“Gray Area” cards a meant to start a frank discussion about historic preservation.

The Mantua neighborhood is going to see a lot of change in the coming years. Community groups in the neighborhood – which is bounded by the 31st Street to the east, 40th Street to the west, the Powelton Village (and Drexel University) neighborhood to the south – are moving fast to make sure they have a voice in the change.

So is Drexel University. Students are increasingly moving into the Mantua neighborhood because of the cheaper rents. The neighborhood is also part of the federal “Promise Zone.”  Mayor Michael Nutter recently promised to “bring back Mantua.”  Drexel officials recently announced that the university will build a “Penn Alexander style” K-8 education complex on the site of the shuttered University City High School. That will push up nearby real estate prices, much as the Penn Alexander School did in the Spruce Hill neighborhood.

The talk around Mantua and nearby neighborhoods is: What will the neighborhoods look and feel like in 5 or 10 years and how can current residents have a say? Here are a couple of upcoming events that will help focus that discussion:

• Creative Neighborhood Redevelopment, tonight (Thursday, March 13), 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Mantua Haverford Community Center (631 N. 39th Street).
A discussion about how artists can spearhead creative neighborhood redevelopment within their local communities. Guest speakers include Rick Lowe (Project Row Houses, Houston), Kyong Park (Los Angeles/Detroit), and Transformazium (Braddock, Penna). Temple Contemporary organized this event. Register here.

• Gray Area “Cards,” Wednesday, March 19, 6 p.m.at Monica’s/St. Andrew’s Church (3600 Baring Street).
The card game is a way to promote discussion and “provocative thinking” about old neighborhood buildings. This game is focused on the Gray Area focal point, Hawthorne Hall at 3849 Lancaster Avenue. More info is available here.