Federal officials joined city leaders Friday to tour a Philadelphia neighborhood dubbed a “Promise Zone” by the Obama Administration.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro walked the Mantua section of West Philadelphia along with Mayor Michael Nutter, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa. 2nd District), Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell (D-3rd District) and others.
The goal of the visit is for Castro to get a firsthand look at one of the five “Promise Zone” neighborhoods nationwide that have been “burdened with low-quality child-care options.”
President Barack Obama announced the "Promise Zone" program in January saying it is "changing the odds for every American child." Nearly four out of 10 kids in Philadelphia are living in poverty, with many living in West Philadelphia, according to Obama.
Philadelphia's Promise Zone will be focused around the Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia. That area is north of Drexel University, bounded by the Schuylkill River to the east and the Philadelphia Zoo to the north.
The Promise Zone area covers 33,315 residents, has a poverty rate of 51 percent and an unemployment rate of 13.6 percent, officials said. Unemployment in the neighborhood is higher than the city average of 9.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The Administration has created a wonderful opportunity for communities like Mantua to be revitalized, such as increasingly affordable housing and improving safety," said Michael Thorpe, a community organizer and Chairman of the Board of Mt Vernon Manor said in January. "Now with the Promise Zone designation, we will be able to bring more resources to our community to address a comprehensive range of issues.”
Promise Zones are areas where the federal government provides tax incentives and grants to help communities tackle poverty. The White House says Obama believes investing in and rebuilding economically challenged communities is crucial to helping children have a chance at success.
“Being selected as a Promise Zone is an important step in the transformation process for a neighborhood struggling with high poverty, high crime, high vacancy, low educational attainment and low employment rates,” Nutter said in January. “Being a Promise Zone will enable the City to align existing resources and apply for new federal funding -- building on efforts already at work - through a multi-faceted, focused approach.”
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Philadelphia joins neighborhoods in San Antonio, Texas, Los Angeles, southeastern Kentucky and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma were selected. The administration received 31 applications in all for the first round of the program -- 19 from cities and 12 from rural areas.
