Pushing Back the Gates: Neighborhood Perspectives on University-Driven Revitalization in West Philadelphia

Acknowledgments

no matter how a writer feels about a project, it must come to an end, and when the end comes, there are people to thank.This work has been on my radar since December 1996 in one form or another. Given that this is my first book (and I hope not my last), my thanks go to all of those who contributed directly to the project and to those who,through their kindness,support , and assistance, aided me in creating the circumstances in which such a project could be pursued. I benefited from the counsel of several advisors—specifically, susan M. Christopherson, John Forester, Davydd Greenwood, and Ann-Margaret Esnard—all of whom read drafts undeserving of their attention and yet provided invaluable advice. Before going to Cornell, I benefited from the help of David Bartelt, Michele Masucci, Melissa Gilbert, Judith Goode, and Ricki sanders. Others who were affiliated with both Temple University Press and Cornell provided critical feedback and advice along the way, including James Earl Davis and Ben Kohl. My time in Philadelphia was enhanced by my connections with professional colleagues and “family ,” including Craig E. F.Alston, sam Katz, Ellen Mattleman Kaplan, Claire Marazzo Greenwood, Betty McAdams, Graham Finney, and Cheryl Weiss.They provided me with incredible access to the city’s acknowledgments xvi a C k n ow l e d g m e n t s movers, shakers, and decision makers who added to my knowledge of Philadelphia. I am eternally indebted to Cornell’s faculty, staff, and students, whom I learned from, worked for, and received immeasurable assistance from both during and after my time above Cayuga’s waters. specifically,I thankTerry Plater,Keith Hjortshoj,Cornell University’s Graduate school, neema Kudva, Rolf Pendall, MildredWarner, Ken Reardon,Arianavigil,Abdulrazack Karriem, Ella silverman, Marcel Ionescu-Heroiu, and my brilliant classmates in City and Regional Planning and at Cornell at large.My fraternity brothers in Alpha Phi Alpha, especially Charles stewart and Kenneth Robinson, deserve mention for keeping me sane in Ithaca. This book would have been impossible without help from members of the West Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania communities , many of whom were interviewed and cannot be named here.There are a select few I can name—Ira Harkavy, John Puckett, vivian Gadsden, lucy Kerman, Amy Hillier, and the staff at the Cartographic Modeling laboratory—who were incredibly helpful and supportive of my efforts. My colleagues and students at Georgia Tech, my current institution , deserve mention here for their support and assistance: Alan Balfour, Jacqueline Royster, Bruce stiftel, Catherine Ross, Dan Immergluck, Brian stone, Douglas Allen, sabir Khan, Mark Cottle, Michael Dobbins,Jennifer Clark,Benjamin Flowers,Cheryl leggon, Doug noonan,Gordon Kingsley,the faculties of the schools of City and Regional Planning and Public Policy, Robin Jernigan, Josh levin, and my students. I also owe a debt to other planners and professional colleagues:stacey sutton,Karen Chapple,ElliottTretter, Jeffrey lowe, June Thomas, Elizabeth sweet, and lisa Bates. My largest debt is to my close friends and family for their unwavering support: linda Etienne, Judy Polyne,Antonine Polyne, Joseph Hughes, Chantale nicholas-Deetjean,yves Deetjean, Darrell Tiller, and Tony l. Burks II. I owe a special thanks to Alita Anderson and the largerAnderson/Golden clan,Chantal laroche-veira,Manu Platt, and David Malebranche for encouragement and invaluable support. a C k n o w l e d g m e n t s xvii I also thank some unmentionable friends and others who contributed to this project in various ways. I am especially grateful to my parents, Fritz and Anne-Marie Etienne, who taught me the lesson of displacement and bestowed on me an intense interest in cities and in university–community relations in particular. My brother and friend Millery Polyne deserves many thanks for understanding the struggle of academic writing and having my back since 1974. last and most important, I am incredibly thankful for the study’s participants; I cannot name them, but they are worthy of my eternal gratitude.Any errors or omissions here are mine alone and not those of anyone mentioned here or the countless people I did not name who provided assistance. Pushing Back the Gates ...