Community leaders argue that the recently approved Philadelphia comprehensive plan does more for developers than the working class in this op-ed.
The authors, leaders in the African-American community in Philadelphia, argue that the comprehensive plan prioritizes converting industrial buildings into artist's lofts, but focuses little attention to community needs like more supermarkets:
"The plan's energy goes chiefly into looking out for developers, upper-income suburbanites, and the new college graduates the city hopes to attract. It spends as much time on "farmers' markets" and "urban agriculture" as it does on the need for new supermarkets, and it hopes to convert "obsolete" industrial buildings into lofts for young artists instead of investing in the city's current residents and small businesses."
The leaders also say that affordable housing was given little attention in the 232-page comprehensive plan.
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Journal of the American Planning Association