Development of a Community Geographic Information System for Urban Redesign in North Philadelphia

itsrg working paper number five 7.10.09

Mathew Davis

Michele Masucci

Information Technology and Society Research Group of Temple University

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Introduction

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become an integral part of how people engage economic, educational and community life in modern urban society.  The spaces and places that comprise urban settings have similarly undergone tremendous change as a result of the ever expanding role of ICTs in daily life.  Our social arrangements, daily navigations and engagement in community endeavors are iteratively managed along with ICTs. Incorporating a consideration of the ICT needs of a community into planning efforts often lacks strategic direction that accounts for how ICTs may underpin development goals and urban design changes. This is particularly true in disadvantaged community settings where built environments are aging and often dilapidated, neighborhood schools fail to provide quality educations, and economic opportunities are sparse.  Some planners and designers are beginning to acknowledge the role of ICTs as a critical resource for “producing livable communities and sustainable economies.” [i] But scholars who examine the relationships between disparities faced at the margins of society have recognized that ICT use and access is often closely connected to educational attainment, economic status and community settings.[ii] [iii] [iv]

This paper will review one strategy employed in North Philadelphia’s Latino community to overcome barriers to accessing ICTs as a means of addressing development distress and inadequate infrastructure to sustain community quality of life goals.  The approach taken was to develop a university-community partnership between Asociación de Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) and the Information Technology and Society Research Group (ITSRG) of Temple University. The aim of the APM-ITSRG partnership has been to implement a combination of ICT resource development, educational training and community assessment activities that will support the future implementation of a Community Media Center (Figure 1).  Plans call for the center to be built during the next three years; it is intended as a community setting for accessing ICT resources and educational programs, ultimately serving as a hub that fosters civic engagement among residents and community development within the neighborhood.

Fig.1.APM Media Center and Surrounding Neighborhood

In addition to the development of the Community Media Center, a technology plan was developed that addresses the community’s comprehensive needs for ICTs.  The APM Technology Plan calls for the following infrastructure, education, and services to be supported by a new community serving facility and enhancements to community residential and commercial structures:

• Providing computers in all new homes as a basic infrastructure.
• Integrating wireless fidelity or “Wi-Fi” for short into APM targeting specific public spaces and institutions in the short-term and providing comprehensive neighborhood coverage in the long-term, becoming the nation’s first low-income wireless neighborhood.
• A new GIS system operated and used by APM to track the status of properties in the area and assist local residents in planning for the community’s future through public participation GIS programs.
• Developing youth programs that educate students in new computer software applications from AutoCAD and GIS to creating new web pages.
• Creating an interactive web page for the APM area that includes on-line forums for discussions and collaboration.
• Expanded education programs targeted to technology training and workforce preparation.
• Creating public access in key locations throughout the community through new technology kiosks, interactive digital bulletin boards and public art that elevates the visibility and impact information technology can have within the community.
• Developing a “Media Station” at the SEPTA Regional Rail Station that serves as the hub for local technology initiatives. The media station will act as a public space and community center providing information technology training and new entertainment and after-school programs. It will serve as a portal to programs and activities of value to local residents provided on-line both locally and nationally. With a focus on education and creativity, the media station will enable residents to create art, street furniture and other products for use within the community.
• Investing in fiber-optic infrastructure for sites surrounding the station making the planned office space and housing more attractive. The revenue from these uses will help to subsidize the media station.
• A marketing campaign to elevate both the interest in information technology but also the neighborhood as a whole.1

The technology plan anticipates that these activities can address community development needs by centralizing access to tools and services needed for entering into the 21rst Century economy. From the perspective of APM, devising means to address digital divide barriers faced by local residents is essential to achieving this goal.

APM views this initiative as “a model for neighborhood revitalization that moves beyond bricks and mortar activities, fusing the flexibility and resources Information Technology potentially provides with complimentary physical investment.”1 This vision illustrates the degree to which community serving organizations may think in strategic ways about the iterative relationships between advancements in ICTs and urban design and community development goals. The target area for activities of the partnership program is shown in Figure 2. It is a former industrial district, now primarily residential, situated between the American Street corridor and a SEPTA Regional Rail corridor and informally delineated on the south by Girard Avenue and on the north by Diamond Street. This location is located a few blocks east of the main campus of Temple University.

Fig. 2. Location of APM and Temple University in Philadelphia

This area reveals devastating neighborhood transformations that have included a nearly 50% loss in population during the past 40 years, increased poverty levels, abandoned properties, and loss of economic activities due to deindustrialization. Nearly 50% of the neighborhood’s current population is Latino. APM’s perspective is that poor quality of local schools, lack of family recreation areas, and limited commercial services are contributing to the continued loss of population and inability of community serving organizations like APM to adequately meet the needs of the people who remain. Nonetheless, APM has led many neighborhood initiatives to revitalize the area through providing social services and education programs as well as physically rebuilding the neighborhood fabric. This has involved creating over 200 new homes and a shopping center located in the community. [v]

The development challenges that are at the heart of APM’s organizational mission intersect directly with research and outreach goals of ITSRG.  The APM-ITSRG partnership has been supported through funding from a National Science Foundation sponsored Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Program during the past two years. The partnership aims to create strong linkages between the experiential learning activities of program participants, university students and faculty and community planners and design professionals within APM.

The two central activities of the partnership are: (a) the development of an Internship program that improves knowledge among university students and program participants related to the community redesign and development needs and (b) the provision of technical support, data sharing, and planning applications related to APM’s plans to develop a geographic information system (GIS).  APM plays a critical advisory role for ITSRG in relationship to its community research activities. And, ITSRG and APM jointly host a Community Fellow who acts as a liaison for the joint formulation of the partnership agenda.

The Internship Program

The APM-ITSRG Internship program was established in November of 2005, has involved 12 students in various activities and research during the academic year and through summer 2006. Student interns were drawn from the Temple Architecture Program, Tyler School of Art and Department of Geography and Urban Studies.  Students who participated in internship activities on behalf of the APM-ITSRG partnership engaged activities related to community planning and development, with an emphasis on assisting APM with developing geographic information resources pertaining to the geographic area served by the organization.

Interns participated on a number of community planning projects in the APM neighborhood. One tasks that comprised part of the larger project of developing a community GIS was to conduct an inventory of each land parcel in the APM area. Interns also developed housing prototypes and an open space plan for a derelict site (Figure 3) in the neighborhood that was targeted as part of APM’s 2002 Redevelopment Plan and the American Street Empowerment Zone Green Plan.

Fig. 3. Open Space Plan for North Philadelphia Community Site designed by Interns involved in the APM-ITSRG Partnership Program

Interns developed a more comprehensive design project drawing from information gathered during the parcel inventory during the summer component of the program. The impetus for their summer design project was to develop alternatives to past housing developments in nearby quasi-“new-urbanist” neighborhoods that were deemed overtly suburban in character.  Some of those prior housing developments significantly disrupted historic urban patterns, and lacked sustainable design practices. Targeting a moderate to low income home ownership market, many of these past projects have been patterned to resemble suburban prototypes, complete with associated amenities such as low-density single family dwellings, complete with off street parking, garages, lawns, and informal semi-private public spaces. Such projects represent an effort to entice urban buyers into entering a housing market by offering the suburban styled homes in an effort to reduce the exodus to the suburbs that has been unrelenting for decades. These features are out of place, however, and are ultimately destined to become failed symbols of suburban emulation, relegated to the status of maintenance concern for residents.

The field experiences gained by interns provided them with a view of a recent history of ineffective development strategies. Their ultimate design concept reflected the appreciation they gained for resident and community organizational requirements to integrate open spaces into the housing design, but also incorporate commercial as well as public spaces. (Figure 4)  And, their design incorporated spaces that could take advantage of new ICT policies, such as the city’s efforts to disseminate wireless Internet in low-income communities, through creating neighborhood based open spaces.

Fig. 4. Close up View of Student Designed Open Space Housing Design Plan for APM Community in North Philadelphia

Through gaining opportunities to engage field survey work and other activities associated with developing a GIS, student interns have learned how these resources may be used by a community serving organization. The interns ultimately delivered community resources that could be built upon in future planning efforts, including: (a) an assembled database for APM’s GIS; (b) a user-friendly tutorial specifically designed to meet the needs of a non-profit CDC, such as APM, (c) assistance with the development of funding proposals for urban redevelopment projects, (d) field reports related to research on mixed income development and inclusionary zoning policies within the neighborhood and (e) long term collaborative linkages with other non-profit agencies, such as Philadelphia Green (sponsored by the Philadelphia Horticultural Society) that could support future open space design needs of APM.

Examples of community redesign ideas that have emerged from these activities illustrate how information drawn from inventorying community resources can support urban design goals that in turn meet community economic development needs. The datasets the students created provide fine-grained information that have not only supported APM’s development planning activities but also created a base of understanding among a larger community of learners.

Sharing Community Knowledge

Among the community’s most important learners are high school youth. They face some of the most challenging circumstances for achieving a high quality education in Philadelphia. One of the concerns of APM and ITSRG has been to develop programs that can integrate community development concepts in technology learning opportunities for youth. Geographic information and design resources that have been developed through the partnership have been used to support after school and summer intensive informal science learning opportunities for area youth.  Interns have had subsequent opportunities to serve as mentors for these programs. Through mentoring high school students, Interns have been provided with a means of integrating community knowledge with formal and informal educational experiences that comprise the activities of the programs.

One theme that has been central for both the Intern experiences and informal learning experiences of the high school students is to discuss and conceptualize community. The introduction of this dialog is a means of introducing a framework for understanding the shared and sometimes contested meanings about place and community. The approach provides a conduit for future development of ICT skills, including an understanding of those that are fundamental for developing and using GIS tools.  Through representing and then envisioning their communities, high school youth and Interns can have a dialog about what future concerns can be reflected in development and neighborhood design. Interns have informed their interpretations of community meanings through interactions with APM staff and residents they encountered during their site survey activities. Through interaction with youth, they may further understand the complexities involved in participating in developing strategies for enhancing development at the most local scales.  High school participants gain a unique view of the relationship between gaining fundamental knowledge about maps, spatial information, and the concept of community. And through dialogs with Interns can have insights about their local knowledge can support development change to reshaping their own communities.

Community Information Needs

In contrast to the information resources developed through the internship program, data-sets developed by government planning agencies, although increasing in sophistication and availability, are often out-of date and incomplete relative to the detailed parcel-level information needed by a community. Community groups, such as APM, operate with constrained budgets for planning and design. As a result, they often rely on private foundation grants and state-sponsored subsidies to develop and implement planning strategies. In many cases, community organizations utilize private sector consultants to fill the roles of technical experts when developing technology infrastructure and information resources.

University-community partnership strategies can involve a wide variety of shared activities, including service learning,   community practicum and internship experiences, and social-action research approaches.  These can provide important ways to relate community collaborations with academic training and research. [vi] [vii][viii] [ix] Some institutions have had more structural responses, developing programmatic alliances among academic and community groups. [x] [xi] [xii] [xiii] One of the main benefits that can result is that non-profit, community groups, grass roots organizations and social movements can acquire specialized technology support and design services. In addition, they have an opportunity to affect the formation of intellectual discourse through the knowledge shared in the context of the partnership arrangements. [xiv] [xv] [xvi] [xvii]

Collaborative Development of a Community GIS

Not all partnerships produce beneficial outcomes for all partners. The APM-ITSRG Partnership has faced many communication challenges during the past two years. And, ICT planning and implementation can be a hot-button issue among partners since frameworks for using and managing ICT can be dramatically different for each partner.

Despite these potential difficulties, a major component of supporting the improvement of enhancing community ICT capacity in the neighborhood near APM was to build on the current strengths of both APM and ITSRG. We quickly identified GIS needs as a point of common interest for collaboration.  From the point of view of many community serving organizations such as APM, GIS software applications are typically inaccessible due to their inherent steep learning curves and high cost in terms of both computer hardware systems and consulting fees. [xviii] [xix] This is one factor that stands in the way of many grass-roots planning efforts to realize the potential benefits from developing GIS capacity. [xx] [xxi] As many inner-city groups are constantly under pressure from private speculative development and gentrification, communities lack the same skill-sets and market driven real-estate data utilized by the private sector. [xxii] [xxiii]

Our approach for improving GIS capacity of both APM and ITSRG was to work collaboratively to develop a community GIS. This has involved improving technical skills in using software applications and designing spatial data systems while simultaneously addressing the need to make both software and data systems developed easy to access and use by all parties. It has also involved identifying spatial information needs, existing resources, and priorities for creating new spatial datasets.

What has emerged through the partnership is a strong commitment to data sharing and community dissemination, drawing on low-technology rather than state-of-the-art technology solutions. We have relied on Internet accessible applications (such as Picasa, Google Earth and Blogs) to create publicly accessible forums for the exchange of qualitative information that can be used by students, program participants and families. We have also used state-of-the-art software and hardware systems to implement community planning and design elements and support analytical tasks. These are used primarily by the more technically skilled participants and GIS specialists in the collaboration.

Our efforts with APM have been to capacitate the non-profit and elevate their facility to serve the historic residents of the community.  They are often forced to compete with the real estate development market, facing the jeopardy of displacement by the forces of gentrification. Consequently, a direct outcome of the process of creating a community GIS has been the development of a model for technology driving university-community participation and community outreach. The integration of technology interests and development tie-ins is reflected in the seemingly eclectic array of objectives APM hoped to achieve by improving GIS capacity. Some of the purposes they intended to support were:

• Monitoring property parcel exchanges;
• Managing and maintaining scheduling of held property;
• Managing existing rental and home ownership properties;
• Managing of open space and vacant parcels, greening and streetscape improvements;
• Identifying existing healthy housing stock for preservation as well blighted and vacant parcels for rehabilitation and/or demolition;
• Targeting areas for new affordable housing;
• Instigating economic revitalization;
• Identifying service area of retail and commercial facilities, identify underserved areas in need of these amenities;
• Analyzing local and area demographics to determine potential market for commercial and retail development;
• Identifying new optimal locations and service type for new retail and commercial uses.

These purposes are not ones that necessarily reflect the direct interests of community residents, students or researchers. However, the vision articulated through these goals is one that has at the forefront the challenge of linking redevelopment efforts with improving technology capacity. ITSRG was strongly supported to develop an educational program that provided a context for GIS development activities. The result has been that many of the goals APM intended to achieve have been reinforced with capacity building outcomes as well as youth ICT educational opportunities. Since the integrity of each partner’s respective missions was adhered to as a basis for collaboration, the APM-ITSRG Internship Program was an important mechanism for implementing the systematic development of an inventory of community resources needed by the community and for introducing more nuanced considerations about the relative value and potential uses of the information resource.

Fig. 5. bITS Participant Community Map. His comment on why he chose to represent his community this way was: “it made it easy for me to stress my head thinking about every place in my community, and also I wasn't trying to make a big drawing… those landmarks are the ones I would never forget about…bustops and bars…chinos, corner store, cleaners, car dealer, garage, and a car stereo place called Erietronics.”

APM, working under the guidelines of state-funded subsidies, had little choice other than to adopt these design practices in several of their recently completed housing developments. Our efforts examined the needs of the community’s residents and sought to create a more efficient, higher density development, with sustainable design practices such as on-site storm water management and green roofs while offering similar amenities to the distinctively suburban style developments. In an informal study of how residents occupy and use private open space in the historic context of the row-home, as well as the newer developments, these exterior spaces are used as direct extensions of indoor living spaces, used for barbeques, hanging laundry, storage, often even watching television in the summertime. The major issue understood through this study was one of privacy, which the suburban-style developments lacked where yard spaces were significantly overexposed to a number of adjacent residences, the street, or park-like green spaces that had little or no connection to a private dwelling.

By gaining an understanding of design elements that were valued by community residents, we hoped to support APM’s goal of stemming the tide of neighborhood out-migration. Moreover, if we were to ultimately support the technology delivery goals of outlined in the APM Technology Plan and Media Center design concept, we needed to find a pathway towards integrating the economic development, ICT capacity and residential development concerns driving dialog between residents and APM.  Results of these efforts are shown in the design plan and community voices related to the aims of integrating ICT capacity not only within the APM organizational infrastructure but also within the community development agenda.

GIS as a Catalyst for Urban Redesign

As a result of this process of collaboratively developing a community GIS, an emphasis on the development of social networks as a means of reinforcing technology capacity emerged. Outcomes of the partnership have included: (a) a shared understanding of current conditions among neighborhood residents and community development partners; (b) specific target areas of community concern related to public safety, health and environmental hazards were identified and strategies to address problems associated with those locations were prioritized; (c) community support systems were expanded, facilitating the development of new community partnerships and (d) the facilitation of public participation in community matters through developing ICT resources such as a community website is now seen as a viable means for connecting people with local issues, despite the digital divide challenges of many residents.

One comment offered by APM reflects many of the tensions that can occur in University-Community partnerships.  It was noted that Temple University, although adjacent to one of the most economically challenged and blighted areas of Philadelphia, has at an administrative level, remained insular in its approach to community outreach and community development. As a result, communities such as the one served by APM, do not ask for or expect Temple to invest directly in their communities. APM has chosen to form alliances through developing highly focused collaborative activities – in some cases with specific individuals, in others with department or centers. The effect of forming linkages with the university is accomplished, but without the larger often political complexities that can mire initiatives in protracted time-lines and superficial program development are contained.  The community empowerment effects of the arrangement provide a powerful incentive for many university collaborators who have an interest in relating their research and scholarly studies to participate in ameliorating some of the conditions that impact on the local communities where their work life is situated.

It is important to be vigilant that power dynamics related to the different resources of partnering entities do not detract from the community empowerment objectives that may be achieved. In the APM-ITSRG Partnership, this challenge persists despite our efforts to pursue a path of iterative technological adaptation and creation of a shared geographic information resource. But, the advantage of having participated in the creation of the strategic planning effort that related community technology needs to the development of the Media Center and associated ICT infrastructure is that we have had the opportunity to align opportunities for inter-institutional resource sharing that can be implemented for short or intermediate terms. This has enabled us to provide programmatic continuity and stability related to technological improvements over the long term.

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Notes

[i] Davis, M.; Page, S.; Townsend, A.; and N. Liou. 2004. APM Technology Initiative. Asociación de Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM): Philadelphia, PA.

[ii] DiMaggio, P., Hargittai, E., Neuman, R.W. and Robinson. J.P., 2001. Social Implications of the Internet. Annual Review of Sociology 27:307–36.

[iii] Hargittai, E. 2003. The Digital Divide and What to do About It. The New Economy Handbook. Ed. Derek C. Jones. San Diego: Academic Press.

[iv] Robinson, J. P.; DiMaggio, P. and E. Hargittai. 2003. New Social Survey Perspectives on the Digital Divide.  IT & Society 1(5):1-22.

[v] Davis, M.; Page, S. and B. Philips. 2005. Designing Community Interfaces in North Philadelphia: An Evolving Revitalization Strategy. Proceedings of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture 93rd Annual Meeting. Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

6 Bringle, R. G. and J. A. Hatcher.  2002. Campus-Community Partnerships: The Terms of Engagement.  Journal of Social Issues.  Vol. 58 (3):503-516.

[vii] Prins, E.  2005.  Framing a Conflict in a Community-University Partnership. Journal of Planning Education and Research, Vol. 25(1): 57-74.

[viii] Prins, E. 2006. Individual roles and approaches to public engagement in a community university partnership in a rural California town. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 21(7).

[ix] Silka, L. 1999. Paradoxes of Partnerships: Reflections on University-Community Collaborations. Research in Politics and Society, 7:335–359.

[x] Baum, H. 2000. Fantasies and Realities in University-Community Partnerships. Journal of Planning Education and Research, Vol. 20(2):234-246.

11 Masucci, M. 2000. Institutional Partnerships in Using and Developing Information Technology for Community Environmental Monitoring.  In: Viadana, I. and M. Lombardo (eds), Universidade e Comunidade na Gestão do Meio Ambiente, pp. 65-75. UNESP (State University of São Paulo) Press, São Paulo, Brazil.

[xii] Mullins, R. L. Jr and J. I. Gilderbloom.  2002. Urban Revitalisation Partnerships: perceptions of the university’s role in Louisville, Kentucky. Local Environment Volume 7(2):163 – 176.

[xiii] Rubin, V. 2000. Evaluating University-Community Partnerships: An Examination of the Evolution of Questions and Approaches. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, Volume 5 (1): 219-230.

[xiv] Dewar, M. 1988.  Learning from Difference: The Potentially Transforming Experience of Community-University Collaboration. Journal of Planning Education and Research, Vol. 17(4):334-347.

[xv] Harkavy, I. and W. Wiewel. 1995. University-community partnerships: Current state and future issues. Metropolitan Universities, 6(3):7-14.

[xvi] Gilbert, M. and M. Masucci. 2004. Feminist Praxis in University Community Partnerships: Reflections on Ethical Crises and Turning Points in Temple-North Philadelphia IT Partnerships. In Radical Theory/Critical Praxis: Making a Difference Beyond the Academy, pp. 147-158.  Edited by D. Fuller and R. Kitchin. Praxis (e) Press, Okamagen, IR.

[xvii] Wiewel, W. and M. Lieber.  1998. Goal Achievement, Relationship Building, and Incrementalism: The Challenges of University-Community Partnerships. Journal of Planning Education and Research, Vol. 17(4):291-301.

[xviii] Carver, S. 2003. The Future of Participatory Approaches Using Geographic Information:  Developing a Research Agenda for the 21rst Century. URISA Journal, Volume 15, APAI:61-71.

[xix] Hwang, S.  2006.  Role of University in the Partnership for IT innovations of Community Development: Utilizing Universities’ Assets for Neighborhood Information System’s Development.  Public Administration and Management, Volume 11(2):75-100.

[xx] Elwood, S. and H. Leitner.  2003.  GIS and Spatial Knowledge Production for Neighborhood Revitalization: Negotiating State Priorities and Neighborhood Visions. Journal of Urban Affairs,
Volume 25(2):139- 157.

[xxi] Ghose, R.  2003. Community Participation, Spatial Knowledge Production, and GIS Use in Inner-City Revitalization. Journal of Urban Technology, Volume 10(1):39-60.

[xxii] Schroeder, P. 1997. A Public Participation Approach to Charting Information Spaces. In 1997 ACSM/ASPRS Technical Papers, Volume 5: Autocarto 13. Bethesda: ACSM/ASPRS, AAG,URISA, AM/FM.

[xxiii] Schroeder, P. 1999. Changing Expectations of Inclusion, Toward Community Self-Discovery. URISA Journal, Volume 11(2):43-51.

Acknowledgements

This paper was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Science Foundation (ESI-0423242). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. This paper was originally presented on November 3, 2006 at the 21rst Century Cities Conference in Philadelphia, PA sponsored by the Institute for Public Affairs of Temple University as ” Community GIS for Urban Redevelopment.”

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© Mathew Davis & Michele Masucci 2009. All Rights Reserved.

May be distributed freely under ITSRG Working Paper’s Creative Commons License.