type of plan
THE PLAN
the plan
NORTH DELAWARE AVENUE: THE THREAD ALONG THE RIVER In the North Delaware Avenue Study Area, streets play an underutilized role in supporting the public commons. The avenue’s relationship to adjacent connector and local streets has been disjointed rather than connective. North Delaware Avenue skates by the communities it borders, rather than supporting and linking them to essential services. These conditions are also mirrored in core corridors and connector streets through Port Richmond and Fishtown. The neighborhoods adjacent to Delaware Avenue, Fishtown and Port Richmond, are vibrant neighborhoods, undergoing different paces of gentrification, with tight-knit, albeit, homogenous communal fabrics, that have turned inward rather than outward 16
with the decline of industry along the riverfront. These are increasingly desirable neighborhoods, and with that comes growth management pressures, impacting how residents see change, incoming members, and their relationship to neighboring communities. The physical environment has mediated much of this insularity and the corridors have long been boundaries rather than anchor engines for the community. Despite the rigidity of the physical streets, these communities are warm, dynamic, and lead with a neighborly charm supported by the intimacy of a village.
