The hosts promise music, beverages, food and fun. Below, from the office of Executive Vice President John Fry, is a rundown on the designation of University City as a Special Services District. It does not replace City services. An effective SSD works with the City and serves as an advocate for improved City services. SSDs improve areas in terms of attractiveness, livability and development.
University City is a place of great strengths and opportunities.
At the same time, it is an area, like many urban neighborhoods, that is subject to the increasing stresses of urban life of the 1990s. It is also a unique area in its intermingling of residential areas and large institutional uses and this intermingling comes along with many advantages and problems, too. Given these two facts and the track record of special service district concepts in managing change and develop ment in complex locations, the time is appropriate for a serious and sustained effort to collaborate across the institutional, residential and commercial sectors of University City to develop new ways of addressing problems and realizing opportunities. The institutions include the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the VA Medical Center, West Philadelphia Partnership, Amtrak, the University City Science Center, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the United States Post Office, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, Children's Seashore House, and others. An organized consortium of institutions, working together on these common issues, is a first for University City and a promising start to a sustained partnership that will develop over time to include business and community interests.