I'm not sure how this image is a "nuanced look."
back in the day (late 80s, early 90s), the uchs envisioned an historic district called the west philadelphia streetcar suburb historic district. look how big it was, shown here on the uchs website:
<http://uchs.net/HistoricDistricts/HistDistmap.html>
later (november 2001), it was announced that uchs and shca had joined forces to nominate the spruce hill historic district:
<http://uchs.net/Newsletter/newsletter11-01.html>
this spruce hill historic district, as it was now called, comprised an area much smaller than the streetcar district. look:
<http://sprucehill.uchs.net/map.htm>
"this covers a distinctive area within the Spruce Hill neighborhood, and if approved, would provide property owners with an effective tool for maintaining our neighborhood's beauty and historic integrity...the boundary of the Spruce Hill Historic District...does NOT follow the boundary of the Spruce Hill neighborhood"
meanwhile, as early as sept 1998, uchs and shca were asked by penn to assist with the planning for the new penn-assisted school:
<http://uchs.net/Newsletter/newsletter9-98.html>
later (july 2000) the catchment area for the new penn-assisted school was drawn:
<http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v47/n19/PreK-8Map.gif>
and immediately after (sept 2000) the shca opposed and left the uccc over the catchment area issue (uccc wanted a lottery, shca wanted a catchment area):
<http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/3af96d5179bc8?in_archive=1>
"Amy Williams, vice president of the Squirrel Hill Community Association, said in an e-mail to a community listserv that Grossbach simply overreacted to "being on the losing end of the democratic process." She said the UCCC passed resolutions that Grossbach opposed -- including one against the then-proposed catchment area for the new Penn-assisted public school -- and that the shca withdrawal was based on an inability to work with the council's other members."
today, the penn-assisted catchment area and the shca's proposed spruce hill historic district coincide rather neatly:
<http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~rrorke/WestPhilly/districtpluscatchment.jpg>
and this coincidence exists even though the 2000 census figures for that area show an overwhelming majority of people living there are renters, not homeowners (89.4% renters and 10.6% owner occupants), and they're not likely to have school-aged kids (family households: 24.9%; non-family households: 75.1%). in other words, we've ended up with lines bounding both a catchment area for a new school and a proposed historic district -- for an overwhelmingly small % of people likely to consider either to be in their main interests.
but there may be good reasons for all this, according to jim lilly, shca treasurer and new owner of metropolitan bakery along penn's recently revitalized 40th street. as he wrote to this list in april 2004:
"An important fact we all need to keep in mind is that only 18% of the properties in the proposed Spruce Hill Historic District are owned by single families. All other properties are owned/controlled by developers and landlords. That's less than one out of five. We can fight over the facts and nuances of period designation, paint colors, spindles, slate, etc. but except for zoning, historic designation is the only other city program that has the ability to give such a minority some control over what happens to a neighborhood as unique as ours. Do we really believe that the majority of other 82% cares at all what happens to Spruce Hill outside of making money for themselves?"
meanwhile, sensing that at least one of these boundaries might not make sense if the other one was, tony west pointed out (june 2004) on this list:
"There HAS TO be a way that the reasonably attractive (but not fanatical) character of our community can be preserved, according to the standards of ordinary people, without burdensome regulations that -- bluntly put -- state the slate on your roof holds a higher priority than the education of your child. Some of think that by spending to educate our children, we are also doing our part to preserve the neighborhood."
* * *
how the boundaries got here and why they coincide today and how together they represent and continue to serve the interests of the people living here (as well as those of competing institutions and community organizations) -- very interesting, wouldn't you agree, elisabeth? nuanced, even.
......... laserbeam [aka ray]
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