Civic Goals and Urban Design Strategies for the 40th Street Corridor

PennPraxis was engaged with the West Philadelphia organization Friends of 40th Street from 2004 through 2011 to develop strategies to improve the 40th Street corridor between Baltimore to Lancaster Avenue. Four forums were held in the summer of 2011 to develop strategies and recommendations for 40th Street. Friends of 40th Street is a coalition of organizations dedicated to revitalizing the 40th Street corridor, whose meetings were held  at the University Square Apartments, a subsidized senior housing complex at 39th and Market.

PennPraxis worked with the University City District, the Penn Project for Civic Engagement, and Sustainable Communities Initiative-West, among a slew of other community stakeholders, to develop the strategies.The final document compiles the input gathered at the summer forums, and translates them into urban design and civic development goals.

Aspects of the plan address public space, transportation, preservation and development and scale and density, and consider urban design factors that play into each. Additionally, the plan takes into consideration the influences of the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, which have heavy influences on the area.