+
+
+ Where Could Philadelphia Build Affordable Housing?
+
+ Philadelphia has subsidized housing across the city, but where that housing
+ is located matters. Some neighborhoods have stronger housing markets and
+ fewer affordable homes, raising questions about access and future development.
+
+
+ Where is subsidized housing located, and what opportunities might exist for
+ future development? We’ll begin with the citywide picture before looking
+ more closely at a neighborhood that may offer an opportunity for affordable
+ housing construction.
+
+ Story map by Shubhanga Satyal
+ 
+
+ Source:
+ Philadelphia Housing Authority
+
+
+
+
+
+ Philadelphia’s different housing markets
+
+ Philadelphia’s neighborhoods have different housing market conditions.
+ Classes 1 and 2 represent stronger markets, while classes 4 and 5 represent
+ weaker ones. Stronger markets tend to attract more private investment because
+ investors may expect higher returns.
+
+
+ The chloropleth shows these differences across the city. Reinvestment Fund
+ collected and analyzed the data behind this market map. Next, we’ll compare
+ it with the locations of subsidized housing.
+
+ 
+
+ Source:
+ Reinvestment Fund
+
+
+
+
+ Where is subsidized housing?
+
+ The dots show subsidized housing projects across Philadelphia. Each dot
+ represents one project, but projects can have different numbers of units.
+ Keep that in mind as you look at where the dots are concentrated.
+
+
+ Showing these projects over the market map helps us compare the locations
+ of subsidized housing with different market conditions.
+
+ 
+
+ Source:
+ Portage Housing
+
+
+
+
+ Where are the gaps?
+
+ The outlined areas have fewer than 100 dedicated affordable housing units
+ in this dataset. Majority of these outlined areas are the stronger housing markets.
+
+
+ This raises a question of sociospatial equity: can people who need
+ affordable housing access neighborhoods with stronger market conditions?
+ The map identifies places worth investigating, though unit counts alone
+ cannot tell us where new housing should be built.
+
+ 
+
+ Source:
+ Philadelphia Today
+
+
+ To explore what development might look like in one of these areas,
+ let’s turn to Packer Park. Its recent permit activity and vacant parcels
+ make it a useful neighborhood to examine more closely.
+
+
+
+
+ Packer Park
+
+ We now move from the citywide map to Packer Park in South Philadelphia.
+ Its neighborhood boundary appears over the same market map.
+
+
+ Packer Park began with homes built in the 1950s and later expanded
+ through developments such as Brinton Estates in the 1990s. Today,
+ we’ll look at what recent permits and vacant-land records might tell
+ us about opportunities for new housing.
+
+ 
+
+ Source:
+ Wikipedia
+
+
+
+
+ Permit locations
+
+ This map identifies 19 new construction permit locations in Packer Park
+ from 2020 onward.
+
+
+ The permits show where new construction has been proposed or authorized.
+ They give us a way to see where development activity is taking place,
+ though a permit does not necessarily mean a building has been completed.
+
+
+
+
+ One example of new construction
+
+ This point shows permit RP-2023-000540. The photograph gives us a closer
+ view of a building at this location. It helps connect the permit data
+ on the map to what development can look like on the ground.
+
+ 
+
+ Source:
+ Zillow listing for 1843 Hartranft St #16
+
+ 1843 Hartranft St #16, Philadelphia, PA 19145
+
+
+
+ Where is the vacant land?
+
+ The highlighted parcels show the available vacant land. Together with
+ the permit locations, they help us look at where future development
+ might be possible.
+
+
+ A vacant parcel is not necessarily for sale or ready for development.
+ Still, identifying vacant land is a useful first step in finding
+ potential sites for affordable housing.
+
+
+
+
+ One site to investigate
+
+ The final parcel is at 1950 W Moyamensing Avenue. Its record identifies
+ it as vacant commercial land and lists its zoning as CMX-3.
+
+
+ CMX-3 is a commercial mixed-use zoning district that allows multifamily
+ housing. That makes affordable apartments one possibility to explore,
+ potentially alongside commercial space.
+
+
+ Could this site support affordable housing? Answering that would require
+ more research into ownership, zoning requirements, site conditions, and
+ costs. From a site selection standpoint, its available land and zoning
+ make it worth investigating further.
+
+
+ From a sociospatial equity standpoint, it is worth investigating whether
+ affordable housing here could give more households access to a neighborhood
+ where they might otherwise struggle to find an affordable home. That matters
+ because where people can afford to live shapes their access to jobs,
+ services, and the opportunities a neighborhood offers.
+
+ 
+ Source: Screenshot from Mapshaper.
+
+
+
+ Data Sources
+
+ City of Philadelphia, “City Limits,” OpenDataPhilly, accessed September 24, 2026,
+ opendataphilly.org/datasets/city-limits/.
+
+
+ City of Philadelphia, “Market Value Assessment (MVA),” OpenDataPhilly, accessed September 24, 2026,
+ opendataphilly.org/datasets/market-value-assessment/.
+
+
+ City of Philadelphia, “Affordable Housing Production,” OpenDataPhilly, accessed September 24, 2026,
+ opendataphilly.org/datasets/affordable-housing-production/.
+
+
+ City of Philadelphia, “Vacant Property Indicators,” OpenDataPhilly, accessed September 24, 2026,
+ opendataphilly.org/datasets/vacant-property-indicators/.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Along with adapting code from the professor’s examples and class lessons and consulting internet sources, I used AI tools, including ChatGPT and Claude, to understand, decipher, debug, and format code in many instances. The overall thought process, structure, and story idea are my own.
+
+
+ data analyzed using Arc GIS - by choice and for practice
+
+
+
+
+