DELAWARE GARDENS NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION PLAN
Pennsauken, NJ
Delaware Gardens is a Pennsauken, NJ neighborhood of 8,640 residents in 2,624 housing units that’s located in the northern section of Camden County and approximately four miles east of Philadelphia. Originally built as a bedroom community to Camden and Philadelphia, Delaware Gardens is a classic example of the “inner-ring suburb” or the “first suburb.” Like many of its counterparts across the nation, Delaware Gardens suffers from aging infrastructure and weakening housing markets, making it difficult to compete with newer suburban communities and revitalized core urban areas alike. The neighborhood’s greatest asset, and the foundation of the revitalization effort, is the diversity of its residents. Delaware Gardens is one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the Philadelphia region.
In 2012, Urban Partners was retained by UrbanPromise Ministries for the purpose of completing the Delaware Gardens Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. The Plan, which received funding support from the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, employs a grassroots approach to reversing the conditions that are beginning to hamper the community. After an extensive community involvement process, the plan’s action strategies are organized in seven major categories with these goals & objectives: Youth Services, Community Identity, Public Realm, Community Safety, Housing, Westfield Avenue, and River Road.
