Meet Fast Forward Presenter >> Gemma Tierney

What is your Big Idea for Philadelphia?

Where Houses Replace Warehouses: Land Use Change on Philadelphia's West Washington Avenue

This presentation will share a vision of a possible future for Philadelphia’s Washington Avenue, focusing primarily on West Washington Avenue. West Washington Avenue is a legacy industrial corridor currently dominated by a variety of auto-oriented and wholesale construction supply businesses. Several recent residential redevelopment proposals indicate that its mix of land uses is in transition. Its current uses are not necessarily incompatible with residential uses. Philadelphia’s comprehensive plan, “Philadelphia 2035,” recognizes this and recommends rezoning the corridor from “Medium Industrial” to both “Industrial Commercial Mixed Use” and “Industrial Residential Mixed Use.”

However, Washington Avenue’s current uses require significant accommodations for vehicles, such as curb cuts and loading zones, at the expense of bikes and pedestrians. This appears to be one of the key conflicts that will result from residential redevelopment. However, the City’s rezoning recommendations, along with sensitive design and policy decisions, could allow West Washington Avenue to be a 24/7 street that continues to provide diverse, low-skill jobs while also responding to housing pressures. Design considerations include the placement of pedestrian and vehicle entrances, the forms and exterior treatments of new construction, planning for deliveries, and community benefit opportunities focused on local economic development and small/legacy businesses.

gtierney(at)udel.edu

Gemma Tierney is a city planner with the City of Wilmington, Delaware. She grew up in Manayunk and Roxborough and has also lived in South Philly. She received an MA in public policy and urban affairs from the University of Delaware, where her thesis research was inspired by the land use transformations of Philadelphia's West Washington Avenue. Gemma is interested in historic preservation and adaptive reuse, nonmotorized transportation, and equitable economic development.