2026-09-18T20:11:32Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/737102022-01-13T07:54:44Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
Brent Ryan.
Stern, Jonah Daniel
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
n-us-pa
2012-10-10T14:54:59Z
2012-10-10T14:54:59Z
2012
2012
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73710
811558909
Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2012.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-145).
Blight has plagued Philadelphia for the better part of a century, though the understanding of blight has changed dramatically over time. Originally used to describe neighborhood overcrowding, the term retained its currency even as once-overcrowded neighborhoods emptied out in the decades after World War II. The agenda of eradicating blight in its various forms has driven successive waves of redevelopment policy since the 1940s, and yet the problem persists to an astonishing degree in neighborhoods throughout the City. The "image" as a transformative planning tool is another concept with sustained significance in Philadelphia. This thesis defines an image as the vehicle for communicating a compelling idea about urban form that shapes broader understandings of place, and that serves as a catalyst of, and a framework for, individual and collective action. The importance of an image is best captured in longtime Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (1949- 70) Edmund Bacon's declaration that "it is the image, not the planner, which has the power." Admittedly a slippery concept, the presence or absence of a strong image has consistently circumscribed the public reception and subsequent implementation of Philadelphia's redevelopment strategies. This thesis is an examination of Philadelphia's recent history of redevelopment through the dual lenses of blight and image. Noting a repeated vacillation between neighborhood-scaled design strategies and abstracted citywide analysis in the mid- and late-twentieth century, it posits the need for a flexible image, conceived at an intermediate scale.
by Jonah Daniel Stern.
M.C.P.
145 p.
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. theses are protected by
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
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http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Urban Studies and Planning.
The image has the power : fighting blight in Philadelphia
Fighting blight in Philadelphia
Thesis
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<Abstract>Blight has plagued Philadelphia for the better part of a century, though the understanding of blight has changed dramatically over time. Originally used to describe neighborhood overcrowding, the term retained its currency even as once-overcrowded neighborhoods emptied out in the decades after World War II. The agenda of eradicating blight in its various forms has driven successive waves of redevelopment policy since the 1940s, and yet the problem persists to an astonishing degree in neighborhoods throughout the City. The "image" as a transformative planning tool is another concept with sustained significance in Philadelphia. This thesis defines an image as the vehicle for communicating a compelling idea about urban form that shapes broader understandings of place, and that serves as a catalyst of, and a framework for, individual and collective action. The importance of an image is best captured in longtime Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (1949- 70) Edmund Bacon's declaration that "it is the image, not the planner, which has the power." Admittedly a slippery concept, the presence or absence of a strong image has consistently circumscribed the public reception and subsequent implementation of Philadelphia's redevelopment strategies. This thesis is an examination of Philadelphia's recent history of redevelopment through the dual lenses of blight and image. Noting a repeated vacillation between neighborhood-scaled design strategies and abstracted citywide analysis in the mid- and late-twentieth century, it posits the need for a flexible image, conceived at an intermediate scale.</Abstract>
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