The following is a list of
neighborhoods
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural ar ...
,
districts and other places located in the city of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
. The list is organized by broad geographical sections within the city.
Common usage for Philadelphia's neighborhood names does not respect "official" borders used by the city's police, planning commission or other entities. Therefore, some of the places listed here may overlap geographically, and residents do not always agree where one neighborhood ends and another begins. Philadelphia has 41
ZIP
Zip, Zips or ZIP may refer to:
Common uses
* ZIP Code, USPS postal code
* Zipper or zip, clothing fastener
Science and technology Computing
* ZIP (file format), a compressed archive file format
** zip, a command-line program from Info-ZIP
* Zi ...
-codes, which are often used for neighborhood analysis.
Historically, many neighborhoods were defined by incorporated townships (Blockley, Roxborough), districts (Belmont, Kensington, Moyamensing, Richmond) or boroughs (Bridesburg, Frankford, Germantown, Manayunk) before being incorporated into the city with the
Act of Consolidation of 1854.
[The Political and Community Service Boundaries of Philadelphia]
Philadelphia City Planning Commission, June 2004. Adding further complication is the fact that in some parts of Philadelphia, especially the central areas of North, West and South Philadelphia, residents have long been more likely to identify with the name of their section of the city than with any specific neighborhood name. Today,
community development corporation
A community development corporation (CDC) is a not-for-profit organization incorporated to provide programs, offer services and engage in other activities that promote and support community development. CDCs usually serve a geographic location s ...
s,
neighborhood watch
A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood.
The aim of ne ...
es and other civic organizations are influential in shaping the use of neighborhood names and approximate boundaries.
For planning purposes, the city is divided into 18 Planning Analysis Sections, which are Upper Far Northeast, Lower Far Northeast, Lower Northwest, Lower Southwest, University Southwest, West, West Park, Lower Northeast, River Wards, Lower North, North, Central, South, Lower South, Upper Northwest, Upper North, Central Northeast and North Delaware.
Center City
The Center City Planning Analysis Section extends from South Street on the south to Vine Street on the north and from the
Delaware River on the east to the
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It ...
on the west.
[
]
South Philadelphia
The South Philadelphia Planning Analysis Section is bounded by South Street on the north and the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers to their confluence.[
]
Southwest Philadelphia
Southwest Philadelphia (formerly Kingsessing Township) is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that can be described as extending from the western side of the Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It ...
to the city line, with the northern border defined by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission as east from the city line along Baltimore Avenue moving south along 51st Street to Springfield Ave. It follows the train tracks until 49th Street. From 49th and Kingsessing Ave the line moves east along Kingsessing Ave. The line then moves south along 46th St to Paschall Ave where it jogs to join Grays Ferry where the line runs to the Schuylkill River.
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It ...
, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest and the SEPTA
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates transit bus, bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people ...
Media/Wawa Line to the south.
Lower North Philadelphia
Lower North Philadelphia is a section of Philadelphia that is immediately north of Center City and below Upper North Philadelphia and can be described as a section of Philadelphia that was designated as a "Model City" target, in hopes of overcoming poverty and blight through a federal funding program since 1966. Bounded by Spring Garden Street to the south, Front Street to the east, York Street to the north and Fairmount Park to the west.
Upper North Philadelphia
The area is bounded by York Street to the south, Front Street to the east, Lincoln Highway/Roosevelt Expressway to the north, and Ridge Avenue/Fairmount Park to the west. Upper North Philadelphia, is a section of Philadelphia that is immediately north of Lower North Philadelphia and can be described as an area that has a "...large and rapidly growing Puerto Rican population". The list of communities in this section is as follows:
Roxborough-Manayunk
The Roxborough-Manyunk section of Philadelphia is an official planning district of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, consisting of the namesake boroughs of Roxborough and Manayunk. Geographically, the area is northwest of Center City.
Germantown-Chestnut Hill
The Germantown-Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia is about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city. The neighborhood of Germantown is rich in historic sites and buildings from the colonial era, a few of which are open to the public. Its namesake also comes from the village of Chestnut Hill was part of the German Township laid out by Francis Daniel Pastorius and came to include the settlements originally known as Sommerhausen and Crefeld, as well as part of Cresheim. The area generally served as a gateway between Philadelphia and the nearby farmlands. During the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...
era (late 18th century), the area was one of many summer vacation spots due to its higher elevation, 400–500 feet (120 to 150 m) above sea level, and cooler temperatures than the historic Center City. Chestnut Hill is still stereotypically known as one of the more affluent sections of Philadelphia.
Olney-Oak Lane
The Olney-Oak Lane Planning Analysis Section is an official section of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. It is a section of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
that is immediately north of Upper North Philadelphia and south of Cheltenham. It is an area that consists of the now defunct township that was called "Bristol Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania". The section is often included as part of North Philadelphia by city government agencies, though locally it is often referred to as "Uptown," along with the Germantown-Chestnut Hill section.
The section includes neighborhoods in the center-north of the city:
River Wards
The River Wards section of Philadelphia is located to the northeast of Center City, along the Delaware River.[https://www.dvrpc.org/mapping/maps/pdf/Philadelphia_Planning_Districts.pdf ]
Neighborhoods within the River Wards include:
Near Northeast Philadelphia
Near Northeast Philadelphia, is a section of the city of Philadelphia.
When combined with the Far Northeast, to be " Northeast Philadelphia", the 2000 Census shows that the combined area has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending on how the area is defined. Beginning in the 1980s, many of the Northeast's middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Co ...
children graduated from college and settled in suburbs, especially nearby Bucks County. An influx of Hispanics has occurred in the Northeast, while African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
s and Asian immigrants have purchased homes in Northeast Philadelphia. The Northeast is now both racially and ethnically diverse and has a large immigrant population.
Far Northeast Philadelphia
Far Northeast Philadelphia is an official planning section of Philadelphia that is north of the Near Northeast section of Philadelphia.
References
*
Philadelphia Neighborhoods and Place Names—A list adapted and expanded from Finkel 1995:156-170 by the Philadelphia City Archives staff
External links
*
*
*
{{Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, state=collapsed
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
Neighborhoods
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural ar ...