Quote:
Originally Posted by philly_account12
There is really not much development space left between Girard and Spring Garden. Fairmount, Francisville, Spring Garden, and Northern Liberties are all dense, walkable, self sufficient neighborhoods with decent transit access. Poplar could be similar but instead its a suburban style food desert. I'm not advocating for razing the whole neighborhood, but it is extremely disappointing that it was built in a way that almost completely prevents infill and doesn't allow for organic growth of the neighborhood/community living there.
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+1
I understand the argument that when this development was designed, there was some thinking behind how it ended up being built as a suburban neighborhood. But it still doesn't change the fact that this thinking has since been shown to be without merit.
And while I understand that there were positive and somewhat forward thinking aspects to this development, such as rent to own, private green space, a community center and a public health center, etc., none of the positive aspects of this development are intrinsic to the suburban style in which it was built.
This development has not stood the test of time, and it arguably failed that test even before it was built. A tree lined rowhouse neighborhood with houses with back yards, a smattering of office and retail spaces, the community center and health center, a school, etc. would have not only served the residents who live here better, but it would have enabled roughly 3X as many of people to live here.
And now that people will start selling some of these houses in a few years once they're able, this neighborhood will look crazy and disjointed for decades as a bunch of suburban houses with giant yards sit interspersed amongst larger developments.
You can point out these failures while still appreciating that there are people who enjoy living in it.