Over the years, University City District (UCD) has provided important services and organized many community events and activities in the neighborhood (Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, Movies in Clark Park, etc.). Many residents have used such services as walking escorts, vehicle jumpstarts and lock-out assistance. UCD has also organized neighborhood cleaning events and regularly removes trash from the district trash cans. It has also supported local businesses through various events and initiatives/fundraising and has been involved with public space maintenance/activation, workforce development training programs, and more.

To better understand where they are performing well and where they might improve, UCD has launched a public survey.

Those who complete this survey and provide contact information, will be eligible to win one of five $100 gift cards to a University City restaurant. Winners will be chosen after the survey closes in April of 2024 and alerted via email.

The survey can be accessed via this link.

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, in partnership with Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia Zoo, Please Touch Museum, and The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, is developing a plan for the future of the Centennial District in West Fairmount Park.

As part of the planning process, the City is gathering community input and holding an open house on Thursday, Jan. 25 at the Please Touch Museum. Stop by anytime between 6 and 8 p.m..

The City of Philadelphia would like to hear stories you have about the Centennial District and share your thoughts on what works well and what doesn’t. Check out the event flyer below.

If you can’t make the open house, please consider taking an online survey, which will be posted after the open house at centennialdesignplan.com.

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Do you like to visit Clark Park and want to provide feedback? Friends of Clark Park (FoCP), a volunteer-run group behind the maintenance and improvements at the park, has released their annual survey on the state of the park.

It is a short survey that takes no more than 5 minutes to complete, but it is really important for FoCP to get feedback and set direction for the park each year. For example, the community feedback received last year was instrumental in advocating for the bathrooms (“Portland Loo“) which are being installed later this year.

To access the survey, click here.

Spruce Hill map / SHCA website.

Spruce Hill residents can have some input in what types of businesses may operate in the neighborhood in the near future. The Safe Streets and Commercial Corridors Committee of the Spruce Hill Community Association’s (SHCA) Board is seeking community input (those who live or/and work there) on preferred retail options in the neighborhood through an online Retail Preference Survey that can be accessed via this link.

The overall goal is to not only attract more businesses to invest in the neighborhood, which is located between 38th and 46th streets and between Market and Woodland, but to attract the type of businesses that the community wants in the neighborhood. SHCA is seeking to get as much data as possible from all segments of the community, so please share this survey with your friends and neighbors.

For more information about SHCA, visit their website.

For some folks living in the Spruce Hill neighborhood, which borders Penn’s campus, the time when students move out in May and leave tons of unwanted stuff behind is considered “Penn Christmas.” One can find gently used furniture, designer clothes and shoes and even a high-end surfboard or two.

For others, it’s a trash – plain and simple.

The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) has been working with the University of Pennsylvania to help improve the Penn community’s response to the excessive trash left behind on streets and sidewalks in the neighborhood when students move out.

SHCA prepared a short online survey to help guide these discussions with the University, which may lead to “real improvements.” Residents are asked to complete a short online survey so your their can be considered. The results will be shared with Penn partners who are working to solve these issues.

The survey can be accessed via this link.

Friends of Clark Park, a volunteer-run organization, is working on a new master plan for the popular West Philly park, known for its farmers and flea markets, outdoor theater productions and film screenings, music festivals, sports and recreation programs, and many other community events. The plan, which is expected to be completed next year, “will set the vision for future park development and investment plans,” according to Ari Kessler, Friends of Clark Park Communications Committee Chair and Board Director.

Studio Bryan Hanes, a Philadelphia landscape architecture firm, has been selected by the Friends as a partner in the planning process. As part of this process, the partners are looking for community input. Community members have a chance to provide their feedback at a meeting hosted by SBH at Clark Park Farmers Market (43rd and Baltimore) on Saturday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. See the flier below for more details. Continue Reading