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Originally Posted by cardeza
How about the people who like living there continue to live there? Is that an option? All the discussion seems focused on how quickly these people and their homes could be replaced which I find interesting and somewhat offensive. If I lived in such a prime location I sure as hell wouldn't sell anytime soon and even if the people do its ridiculous to act like something "better" is going there. 25 year old bland suburban style housing can be replaced by modern cheap looking paneled duplexes with gas meters plastered on the front? That is really going to restore the "classic" north philadelphia look in this area. Not impressed by the PHA stuff and sure as hell wont be impressed by whatever NC replaces the existing stock. People don't need to move just because certain people decided to be concerned about a neighborhood that was of no concern to them 5-10 years ago. Now that some people realize this is close to CC and the area is hot suddenly there is a lot of consternation about the low density of this very small area and people are trying to figure out how you can erase it and make this look like so many other parts of Philly near center city.
There is so much room to build in north philly that the focus needs to be on filling the gaps- not worrying about how quickly we can get 20 year old homes torn down to be replaced with pre fab triplexes.
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If you're going to chime in to fiercely defend something as stupid as these misplaced houses, can you at least find a way to voice your opinion more succinctly. Did this really require three posts and 1000 words?
It's not just about density. It disrupts the rhythm of the city. It calls out in big bold letters, "something strange is going on here. This is the projects!"
Speaking as someone who actually spent some time living in public housing as a child, there were numerous drawbacks, but honestly the thing that has stuck with me the most was the fact that everyone knew i lived in public housing and the shame i felt when i was made fun of for being poor.
Rent to own is great. Green space is great. But nothing that is good about this development is derived from how it looks. They could have built nice row homes here that fit in and had a big green back yards.
This development flies in the face of not just good urban planning but current research on how to best implement public housing. If people enjoy living there, great. They can stay as long as they want. But what possible issue can you have with people hoping owners would rather sell these houses and they can be replaced with something more appropriate for their location?