Yorktown

Yorktown is a planned community in North Philadelphia designed to attract professionals to a comfortable middle class community. Built in 1960 on a 153 acre of land, the community was the first in Philadelphia where the home owners were African American. The Yorktown Community Organization was formed shortly thereafter by 650 residents. Its primary purpose was to maintain a high standard for the quality of life through zoning ordinances and developing athletic programs for young people.

Progress Plaza, the first shopping mall with a major food chain as anchor, has recently been revitalized. Also, nearby is the OIC training center, developed by the Rev. Leon Sullivan in the 1960s. It has been a bastion for African American politicians, teachers, and city workers. City Hall is just a look down Broad Street.

Temple University is within walking distance as well as Hahnemann Hospital and the Center City Campus of Drexel University. Students from Temple University have sought to populate the housing development and met with stiff resistance from the neighbors. Long-time residents have used the zoning ordinances concerning “non-related” renters in one home to remove the students. Concerns revolve around parties, trash and other disruptive behaviors that students bring.

Yorktown is a neighborhood located in the North section of Philadelphia. It is situated between Poplar Street and Ludlow and is adjacent to the neighborhoods of Olney and Kensington.
Yorktown is a mainly African American community but many Hispanics, Arabs, Asians and Caucasians call the neighborhood home as well. It is an affordable area to live in and offers easy access to major highways such as Interstate 76.
Yorktown has many different housing opportunities including two and three-story row homes, apartment complexes and condos as well as dorms for students.
Since it is located smack dab in the middle of North Philadelphia, Yorktown suffers from some crime. There is a lot of robberies and muggings that take place in the area, so it is important for residents to ban together and have each other’s backs.
Yorktown is an inexpensive area to live in but that is because it still has a long way to go before it is a more appealing section of the city. The neighborhood does have some perks, including optimal parking and affordable rent. It is also close Temple University so it has lots of night life opportunities to help cater to the students.

Sometimes the abundance of student residents prevents people from moving into an area. The current residents of Yorktown, a neighborhood south of the Temple University’s main campus were fully aware of that issue and did not want students over running their suburban-like neighborhood. In recent years they have been very vocal about their concerns.

Yorktown was one of the first neighborhood s of its kind, a suburban style, to be marketed to African Americans. Growing concern over student housing consuming the area eventually led to a zoning law prohibiting the development of student housing. Though there are still some houses occupied by students.

In addition to being located close to the main campus of Temple University, Yorktown is a neighborhood near many major public transportation routes such as the Broad Street line. Along the same lines because of being close to Temple there is also a lot of traffic and parking can be difficult because of students parking in the area.

Yorktown is holding strong to its working class roots and trying hard to avoid the gentrification that is taking over some other areas of the city. Though residents of the neighborhood are more concerned with people moving in and out of the district, they want a community of people who are interested in the neighborhood to inhabit it. As of now the cost of living in Yorktown is fairly reasonable.