Behind the Scenes: The North Philadelphia West Story

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

The geospatial analysis of community characteristics and crime are becoming more prevalent in the criminological literature. However, this research is often analyzed at the city level which can aggregate over details specific to particular neighborhoods. This research seeks to bridge this gap, by examining the neighborhood of North Philadelphia West located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is commonly known as the “City of Brotherly Love”, but it is also known to be a city of neighborhoods. This particular neighborhood is often overlooked and described with broad strokes as “poor and Black”, with no one asking the question “why”? Temple University also calls this neighborhood home so, it further loses its identity being a part of “Temple Town”. North Philadelphia West has a high crime rate as well and is often viewed as a “scary” area. In this research, geospatial analysis is used for a closer analysis of this neighborhood to examine what the community characteristics are, crime levels, and issues the community members face. More specifically, this research seeks to examine the role of community resources and/or a lack of them in terms of crime level. This research also seeks to create literature to enhance the understanding of North Philadelphia West.

Authors

• John Robert Carr, Arcadia University

• Anne Mahar, Arcadia University