I live in Port Richmond, has gentrification happened here?

Some might say it is coming...probably those who use words like "Port Fishington."

After living for the better part of two years I can say that Port Richmond proper feels like several distinct neighborhoods rather than one cohesive one.

I believe West Philly, esp. between Baltimore ave and Market st, will fair very well in the future.

Much can be said about Cobbs Creek being a fairly stable middle/lower-middle class black neighborhood (somewhat like the Oak Lanes). Thus there's less blight and less need for revitalization. And while the beauty of housing stock isn't quite what it is in Univ. City, it's well built and provides layouts suited to more modern lifestyles.

Add to that Penn's presence as the #1 employer in the City, their current and future expansions and all their homeownership incentives in West Philly - I think West Philly is the neighborhood in Philly best positioned for future prosperity.

As for 52nd St - I think it has immense potential and there is a lot of interest in its revitalization, from both its east and west.

Unfortunately, the areas north of Market and south of Baltimore are very tough nuts to crack.

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If Tacony would be considered up and coming I would leap for the clouds!!! PortRichmond I know what you mean about the divisions it interesting

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Camille

If you consider 'the Art Museum District / Area' to be Spring Garden plus Fairmount plus at least part of Brewerytown (keeping in mind that Brewerytown goes below Girard also), then that super-neighborhood has been bumping along with a transition zone between Poplar and Girard for over 20 years. The fact that it has recently established a firmer presence in that transition zone after 20 years of struggle is no sign of a great victory. I compare it to the Italian campaign of WW II, where great effort was exerted for very little gain. Other neighborhoods, like Fishtown and Grad-Ho, are more reminiscent of Patton and his charge across France. The 'Art Museum Area' has been more successful in expanding east, although a recent tour still disappointed me with their lack of progress in their eastward expansion.

I tend to agree. I think the influx of jobs from the IRS, the Science Center expansion and Cira South into UC will push revitalization farther West. West Philly's poised to be somewhere in between Center City and Northwest Philly. I.e. more quiet and family oriented than Center City, but still more lively than most of the NW.

I'm sure you know this, but South of Baltimore is already pretty nice and improving down to the R3 tracks. South of that it's a bit of a tossup as to when and whether it comes back.

North of Market there are a lot of pretty rough areas (and some really nice ones), but I think the proximity to Fairmount Park (which is poised to receive a significant funding boost, if the mayor's proposed budget is approved) could make the difference. I've also seen areas that looked just as bad make comebacks (just took a walk up through the Western portion of 19123 and was pretty impressed with some things I saw). The area out to around 46th already seems to have gotten noticeably safer than it was a few years ago, so hopefully it'll start showing signs of life before too long.

One thing that's frustrated me is the lack of commercial development in the area. As somebody pointed out a while back, commercial buildings are often much cheaper in West Philly than residential buildings, for whatever reason. Although that does seem to be changing lately. Dock St was the first big breakthrough, followed by Vietnam Cafe, and now I hear there's going to be a gastropub going in where Kelliann's used to be. I imagine things can only improve from here.

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"Olde Kensington" sounds like the tackiest name ever.

I wonder why silly developers don't call the areas Poplar, Yorktown, Norris Square, and Cohocksink. Sure it's North Philly, but we can't just go around rebranding neighborhoods when they get the teensiest bit better.

BTW, I think Cohocksink, of all the up-and-coming neighborhoods, has the most potential. It's basically the area between the train tracks and Northern Liberties and Norris Square from Girard to Dauphin. American Street is (roughly) its eastern border. There is an interesting mix of ethnicities--blacks in the south and north, Hispanics in the east, and Temple students in the west, and there's a supermarket right smack dab in the middle at Berks and Germantown.

The Germantown Avenue biz corridor needs a little work, is all.

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I take issue with the contention that Northwest Philly is not particularly lively. In fact, I consider Manayunk to be far too lively, and consider East Falls to be pleasantly lively. Chestnut Hill, however, closes at 8 pm. Chestnut Hill is a small part of the Northwest, and doesn't speak for it.

In my opinion, East Falls straddles the Northwest (most of it), West Philly (the Park), and North Philly (Laurel Hill Cemetery area). I often hear "That isn't East Falls, that is North Philly." I then need to tediously explain that that is a false dichotomy. I never hear "That isn't East Falls, that is Northwest Philly." I use 'New York' to explain my point. It can mean a county (Manhattan), a city (NYC - 5 boroughs) or a state. North Philly has multiple layers of meaning also, but since it has such a horrible rep, it is a raw subject. There are plenty of neighborhoods which are in North Philly but also have neighborhood names. Ludlow is one of them. I don't have boundaries for North Philly, North Philly, but it should be near Broad Street, probably around the train station and south.

I think good portions of Kingsessing have potential. From Kingsessing Ave. west there's no shortage of large houses with nice detail. I guess middle class families need to get past the psychological barrier of the R3 tracks. They may also be concerned about safety (Yes, there's the understatement of the week).