What Makes a Neighborhood

Great local color and history

 My design class has been focusing on one neighborhood in Philadelphia and researching the neighborhood's history, the current uses, the projects planned for the space and the community members and their opinions on what is and could be happening there. We're reading Image of the City by Kevin Lynch at the same time, where three cities, Boston, Jersey City and Los Angeles (circa 1960) are examined for their successes and failures of imagability and what people who live there think of the cities, remember and love. It's an interesting thing to think about what makes a neighborhood great and what makes it miss the mark.

 

Historic details and architecture

Local art in the streetscape

Color

Nice community greenspace

Things to do

Local color, great breakfast places

Kids and more greenspaces/community gardens

Handmade art

Vistas

More things to do

Distinctive architectural detail

Streetscapes with storefronts

Landmarks

Great paths

A mix of old and contemporary

Easy access to public transportation

A mix of businesses

Safe bike lanes

Juxtapositions of color and texture

People: foot traffic and density

Trees

Having people who are active in the community is crucial and all of these elements have to come together and form a critical mass, enough storefronts, enough restaurants, enough art and local color, enough historic details and affordable housing, enough greenspace and street trees, enough community meeting spaces and gardens, and enough people to fill them up to build a community...

What do you think?

Do you recognize the community?