Healthscape

The purpose of this report is to interpret the healthscape of the Italian Market neighborhood of Philadelphia. My field study began at Montrose Street and Passyunk Avenue, west on Montrose Street, south on South 9th Street, west on Carpenter Street, south on South 10th Street, east on Washington Avenue, and north on South 7th Street.

A healthscape is a very complex infrastructure dealing with the neighborhood at both an individual and community level. It comprises all of those things that deal with health, which can range from access to clean drinking water to recreational activities to education to healthcare access. At the individual level, I place the greatest emphasis on physical activity, foods eaten, educating oneself about environment, health, and personal well-being, social interaction, and community pride. At the community level, I place great emphasis on proper local services being provided and maintained, youth education, maintaining recreational places, access to healthful foods, and a strong dependence on planning and local government to provide all of these services.

The Italian Market area of Philadelphia is home to a “healthy” healthscape in my eyes. The market itself is centered around being able to provide healthful foods at affordable prices. The fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats are delivered constantly and are immediately available. There are also a number of grocery and convenience stores within walking distance of all areas of the neighborhood. There is public transportation that services the area both north-south and east-west. The area is very accessible to handicapped persons. There are doctor’s and dentist’s offices, libraries, and recreation centers. The area is packed with restaurants and bakeries. Pretty much anything you could be looking for is in this neighborhood. And on top of everything, it is fairly safe and well maintained by the residents. There are plenty of greenspaces and parks that can be used by anyone. This is a great issue to me that children and adults have places to exercise and take part in intramural sports.



While there are many positive aspects of the area, there are also some drawbacks. There formerly was a public swimming pool on Montrose Street between 8th and 9th Streets that has been closed down (photo below). The next closest public swimming pool is at 2nd and Earp Streets, which is about a mile away. Sanitation is another issue that threatens the “healthiness” of the area. The actual market is usually littered with trash, which attracts vermin, rats, mice, and insects. This is especially serious in the summer. More time must be taken to clean up leftover foods or to properly store them. I believe that the city should invest more into this neighborhood to make it more attractive and to help with sanitation.



In the end, I center a healthscape on community education and personal choices. While there must be input and help from local government and businesses, a lot of pressure still lies on the individual to take that information and use it.

Historical Industrial Landscape

The purpose of this report is to interpret the industrial historical landscape of the Italian Market neighborhood of Philadelphia. My field study began at Montrose Street and Passyunk Avenue, west on Montrose Street, south on South 9th Street, west on Wharton Street, north on South 10th Street, east on Washington Avenue, north on South 9th Street, east on Catharine Street, south on Darien Street, east on Christian Street, south on South 8th Street, and east on Salter Street.

The Italian Market neighborhood of Philadelphia has historically and continues to be a center for distribution. Many of the businesses that comprise the area are privately owned. There is high density housing, which remains to be the most common type of housing in the area. There are new condominiums and houses being erected, which is approaching rather quickly and will be discussed in the entry on gentrification. There are many buildings that hold a record of their past functions in faded paint, such as a brick building on the corner of South 9th Street and Washington Avenue (as seen below).



Historically, the Italian Market was essentially that, an outdoor market within a neighborhood comprised of a new Italian immigrant population. It was a way to help immigrants hold jobs, establish residences, and slowly adapt to a new culture without having to abandon their own. The neighborhood was self-serving and there are imprints on the existing landscape that show that a person need not go too far to have access to daily necessities. There was a community hospital on the corner of South 10th Street and Carpenter Street until 1968 (photo below). The market, churches, businesses, and homes are all indications of the heavy immigrant influences on the area and were highly concentrated in a small number of blocks.



I also believe that the streets that surround the market are indications that the area was and continues to be home to heavy traffic due to distribution. Washington Avenue is a 4 lane street with parking on both sides that is usually filled with trucks making deliveries and pick-ups. South 11th Street between Bainbridge Street and Washington Avenue is also a 4 lane street with a high volume of delivery traffic.

In addition to being a center for distribution, the area is home to many food production businesses, which have long histories. Nearly every evening and early morning the area is overwhelmed with the smell of fresh baked breads, pastries, and pastas. Many of these businesses have been operating for 100 years or more and are very family oriented.

While many of the Italian businesses and residents remain, there has also been an influx of other immigrant populations into the area. Mexican and a variety of Asian businesses have taken over the neighborhood just south of Washington Avenue and even in the outdoor market itself. On the few occasions that I walked through the market taking photographs and notes, I only saw a maximum of 2 outdoor vendors of Italian descent. The remaining 10 to 12 outdoor food vendors were Mexican or Asian. The photos below show the close proximity of different ethnicities to one another. There has been a push toward calling the Italian Market the 9th Street Market and I would assume it is for this reason, that the Italian Market is more of a combination of ethnic markets all in one area.

In conclusion, much of the landscape is unchanged, but there are many recent developments in the area that are compromising the historical value of the area. There are still many imprints on the landscape that suggest the rich history of how the area developed into what it is today. While some people might view the area as run-down and dirty, it still holds a history that most areas have lost. I believe the area should receive more attention from the city as a landmark and should be given more funds to preserve places like this in the city.

Gentrification

The purpose of this report is to interpret gentrification in and around the Italian Market neighborhood of Philadelphia. This field study map begins at Passyunk Ave and Montrose Street, north on South 7th Street, west on Fitzwater Street, north on North 9th Street, west on Bainbridge Street, south on South 10th Street, west on Fitzwater Street, south on South 11th Street, east on Washington Avenue, north on South 10th Street, east on Christian Street, and south on Passyunk Avenue.

Gentrification in the Italian Market neighborhood of Philadelphia is beginning to take hold. There are a large number of modern townhouses and condos that have been, are in the process of being, or will be erected in a small number of blocks. Through my field studies I have noticed more than five out of place new structures, such as the one pictured below on South Darien Street between Catherine Street and Christian Street. Gentrification is typically used to bring life back to a deteriorating neighborhood by attracting new business and higher income residents. It also attempts to clean the landscape by rebuilding or cleaning up existing properties. The entire neighborhood surrounding the market is fairly well maintained. Most of the homeowners take pride in their properties and there is little need for the new homes that are sprouting up in the area.



Murals in Philadelphia are also a way in which gentrification enters an area. The murals that are contributed from the Mural Arts Program signify a public / private venture to brighten an area. There are a number of murals, both through the Mural Arts Program and by private property owners. There is strong artistic influence in the area, due to inexpensive rents and moderate home prices. There are a handful of coffee shops, dive bars, and businesses targeted toward artists. Just this past Sunday of April 30th, I saw a large group of people using a home as a medium for a broken ceramics and mirror artistic piece on my block. There are also flags in the area denoting “Bella Vista,” which shows public interaction with the area.





The businesses in the area speak differently for gentrification. The restaurants and stores are maintained by individual owners. The market itself is kept clean by those individual owners. There is little help from the city in maintenance, except for trash removal, which is standard in all areas of the city. There is a stark divide between what we expect in center city with sidewalk sweepers, constant maintenance, and police patrol. The Italian Market area of the city seems to have been forgotten by Philadelphia. There is little by the way of advertising to attract tourists to the area although the history contained in this small area is significant.



Gentrification has not been able to actually enter the market itself and with such a strong community involvement in the area, I highly doubt it ever will.