On the 27th of September
we ventured our way into the complex neighborhood of South Philadelphia, the
neighborhood that is known to expand north and south of South Street. I have
been to this area a multitude of times; I think just about every Temple student
has due to it being such a high tourist attraction today. From an outside
perspective that knows very little of the Philadelphia history and the current
state of the city, this outsider would not really think of anything while
walking down South Street. Most likely the individual would fall in love with the
present state of the street; endless stores line the street offering whatever
someone can think of, the streets are clean enough compared to most areas, and
overall it seems like a nice safe neighborhood. However, after going on a tour
and learning about the history of the South Street neighborhood I cannot get a
solid grasp on how I feel about the current state. One side of me wants to fall
in love with how progressed and higher class this neighborhood has turned into
because at the end of the day that is what a successful city must have. Yet on
the other hand I just feel like so much of what Dubois saw and the struggles
that he felt this neighborhood had been, are still there but just behind the
cover of modern hipster takeover. Let me explain both of my struggling feelings
on this neighborhood and maybe the correct opinion on this neighborhoods state
will arise. 
To
begin, I think the best option is to show the progression that this
neighborhood has had since the time Dubois had walked the streets. Presently, I
believe that this neighborhood is perfect in resembling what the entire city of
Philadelphia will eventually look like. The newly Indigo Bike initiative is
present on the street, in the harbor of the South Street attractions. These
attractions are the dominating Whole Foods and Starbucks. I think Whole Foods
is such an interesting store, it is a symbol of progress and the completion of
gentrification of a neighborhood. It is a store that is supposed to help with
the food security epidemic that so many urban residents face but at such a high
cost that results in pushing the people that are facing the food security
epidemic somewhere else due to them not being able to afford such a high cost
grocery store. Besides the Wholes Foods pushing a group of people out, I think
a lot of success that South Street has seen with all of these small businesses
and mixing in the big name corporations have inevitability pushed the
neighborhood that Dubois was talking about further south. I have personal
experience of where I was walking on South Street, and when I am walking to a
destination I have learned that the beauty of a city is to not take the same
path to the same destination because you are able to see so much more. So as I
was walking toward 2nd and South Street, I did this strategy of not
taking the same path and ventured further south. Never did I feel unsafe, but I
did realize that this “beautiful area” that South Street tries to portray is
just a big curtain covering the low-income neighborhood that resides just a
couple blocks south. This is where my struggling of how I feel about the
neighborhood arises, the problem of the neighborhood never really was fixed it
just was pushed away. There is still an evident problem of poverty in the
southern area of Philadelphia along South Street. As we walked I spotted a
homeless man sleeping alongside the wall of the beautiful Whole Foods. Although the city has tried its best to help
the torn area of South Street, they have only been using a curtain to show the possibility
that the area has. Do not get me wrong though, while I do have criticism of the
area and how the progress is going about I still feel as though this area is
doing a spectacular job of trying to be a model of what the entire city could
be like. 
On
a more positive note, I think that what South Street and its residents are
doing correctly is being a resemblances of the positives of what I like to call
the “hipster” movement can bring to an area. The ability to ride a bike and get
just about anything you need off of one street is remarkable, it makes people
of the middle/upper class have such an ease of getting what they need. Not only
does the street looking visually appealing and on the way up as a neighborhood,
it also has integrated the art community in spectacular way. The buildings
revolving the mosaic garden are covered with creative and one of a kind pieces
of art that make the space feel much more personable and safe. Not only have
they brought in the art community but they did not forget about their past
which I think is the prominent thing making me support the present state of the
street/neighborhood. They have a gigantic mural showing the past of Dubois and
the problem that he saw in the Black community in the South Street
neighborhood, which helps remind people that decided to take notice of it that
this neighborhood was not always like this. To conclude, I think typing out my
thoughts on this area helped me solidify how I do feel about the current state
neighborhood. I believe that this neighborhood is still progressing and is
nowhere near being done (although which neighborhood is done) but I think that
currently the way that are trying to push this neighborhood forward is a positive
one. 
Have people most likely gotten screwed over and pushed out of their homes?
Definitely. But that is sadly a natural part of progress of a neighborhood, it
is impossible to raise the overall value of an area and not run into people
being unable to afford it. That being said there is a right way and a wrong way,
I think that South Street tried its best to not completely throw the people out
but I have no evidence for that so who knows. What I do know is a fact is that walking
down the street of South Street is a riveting experience of fun shops, creative
art, and clean streets. So with that I would say that although I have a couple
issues with how the street is currently, I support where it is now and I am
excited to see how it moves forward. And thank you so much whoever denied the
plan to turn South Street into a highway.
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