PENN is an institution. It pays staff, some quite handsomely, to think institutionally. Institutions often display a purpose, common to many people, to serve themselves. Melani makes a good point, the school, like the mortgage program before and concurrent to it, creates an attraction. Families, including PENN families, will pay more for homes in the catchment. But eventually the families will age out of the school, without leaving the catchment, reducing supply and raising prices. Non-Penn Attorneys and Doctors and other Professionals add to the squeeze when higher income permits them to win bidding wars against PENN staffers. The mortgage program is tied to Federal Limits on Lending. Access to a down payment, or an ability to support a Jumbo Loan let non-Penn affiliates capture some of the best homes. It can be nice to live in a neighborhood in which folks with Master's and PhD.s are 'average' neighbors. Conversations and list posts can be lively. Ray is right, in this and other posts. He captures the exclusionary nature of the catchment boundaries. I read his posts and feel for the families on the west side of 47th or the south side of Chester. I am very aware of the hypocrisy in pretending that PAS is a paradigm for urban public eduction or that a low income PhD. candidate brings the same handicaps to the table as a low income parent (or grandparent) who does not have similar IQ or can not provide homework assistance, a decent neighborhood or stable housing. I think Penn cleverly turns us against each other to obscure its institutional purpose. PENN claims the school benefits the staff and neighborhood. But PENN would always attract staff. Maybe it would attract fewer 'family centered' folks, but it can fill its openings. PENN has hundreds of applications for every one teaching job. People want to work at "IVYS". PAS solves many problems for PENN. A building and Campus were built, with our tax dollars. on land that is owned by PENN. Formerly under-served space is now producing income, and expenses are now paid for by the School District of Philadelphia. PENN gets an education Campus, and a 'safe', 'public', school for internship opportunities for its grad students in Elementary Education. Note how quickly and grandly PENN's education department expanded with the opening of PAS. PENN gets a toehold in SPRUCE HILL, a quiet encroachment, that stretches to 43rd Street. Pennspiracy may be a silly adjective, but we would be wise to recognize that there may, more than occasionally, be conflicts between the best interests of our neighborhood and its biggest institution. When I was younger, Spruce Hill CA was an organization that made me feel safer and more powerful. The people with 'power' were people-people, neighbors we could talk to. Since about 1981 I have felt that SHCA has been more enthrall to PENN than not. I find myself in awe, but appalled, by stances that have been obscenely pro-Penn and only pro-neighborhood if your goal is a neighborhood that is brighter, whiter, run from the top down, significantly patriarchal and stripped of its income and class diversity. I sense that the real power lies in the hands of lurkers behind the 'throne'. I can still get behind Spruce Hill when the May Fair comes around or when 'Block Grants' pulls folks together in grass roots improvement of a street-scape, but I find myself recoiling, when boundaries are stretched, to manipulate officer positions, or when the folks who demand control over quarter inch mullions are quick to cede control over 35' height limits. The best 'history' of the success of PENN's institutional thinking may be on its own Web-site. There are graphics which define Campus growth. Check out: http://www.pennconnects.upenn.edu/explore_the_vision/a_growing_campus.php I offer my interpretation of some of the graphics below. Date 1872 - PENN = One Building. West Philadelphia has many residences along Walnut, Sansom, Chestnut and other blocks. Date 1885 - PENN = Eight Structures, all south of Spruce. West Philadelphia residences continue to in-fill on existing streets and expands to the South and West. Date 1890 - PENN adds two Structures, both south of Spruce. West Philadelphia takes off and almost every piece of land is developed as residences. The neighborhood responds to easier street car access and continues to develop on existing streets and expands to new streets, especially to the South and West. Date 1900 - PENN builds its first Structure, the Law School(?), north of Spruce. West Philadelphia is thriving. Date 1905 - PENN builds its first Structure, possibly a Vet School Building(?), west of 38th. It begins a major building campaign on the lands it owns, south of Spruce. West Philadelphia is thriving. Date 1910 - PENN begins to acquire and use some of the homes inside of 38th street. West Philadelphia is thriving, but has had the first few holes nibbled out of its residential core. Date 1915 - PENN builds its Dental School at 40th and Spruce. Something is demolished to permit PENN's progress. West Philadelphia is still thriving. Some non-PENN development is still taking place, in what is now solid PENN territory, but PENN takes a few more bites out of the Residential stock. Date 1920 - PENN takes a few more bites out of West Philly. They acquire a block, part of what will later become "Super Block" destroying some buildings, converting others to PENN use. West Philly east of 40th is doomed. The neighborhood is being stripped away one building at a time. Date 1940 - The VA takes on a major redevelopment of their parcel. PENN takes many more bites out of West Philly. PENN may have reached 50% saturation south of Walnut and east of 37th. West Philly east of 40th is losing cohesiveness. Parishes that held the neighborhoods together are can no longer sustain themselves, with the reducing residential populations. Penn picks up non Penn Institutions that failed as a result of PENN's expansion. Date 1970 - PENN uses Eminent Domain and Endowments to transform itself. It may now be 100 times larger than its 1872 footprint, and 50% larger than its 1960 footprint. Wholesale demolition of residences south of Walnut and East of 40th has begun. Anything resembling West Philadelphia is forever lost to this part of our neighborhood. Date 1981 - PENN expands its Presbyterian-Scheie Eye Campus (north of Market at 39th) and picks up the Divinity School using a wonderful terror technique of "It's us or the Moonies". As an Institution, Penn can afford to 'bank' the Divinity School land and operate with losses until they can recoup with their PAS scheme. Date 2005 - Notice PENN is not shy about claiming the PAS buildings as part of its growth. I feel certain that whoever put together these graphics was proud to convey the "GROWTH" of PENN's Campus. But as a lifetime neighbor, I see it as a reminder of neighbors lost, friends moved, a library threatened than saved, landscapes threatened than lost. Foot and Bicycle traffic restricted. Perks (such as neighborhood gym use) offered than withdrawn when a PENN end is achieved. These are my 2cents for today. Best! Liz Campion
---------- Forwarded Message ---------- In a message dated 7/7/2008 11:05:39 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:you see, penn put the public school there for those who could afford to pay the price of using it! it's not the penn school's job to figure out when you want a public school!" Living in the catchment area is out of the price range of many, many Penn faculty and staff members. Many of the catchment area buyers are folks who work elsewhere, moving from center city when their kids reach school age. The supply of these people continues to drive the prices up, further and further above the Penn employees' ability to buy. For those who are crediting Penn with being so very clever and diabolical, how would you explain this? Melani Lamond ____________________________________________________________ Sweepstakes!!! Enter for your chance to WIN a summer spa getaway! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/JKFkuJi7UjkSWAWTgT8ZJjukfLi5JX6Sdf3wjq42QKqcpTYN8pDFTr/
