For purposes of recommending strategies in this plan, the 25 neighborhoods of West Philadelphia have been grouped into four larger areas, each having common problems and issues that transcend individual neighborhood boundaries. The four neighborhood groupings are described below:

The Neighborhoods Northeast of 52nd & Market Streets
This area includes the neighborhoods of Mantua, Belmont, East Parkside, West Parkside, Cathedral Park, Mill Creek and Dunlap. The area's housing stock is seriously deteriorated, and income levels are the lowest among the four major sub-sections of West Philadelphia. Population loss in this area has exceeded that of the other three neighborhood groupings during the past two decades.

The University City Neighborhoods
This is West Philadelphia's major employment center, known for its facilities for education, health care, science and technology. In recent decades, the neighborhoods in this area have been rediscovered by middle and upper middle class residents seeking proximity to jobs in University City and Center City. These new residents have renovated and restored many residential properties, many of which are historically significant. Included here are Powelton Village, West Powelton, Spruce Hill, Walnut Hill, Garden Court and Cedar Park. Three of these neighborhoods, West Powelton, Walnut Hill and Cedar Park, are still partially untouched by reinvestment.

The Neighborhoods West of 52nd Street
This area includes Cobbs Creek, Haddington, Carroll Park and Overbrook. It is a generally well-maintained and stable residential area, and it is a major housing resource for Philadelphia's middle class black homeowners. Homeownership rates are very high in these neighborhoods.

The City Line Neighborhoods
This area includes the Overbrook Park, Green Hill Farms, Overbrook Farms, Wynnefield, Belmont Village and Wynnefield Heights neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have some of the most expensive housing and lowest vacancy rates in West Philadelphia. Income levels are also relatively high in this area. The percentage of persons aged 65 or over is also considerably higher in this area than is true of West Philadelphia and the City as a whole. "City Line" is a popular phrase that is sometimes used interchangeably with the street name, which is City Avenue. "City Line" is also used to refer to the area near City Avenue.

Table 12

UNIVERSITY CITY
	1980	1990	% Change
Total Population	48,560	48,722	+0.33%
% black	37.6%	40.0%
% Asian	6.9%	10.8%
% under age 18	14.1%	12.6%
% age 65 or older	8.8%	8.3%
Total Housing Units	21,323	21,734	+1.93%
	1980	1991
# vacant res. structures	424	395

WEST OF 52nd STREET
	1980	1990	% Change
Total Population	103,703	96,301	-7.1%
% black	86.1%	89.0%
% Asian	0.4%	0.8%
% under age 18	24.9%	24.1%
% age 65 or older	14.1%	17.2%
Total Housing Units	40,867	39,541	-3.2%
	1980	1991
# vacant res. structures	1,055	1,615

CITY LINE
	1980	1990	% Change
Total Population	39,171	37,915	-3.21%
% black	39.3%	47.8%
% Asian	1.1%	2.3%
% under age 18	19.9%	17.6%
% age 65 or older	21.4%	20.0%
Total Housing Units	17,038	17,403	+2.1%
	1980	1991
# vacant res. structures	76	103

All data is from the U.S. Census except for vacant structures, which is from the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections