Supporting Healthy Environments & Lifestyles

Clean and Safe Project/Crime Prevention (University City District)

Philadelphia LISC, the national LISC Community Safety Initiative, and the SCI-West partner organizations are working on a project led by UCD that aims to reduce crime through the creation of partnerships between West Philadelphia CDCs and police districts.

Working with the Police Department over the past several months, University City District has collected detailed crime data for the SCI-West target area. These data have been analyzed by experts in the 16th and 18th Districts, resulting in agreement on a number of projects to combat crime in a number of "hot spots."

Most recently SCI partner agencies, the Philadelphia Police Department, and representatives from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Norris Square Civic Association, Semilla Arts Initiative, and the Kensington NAC participated in a four-day Crime Prevention through Environmental Design training session conducted by national LISC. The program is based on the premise that "The proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the fear of crime and incidence of crime, and to an improvement in quality of life."

Teams examined crime issues around the target area's two major transit hubs at 40th and 46th and Market. Together they identified a plan of action to mitigate crimes opportunities in both areas. The group will use those plans to guide the crime and safety work through the end of the year. Six SCI-West partners have completed the program and received certification.

Healthy Homes Initiative (The Enterprise Center CDC and The Partnership CDC)

This program combines the expertise and resources of each CDC to teach families how to identify and alleviate unsafe environmental contaminants within their homes. The target is families whose children attend target area schools. While parents are in one room learning, their children are taught the same topic in another room. To date, 26 families have completed the healthy home program. The first graduation ceremony was held on June 12th and 24 of the 26 families showed up to receive their certificates. Recruitment for the next group of families will begin in September when school resumes. The workshops will begin in October of 2010. The picture to the right shows children who participated in the Healthy Homes Program showing what a healthy home should look like.

Gateway Enhancement Project I: The Green Wall

 In 2010, SCI-West completed the first of several planned Gateway Enhancement Projects. These projects all focus on the beautification and installation of public art at key gateways in the target area. The first project is The SCI-West Green Wall. Located at 38th and Powelton Streets, this project will produce one of Philadelphia's first green public art pieces, featuring year-round living plants.