Philadelphia 2040. Neighborhood Choice.

The freedom to choose where and how one lives is central to healthy and vibrant communities. Philadelphia 2040: Neighborhood Choice envisions a new Philadelphia that extends that freedom of choice to all neighborhoods by making places where people want to live and making it easy for them to get there. Clustering retail, services and amenities around logical neighborhood centers like schools and developing secondary downtowns in districts outside Center City will enhance places where people want to live, work and play. Connecting neighborhoods to each other by building new high speed transit lines and weaving open space throughout neighborhoods eases the connection between home, work and other areas of the city. Anchored by the values that defined the founding of the city, these investments and interventions will transform Philadelphia into a city of neighborhoods with greater access, healthier environments, a stronger economy and livelier communities.

Neighborhoods of Choice
Connectivity: This principle guides action not only toward providing more transportation choices that connect people to places, but also policies that connect people to each other.

Health: This principle ties public health to the health of the environment. Philadelphians have the right to access and enjoy quality open spaces where they can grow their own food, exercise, and enjoy the benefits of cleaner air and water.

Opportunity: This principle means that services and amenities are distributed equitably so that one's neighborhood does not determine his or her access to employment and a high quality of life.

Identity: This principle encourages the experession of unique and diverse neighborhood architectural and social characteristics.

Competitiveness: This principle informs strategies that incubate human and social capital, providing places for ideas to grow and residents to achieve higher educational attainment.

Equity: This principle means that Philadelphia prospers when its neighborhoods prosper. Public investments balance market considerations with social justice.

This vision has the potential to transform Philadelphia. Strengthening the heart of each neighborhood and connecting it to a nearby Metro Center via FRANK and PARC will restore and enhance the building blocks that make our neighborhoods the envy of every city in the nation.
We envision a 2040 where all residents are connected to a broad range of educational and employment opportunities. It is a future where residents live in physically healthy and equitable neighborhoods that are distinctly Philadelphian and where people and places enhance the uniqueness of our city and strengthen the region.

The development of vibrant neighborhoods and economic centers and the creation of robust networks of open space and transit will go far in providing Choice to Philadelphians. Together, these components will inspire the emergence of a new Philadelphia - one that delivers on its promise to enable connectivity, health, opportunity, identity, competitiveness, and equity to all residents.