This project uses GIS software to examine Urban Decay and areas targeted for redevelopment in Philadelphia.

1. Examining Urban Decay
in Philadelphia
Mac Ferrick, Paige Geist, Will Dorfman
GEOG372

2. Defined as the process of a city falling into
economic and social despair.
What is urban decay?

3. ● Growth of the suburbs after World War II
● Movement of jobs outside of the city
● Deindustrialization
● White Flight/Redlining
● War on Drugs and Subsequent Crime
Main causes of decay in the US

4. ● Land area: 135 square miles
● Population: 1,553,165
● Average home value: $147,569
● Median annual income: $37,016
● Poverty Rate: 26.2%
Philadelphia County Key Figures
Source: US Census Bureau American Fact Finder (2013); Select
Greater Philadelphia (2010)

5. ● Philadelphia defines an area to be
experiencing urban decay as meet at least
one of the following criteria:
o Unsafe, unsanitary and inadequate conditions;
economically or socially undesirable land use;
and faulty street and lot layout
● Urban renewal projects indicate the
presence of urban decay
Urban Decay in Philadelphia

6. ● Urban renewal based on federal and state laws
● Decision Makers:
o Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
o Philadelphia City Planning Commission
o Philadelphia City Council & Mayor
o United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD)
● Determine areas for redevelopment, prepare
plans, and select developers
Redevelopment Process

7. ● Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP)
o Purpose is to turn over vacant, foreclosed
properties into owner-occupied dwellings
o Determined based on historical foreclosure
data, indications of predatory lending, and the
impact of vacancies on surrounding home
values
● Received $16.8 million in funding from HUD
Urban Renewal Programs

9. ● Determine the underlying cause of
socioeconomic challenges in Philadelphia
County
● Determine if current redevelopment
projects are targeting the correct areas
Research Purpose

10. ● What is the correlation between home
value and percent vacancies?
● What is the correlation between
vacancies and homicides?
● Is urban decay widespread or is it
concentrated in certain neighborhoods?
Key Questions

11. ● Homicides
● Home vacancy percentage per census
tract
● Median Household Income
● Poverty
Factors Considered

12. ● Georeferencing census tracts
● “Join” data (percent vacant and median
home value) to census tract file
● “Display XY Values” for homicides
● Perform a Hot Spot Analysis to present
homicide data
● Overlay areas for urban renewal
Methodology

13. Total number of homicides (2010): 403

14. ● Homicide hotspots in North Philadelphia
and section of Southwest Philadelphia
● Coldspots in Center City, Northeast
Philadelphia, and Northwest Philadelphia
● Little correlation between hotspots and
urban renewal areas
Findings

16. ● Vacancies are concentrated in North
Philadelphia and portions of West
Philadelphia
● Fewest vacancies are found in Northeast
Philadelphia
● Outlier in Northeast Philadelphia
● Stronger correlation between vacancy
percentage and urban renewal areas
Findings

18. ● Highest home values concentrated in
Center City and Northwest Philadelphia
● Lowest home values are found in North
Philadelphia and West Philadelphia
● Little correlation between home value
and urban renewal
Findings

21. ● Poverty concentrated in North
Philadelphia and West Philadelphia
● Somewhat strong correlation between
poverty and urban renewal areas
● Strong correlation between homicide
hotspot and poverty, especially in North
Philadelphia
Findings

23. ● Access to data
● Various outliers
● Presence of universities (UPenn, Drexel)
● Measurement criteria into the
effectiveness of urban renewal programs
Limitations

24. ● Urban renewal project are partially targeting the
right areas
● There are areas that are both within and outside of
urban renewal zones that are still suffering the
consequences of urban decay
● Based on our findings, the areas marked for urban
renewal need to be reexamined to take into account
factors other than the criteria determined by the
city
Conclusions

25. ● Look at correlation between decay and
other crimes, especially drug-related
crimes
● Look at the lasting impact of redlining
using historical data
● Conduct a longitudinal study to see how
decay has evolved over time
Possible Further Analysis

26. ● http://www.phila.gov/CityPlanning/plans/communityplans/Pages/BlightandRedevelopmentReports.aspx
● http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml
● http://www.selectgreaterphiladelphia.com/regional-data/county-data/philadelphia/
● http://www.opendataphilly.org/opendata/resource/34/redevelopment-certified-areas/
● http://www.phila.gov/pra/neighborhoodStable.html
● http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
● http://www.phila.gov/pra/neighborhoodStable.html
Sources