Inclusive Infrastructure and the 21st Century BID

In 2017, University City District (UCD) – a nonprofit focused on investing in the vibrancy of a 2.4 square mile district in West Philadelphia – celebrated its 20th anniversary. It was a meaningful opportunity to look back on our growth and trajectory. A lot has changed in twenty years, not only for the organization – which started in a janitor’s closet at the University of Pennsylvania and today operates on an $11 million budget – but also for University City. After working to address a legacy of disinvestment and crime, the neighborhood is now undergoing an economic transformation that has the potential to reshape the regional economy.

The anniversary also allowed us to reflect on UCD’s values and approach to economic development, which differs from most of our peer organizations. For the better part of 20 years, UCD fit the paradigm of most Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), and busied itself with the vitally important work of making our district cleaner, safer, greener and more enticing for both retailers and developers. We might think of this work as investing in a neighborhood’s infrastructure, some literal and some figurative: the foundational infrastructure of clean and safe streets, the commercial infrastructure of bustling retail districts and the civic infrastructure of thriving common spaces. But one can’t possibly make a place better without simultaneously advancing inclusive infrastructure, which we have come to define as intentional and scalable approaches to sharing the benefits of an economically vibrant place in a broad and inclusive way.

Learn more in Inclusive Infrastructure and the 21st Century BID.