Philadelphia’s ‘middle neighborhoods’ being challenged by gentrification push

Philadelphia’s working-class neighborhoods and former industrial areas — especially those closest to Center City — have been facing sustained development and gentrification as young professionals eschew the suburban communities in which they were raised to create new businesses and live closer to the jobs and entertainment enclaves and create new businesses.

But what about the “middle” neighborhoods, those neighborhoods that are neither the most distressed nor the strongest in the city? How are these neighborhoods—and the stable tax bases they’ve long provided for the City of Philadelphia—faring under the weight of this new reality?