neighbor, but we may have to agree to disagree on this point. I am finally gaining some ground on battles with my kids about labels and value. And don't want to be undermined by otherwise sensible Adults, who don't recognize or won't work to balance the message. Sincerely, Liz Elizabeth Campion Cell Phone: 215-880-2930 215-546-0550 Main, -546-9871 fax, Desk + VM: 215-790-5653 PRUDENTIAL, FOX & ROACH REALTORS, LLC Please read Consumer Notice & enjoy "HOME PILOT" tools at www.PruFoxRoach.com On Tue, 3 Apr 2007 01:44:22 -0400 "Anthony West" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: No, Frank. The City does not define the marketing signs as falling in West Philadelphia or Southwest Philadelphia; the City defines the marketing signs as falling in University City. So if the City's map is the final arbiter, then the "marketing scheme" signs are invalid. University City is absolutely real at the level of public administration. It can only be challenged on a historical or sociological level. It has not been challenged very knowledgeably, that's my gist. The people who bray "University City" is a dirty word, are classical examples of UC neighborhood culture themselves for the most part. This "West Philly" pose is just an affectation. The people who printed those stickers couldn't tell the 4th Ward from the 32nd Ward. "West Philly" is just a marketing slogan for their brand of scatterbrained leftwing politics, as "University City" was for an earlier era of realtors. Over all, though, UC is more descriptive and more truthful at this time, so it will probably prevail. -- Tony West ----- Original Message ----- From: Frank To: Anthony West ; [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 12:54 AM Subject: Re: [UC] New Marketing Campaign All this because you disagree with the City's map? Referring to the beginning of this thread, the "marketing scheme" signs are indeed in West Philly. Frank On Apr 2, 2007, at 11:51 PM, Anthony West wrote: The final answer is there is no final answer. The City has its own Neighborhood Map, which is intended to be a practical guide to planners and community groups. It recognizes University City, because duh, it exists now. Thus it pushes away from UC terms like "West Philly" and "Southwest Philly", so they can be used to distinguish other tracts of land. There's no law that says folks have to pay attention to this map if it honks them off. And it completely ignores the nesting phenomenon, which is very real in social geography. We live in hierarchies of neighborhoods, which we deploy variously according to the context of discussion. For instance: I live in West Philadelphia, in University City, in Spruce Hill. Which placename I use depends on whom I'm talking to and what I'm talking about. No law says I have to be consistent. No law says lower-level neighborhoods can't overlap higher-level boundaries. About West vs. Southwest, my best guess is the latter term emerged with clarity only after Philadelphia grew beyond Blockley Township, whose western border was Mill Creek up as far as Baltimore Pk. Beyond Mill Creek lay Kingsessing Township, which ran all the way to Darby Creek. "Kingsessing" is still used as a neighborhood name today (it is recorded in the Swedish period, ca. 1650, and reflects a Lenape designation for the land at and above Darby Creek along the Schuylkill or "Manayunk" River). Originally, "West Philadelphia" was a name for the mid-19th-c. urbanization of Blockley Twp., out as far as Maylandville on Mill Creek (roughly 43rd St. today). So Woodlands lay in West Philly. But Clark-Park-to-be was the boundary of West Philly. As urbanization proceeded, "West Philly" expanded westward along Market St. and Lancaster Ave. But the expansion into Kingsessing Twp. along Darby Pk. (Woodland Ave.) was felt to be a different neighborhood, which came to be called "Southwest Philly". University City contains territory that historically belongs to both West and Southwest Philadelphia. -- Tony West Ross wrote: Actually, I've been worrying about this Southwest/West Philly business for some time. What are the "actual" boundaries, and according to whom? You seem to imply that SOBA is Southwest Philly -- if the 34 trolley line really does bifurcate the two. Does that mean that Woodland Cemetery and Clark Park are actually in SW? Seems counterintuitive, dude. Got maps? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.25/745 - Release Date: 4/3/2007 12:48 PM
