Juniata Park: Different But Still a Place to Appreciate
Residing in the heart of her neighborhood, Kate Clarke is the president of the Juniata Park Civic Association. The community-based organization meets the second Tuesday of each month to discuss and mitigate community issues. How did you first get involved in Juniata Park’s community affairs? Well, I’m a lifelong resident of the neighborhood. I grew up […]
Mount Airy: Redevelopment Projects Look to Eliminate Blight, Improve Livelihood of Historic Neighborhood
Dating back to the 1680s, when it was a just small part of Germantown, the neighborhood of Mount Airy has a rich history that has shaped the diverse and tight-knit community that it is today. In 1750, William Allen, a chief justice for the province of Pennsylvania, built an estate at the corner of modern-day […]
Northwest Philadelphia: Jumpstart Germantown Looks to Revitalize the Community One Property at a Time
Jumpstart Germantown is a redevelopment program that was established in April, 2014 by Mount Airy real estate developer Ken Weinstein. The organization tackles the problems of blighted properties in the Northwest by training a new generation of developers how to invest in and revitalize real estate. “I liked taking junk, something like old buildings, and doing […]
Southwest Philadelphia: Local Churches Open Its Doors To The Hungry
While it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact number of homeless individuals living within a city, the city of Philadelphia’s count as of January 2016 determined 705 people living within the city were entirely unsheltered. Local nonprofit organization Project HOME states one of the main causes of homelessness is poverty, which stems from lack of jobs at competitive living wages. With […]
Chinatown: Stakeholders Tackle Crucial Development Questions As Neighborhood Grows
The story of Philadelphia’s Chinatown isn’t unique. But the history of this city’s Asian immigrant- and Asian-American home is, for residents, what makes it stand out from other stories of gentrification. Historically, Chinatowns have grown in abandoned urban neighborhoods, unwanted for things other than industrial business. In Philadelphia, this part of town – called Chinatown […]
LGBTQ: The Value of Drag
Philadelphia has a thriving drag community, with drag shows all over the city and an ever-growing population of performers. On any given night, a drag show is likely going on somewhere in town. Throughout history, drag has employed very rigid rules for its queens, often in relation to physique and size. However, with the growth […]
LGBTQ: Community Impacted by Issues of Body Image
Body image, or the way that one views his or her own body, is something that impacts people of all shapes, sizes, colors and sexualities. However, there are unique ways that individuals in the LGBTQ community experience and confront issues of body image. “The LGBTQ community does have special situations that other people don’t have,” […]
Activism: Philadelphia’s Wavering Sanctuary City Status
Full of culture and immigrants from around the world, Philadelphia is one of many jurisdictions that serves as a refuge for both documented and undocumented immigrants. In 2017, the United States and much of the world are facing issues in and around immigration based on — but not limited to — concerns of national security […]
Hunting Park: Community Leaders Working Tirelessly To End Stereotypes Surrounding The Community
Cracked sidewalk pavement, dilapidated housing and trash are common sights to new visitors to the Hunting Park section of North Philadelphia and leave an impression of a community that seems to be on down times. Hunting Park has struggled to combat the crime and drug epidemics that have surrounded the community. Recently, steps have been taken to […]
Gayborhood: Bearlesque Performance Group Promotes Body Positivity
Bearlesque is a body-positive, gender-inclusive burlesque performance group featuring people of all sexualities. The organization was created in 2014 by Josh Schonewolf and Connor Michalchuk as a one-off show for ‘bears,’ a slang term in the LGBTQ community for larger, hairier, more masculine gay men. The more Michalchuk and Schonewolf discussed their ideas, the more […]