Overview

Bringing the Plan Vision, Goals and Strategies to life will be achieved in part through physical changes in specific Center City Focus Areas. The 2040 Vision Plan includes strategies and recommendations for 10 Focus Areas that are ready for new public and private investment and catalytic transformation. The Focus Areas are geographically dispersed across Center City to ensure a broad distribution of resources and energy, while acknowledging that some areas of the city are historically underserved and may require additional investment. A draft Focus Area map is shown below.

Each Focus Area has a customized set of context-specific strategies and recommendations that propose complementary land uses and infrastructure, innovative urban design ideas, creative architecture, and socially and culturally-oriented programs that provide opportunities and advancement for residents who historically have not benefited from the city’s great prosperity. These, in turn, are supported by recommended policies and programs that support the overarching goals of the Vision Plan.

Criteria

Focus Areas were selected based on their potential to:

• Support multiple Vision Plan goals and strategies

• Leverage private or public investment

• Direct investment to areas of underinvestment

• Advance relevant elements of the Center City 2020 Vision Plan

• Strengthen other elements of the Center City 2040 Vision Plan

• Catalyze near-term change and investment

• Improve social and physical connections

• Have broad stakeholder and community support