In a message dated 4/12/2007 12:38:41 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

University City isn't a  good name for this neighborhood because Omar Blaik 
made it  up.


Let me turn your farcical statement sarcastic.
 
Blaik was Rodin's community development expediter, otherwise her CPA  
bagman/hatchet-man once removed by way of her EVP John Fry.
 
It was obvious to former West Philly home-girl now psychologist  Judith 
Rodin, Philadelphia's local weak and disorganized government would  allow her 
the 
opportunity to control the  off-campus franchises for social and cultural 
drivers  in then "urban West Philly".
 
Mounting a highly visible role as President Dr. Judith Rodin, she  recast 
local economic development public policy. Her most visible public  initiative 
was 
to recast the many long Balkanized neighborhoods into a  homogeneous 
University City District.
 
Rodin inherited the venerable West Philadelphia Partnership,  which she 
viewed as an unwieldy, ineffective, and too broad-based  community development 
vehicle. She forged and launched (1996) a new  community development 
corporation, 
the UCD, using Penn's money and the tacit  approval of the significant local 
educational, medical, research, and  service institutions many of which the 
Penn Trustees were stockholders and  all of which the Penn Trustees were 
stakeholders.
 
Penn's redevelopment of public assets would initially focus on  ameliorating 
public disorder, creating greater financial incentives for home  ownership 
(thereby stimulating private market forces), and engaging in the  creation of 
model new schools thereby making the University City District  further 
attractive 
and affordable to the desired middle and  upper-middle class homeowners. It 
was anticipated such a readily  achievable plan would allow the UCD to create 
the appearance of a working  relationship with its desired single-family 
homeowners.
 
However if a transparent and open community organizing model was  intended, 
The West Philadelphia Partnership, with its strong history of  neighborhood 
groups' participation, would never have lost its Penn funding  and Penn 
leadership support.
 
Barriers of mistrust developed as Rodin dramatically underestimated  the 
intransigence of many neighborhood groups and other unrepresented  interest 
groups. Rodin was right in anticipating the support of the already  present 
homeowners, who could profit handsomely through the new order.  UCD's three (3) 
year 
plan for developing taxing powers was so slow to  develop both John Fry (2002) 
and Rodin (2004) had left for greener easier  pastures.
 
By 2006 even President Gutman recognized Blaik would never be the  successful 
champion of the UCD with taxing powers, and he and his staff were  
jettisoned, some with golden parachutes _http://www.u3ventures.com/_ 
(http://www.u3ventures.com/)  and hopefully  obfuscating the public's 
recognition of the much 
flawed UCD process.
 
In retrospect Rodin was extraordinarily brash and totally naive to  believe 
she could launch anew in three years an urban renewal plan, at  which many 
other very bright creative and talented people had toiled for over 35  years.
 
 
(In fairness to Blaik, Inquirer Architecture critic Inga Saffron, who  I 
enjoy reading, praised Blaik for both his good architectural taste and forcing  
the public entrances of Penn buildings, especially along Walnut Street, to face 
 
the city's streets not the campus' private walks.)
 
Ciao,
 
Craig




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