Philadelphia Region

Includes textual and visual sources.

Information about a number of community development programs

These are plans from the Philadelphia City Planning Commission between 1945 and 1990 by neighborhood. They often include detailed maps about local land uses, population, etc, as well as information on plans for each area.

The Urban Archives was established in 1967 to document the social, economic, and physical development of the Philadelphia area from the mid-19th century to the present. The Archives functions as a repository for organizational records and related materials, and as a research facility for those interested in urban studies. The Archives collections are particularly strong in areas involving social service organizations, unions, housing development, community organizations, and contain many records from organizations involved with African Americans, education, and crime.

The Free Library lists local resources in a number of categories at the Branch level, with coverage of major community non-profits, etc.

Text definitions of historic and current neighborhood names and boundaries, with the date of first known mention.

PlanPhilly is a five-year-old independent news gathering entity affiliated with PennPraxis, the clinical arm of the School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania. Former reporters and editors from The Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as citizen journalists, provide daily news coverage of the built and planned environment.

The Philadelphia Information Locator System (PhILS) is a cooperative initiative between the Philadelphia Department of Records and the Free Library of Philadelphia. PhILS is a great source for understanding what is available within the City of Philadelphia Archives.

Strongest in Transportation related studies, DVRPC studies the 9 county Philadelphia region and issues strongly research frequent reports.