January-February Issue IV

4
news
Design by Anna Wang ‘22 • Photography by Jessica Lamontagne ‘22
Gentrification and higher
education: How colleges
change their neighborhoods
Education is supposed to be the great equalizer in our society, but this ideal is undermined when
education becomes a reason for the loss of a neighborhood that has existed for decades.
By MARIN HORWITZ ‘24
The University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University are expanding their campuses into the surrounding areas, displacing local residents and businesses.
Gentrification has gone by
many names and has been
an issue for decades. How
do colleges contribute to it?
Let’s start with a neighborhood
we all know: University City, an area
whose name comes from the schools
that call it home, Drexel University
and the University of Pennsylvania
being the largest and most famous.
It’s full of cute coffee shops and
trendy pop-ups. But this river-bordered,
West Philadelphia neighborhood hasn’t
always been as polished as it is now. So,
what changed? Why are the areas surrounding
colleges becoming less affordable,
and why is it so noticeable now?
Gentrification is not a new concept;
it’s just a new word that stems from discriminatory
practices like redlining.
According to National Geographic,
redlining was a system in which banks
and mortgage companies labeled specific
neighborhoods as “blighted” or “hazardous.”
However, these areas were not always
physically hazardous. Rather, companies
saw these neighborhoods as economically
risky areas and were hesitant to invest in
them. Thus, potential new residents did not
move there, and some existing residents
chose to move out to the suburbs. The
1936 Home Owners’ Loan Corporation
map of Philadelphia marked the University
City area as “blighted” and “hazardous.”
Many redlined neighborhoods became
under-resourced and forgotten by
their cities because of the rating given to
them due to racial discrimination. This is
where gentrification, or, as it was called
in the 1950s-1960s, “urban renewal”
or “slum clearance” enters the picture.
Urban renewal and slum clearing
were government-funded initiatives aimed
at tearing down old obsolete buildings and
constructing new affordable housing in
previously redlined neighborhoods. But
what did this have to do with universities?
In the 1960s, Penn, and Drexel, and
the city of Philadelphia created the University
City Core Plan. The idea was to help
Penn and Drexel expand their campuses.
It was a part of a larger plan to “clear”
the University City area, turning mostly
industrial and residential areas into educational
buildings and student dorms.
West Philadelphia Collaborative
History states that between the years
1966-1972, Penn added 19 buildings to
its campus. Penn itself didn’t have to pay
for the land on which the new buildings
were constructed because of eminent domain:
the governmental right to seize private
land and use it for the “public good.”
Penn built two new libraries, buildings
for the fine arts, high-rise dorms, and parts
of the Wharton business school on land that
the General State Authority seized through
eminent domain. How could they do this?
It all comes back to those redlining
maps. Because the maps designated areas
as “blighted,” the government could claim
that those areas were unsafe, unsanitary, or
“lacked proper light,” which gave them a
reason to occupy the land and redevelop it.
As long as they promised the city
they would build on the land, colleges
could obtain large chunks of it for an affordable
price, partially aided by the government.
This is precisely what happened.
These practices were not unique to Penn
or Drexel: The University of Chicago,
New York University, and many others
made similar deals with their cities.
However, there was a downside. According
to “Renewing Inequality,” a study
by the University of Richmond, hundreds
of families--mostly people of color who
lived in University City--were displaced
between 1950-1966, during the time when
Penn and Drexel expanded their campuses.
To this day, the gentrification continues.
Penn, Drexel, and many other colleges
have current plans for expansion, whether
residential, commercial, or academic.
The University City neighborhood
has changed in the last five years,
and there’s more change coming. According
to the Philadelphia Inquirer,
the Brandywine Realty Trust plans to
break ground for a new high rise in the
Schuylkill Yards in March of this year.
Additionally, private owners of apartment
rentals can still raise their buildings’
prices as the surrounding neighborhood
grows in popularity; this is called “spillover”
and is caused by gentrification. Spillover
increases the average housing cost in the
area, making it harder for current residents
to stay in their buildings, especially in more
economically stratified neighborhoods.
Educational institutions with city campuses
contribute significantly to the continuation
of gentrification. College campuses
gather young students who want trendy
shops, which transform the neighborhood
into an area of student-focused businesses.
But what will happen to those who live in
the surrounding communities--often people
who have lived there for generations--when
colleges provide students their desired
new dorm tower or cute coffee shop?
Education is supposed to be the great
equalizer in our society, providing enriching
opportunities regardless of race, gender, or
religion. But this ideal is undermined when
education becomes a reason for the loss of a
neighborhood that has existed for decades.