Annotated Bibliography
Baldwin, Davarian L. In the shadow of the ivory tower: How universities are plundering our cities. Bold Type Books, 2021.
Stories of how University expansion, specifically Ivy League and other large institutions, displaces people and places in urban cities around campuses, and how the universities make empty promises of community involvement and support.
Benson, Lee, Ira Harkavy, and John Puckett. "An implementation revolution as a strategy for fulfilling the democratic promise of university-community partnerships: Penn-West Philadelphia as an experiment in progress." Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly 29, no. 1 (2000): 24-45.
Goes into detail about the history of partnerships between the University of Pennsylvania and the School District of Philadelphia, particularly in West Philadelphia public schools. Older article from before 2013, so there is discussion of some schools that are no longer operating.
Carr, Patrick J., Laura Napolitano, and Jessica Keating. "We never call the cops and here is why: A qualitative examination of legal cynicism in three Philadelphia neighborhoods." Criminology 45, no. 2 (2007): 445-480.
Details how lots of folks, especially Black and Brown folks, are distrustful of the police as they have seen the police do more harm than good in their neighborhoods and to their neighbors.
Chandra, Meghna. "The Black Worker and The Knowledge Economy in Philadelphia: University-Led Displacement vs. Homeowner Democracy." PhD diss., University of Pennsylvania, 2022.
History of segregation and discrimination in Philadelphia in the 20th century, with specific discussion of the implications of University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University expansions.
Cianciotto, Luke M. "Public space, common space, and the spaces in–between: A case study of Philadelphia's LOVE park." City & community 19, no. 3 (2020): 676-703.
Exploration and case study of city-owned public space in downtown Philadelphia. Also mentions hostile architecture and policing concerns.
Ciampa, Francesca M. "The Interlocking Roles of Campus Security and Redevelopment in University-Driven Neighborhood Change: A Case Study of the University of Pennsylvania." Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement 28, no. 2 (2024): 137-166.
This article overviews the gentrification of West Philadelphia as a result of the expansion of the University of Pennsylvania, and coins the term “McPenntrification” emphasising the McDonalds that has stayed on its Walnut and 40th street corner when every other business has turned over multiple times. Discusses protests over displacement, as well as crime and policing issues in the area around the campus.
City of Philadelphia. "76 Place Arena Independent Community Impact Study." Official Municipal Report, Office of the Mayor, Philadelphia, PA, 2024.
Report that spells out that most businesses in Chinatown would not benefit and would indeed be hurt by building a basketball arena. Also addresses traffic issues in the area.
Cohen, Cathy J.. Democracy Remixed : Black Youth and the Future of American Politics, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2010.
Discussion of Black youth being short-changed in education and society at large. Policing and politics are also central themes.
De Bono, Edward. 1985. Six Thinking Hats. Boston: Little, Brown.
Details a thinking exercise in parallel thinking and focusing on one aspect of a text or image before moving on to another, as taught by Rod Ferguson in his seminar “The Kids Are Not the Threat,” at Yale National Initiative in 2026.
Dirkson, Menika B. Hope and Struggle in the Policed City: Black Criminalization and Resistance in Philadelphia. NYU Press, 2024.
Explores how concerns about poverty-induced Black crime cultivated by police, journalists, and city officials sparked a rise in tough-on-crime policing in Philadelphia.
Ebram, Tajah. "“Can't Jail the Revolution”: Policing, Protest, and the MOVE Organization in Philadelphia's Carceral Landscape." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 143, no. 3 (2019): 333-362.
Brief history of MOVE and all the policing that occurred and led to the 1985 bombing on Osage Avenue in Philadelphia.
Ehlenz, Meagan M. "Neighborhood revitalization and the anchor institution: Assessing the impact of the University of Pennsylvania’s West Philadelphia initiatives on University City." Urban Affairs Review 52, no. 5 (2016): 714-750
Describes the effects of the Sadie T.M. Alexander school (a project of the University of Pennsylvania and the School District of Philadelphia) on the neighborhoods surrounding the university in terms of pricing out residents and gentrifying the area.
Epstein, Edward M. Race, Real Estate and Education: The University of Pennsylvania’s Interventions in West Philadelphia, 1960–1980. University of Pennsylvania, 2020.
The history of the UPenn expansion and the effects on the surrounding communities in terms of race, real estate, and education. Provides sources and insights into the community from insiders and residents as well as university faculty.
Fiorillo, Victor, “The Penn Alexander Effect: Is There Any Room Left for Low-Income Residents in University City?” WHYY, last modified September 24, 2019.
Spells out the gentrification and effects of the Sadie T.M. Alexander school (which is NOT officially called Penn Alexander…) on the neighborhood and how residents continue to be forced out as real estate prices and rent gets higher and higher as the catchment area for the school becomes more in demand.
Geller, Amanda, and Jeffrey Fagan. "Police contact and the legal socialization of urban teens." RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 5, no. 1 (2019): 26-49.
Suggestions that the more teens are over-policed, the less they care about the law and following rules. Research on teens in urban spaces and policing based on race and gender also addressed.
Green, Zoe Paige. "Creating Community in the Library: A Sociological Exploration of the Importance of Teen’s Access to Equitable Third Places." (2024).
This thesis explores the concept of third places and questions how accessible and equitable they are for teens, emphasizing libraries as the most quintessential third place for teens (and maybe also adults.)
Good, Ryan M. "Histories that root us: Neighborhood, place, and the protest of school closures in Philadelphia." Urban Geography 38, no. 6 (2017): 861-883.
Discussion of 2013 school closure decisions in West Philadelphia, and the histories represented in those schools. UPenn expansions are discussed.
Harkavy, Ira, and John L. Puckett. "Lessons from Hull House for the contemporary urban university." Social Service Review 68, no. 3 (1994): 299-321.
Discussion of social work as it stems from Hull House, and moves into social services that the University of Pennsylvania is obligated to provide to the community in which it resides.
Harkavy, Ira, Rita A. Hodges, and Joann Weeks. "Towards creating the truly engaged, responsive university: Penn’s partnership with the West Philadelphia Community as an experiment in progress." The responsive university and the crisis in South Africa 10 (2021): 47.
“Penn is only now beginning to tap its extraordinary resources in ways that could mutually benefit both Penn and its neighbours and result in truly radical school, community and university change.” Also discusses UPenn students getting involved in the West Philadelphia community.
Humphrey, Colman, Shane T. Jensen, Dylan S. Small, and Rachel Thurston. "Urban vibrancy and safety in Philadelphia." Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science 47, no. 9 (2020): 1573-1587.
Discussion of crime and policing in Philadelphia, particularly in relation to land usage zoning and economics.
Kinder, Kimberley. The radical bookstore: Counterspace for social movements. U of Minnesota Press, 2021.
Discusses independent bookstores as "counterspaces" and how vital they are to communities where people feel disenfranchised or “othered,” how the bookstore can be a space to organize as well as just buy books that sometimes can’t be found in traditional stores.
Klinenberg, Eric. Palaces for the people: How social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life. Crown, 2018.
Discusses libraries as well as place-based interventions as solutions for neighborhoods concerned with safe spaces to gather and just exist as people.
Kramer, Rory. "Defensible spaces in Philadelphia: Exploring neighborhood boundaries through spatial analysis." RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 3, no. 2 (2017): 81-101.
Discussion on lines between neighborhoods, segregation, redevelopment, and gentrification of Philadelphia neighborhoods.
Littman, Danielle Maude. "Third places, social capital, and sense of community as mechanisms of adaptive responding for young people who experience social marginalization." American journal of community psychology 69, no. 3-4 (2022): 436-450.
Highlights the importance of third places, addresses policing, and implores thought into third places for young people in the future.
Low, Setha. Why public space matters. Oxford University Press, 2022.
Explores the importance of various public spaces and third places across the country, emphasis on what public really means and how different cities handle their public spaces.
Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Racial Injustice Report: Disparities in Philadelphia’s Criminal Legal System. Philadelphia: DAO, 2021. https://data.philadao.com/Racial_Injustice_Report.html.
Public report showing the over-policing of Black teens and adults, out of proportion with the rest of the population of Philadelphia.
Rodin, Judith. The university and urban revival: Out of the ivory tower and into the streets. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.
A book written by a former president of the University of Pennsylvania, describing the partnerships and changes she made with the community in West Philadelphia during her tenure.
University of Pennsylvania, “The University of Pennsylvania Student Sit-In of 1969,” University Archives and Records Center, accessed July 11, 2026, https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-history/sit-in-1969/.
Summary of the February 1969 sit-in at the University of Pennsylvania’s president’s office to protest the building of a science center for defense research.
Wilson, Kathryn Elizabeth. "Ethnic Renewal in Philadelphia's Chinatown: Space, Place, and Struggle." Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2015.
A deep dive into the history of Philadelphia's Chinatown with an emphasis on “Save Chinatown” movements over time when business enterprises threatened the community.
Yoder, Traci. "A Tale of Two (Occupied) Cities: Policing Strategies at Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Philadelphia." U. Pa. JL & Soc. Change 15 (2011): 593.
A comparison of two occupy movements and how each was policed. Confrontations and arrests are a big issue in this article, and happened far more often in NYC than in Philadelphia.
Zinn, Howard. SNCC: The new abolitionists. Vol. 1. South End Press, 2002.
A brief history of the civil rights movement in America.
Zionts, Sophie Calla. "The “Threat” of District Designation: Preservation or Gentrification?." PhD diss., University of Pennsylvania, 2023.
Historical and current history of West Philadelphia, focus on gentrification and politics.
"A Brief History of the University of Pennsylvania," University Archives and Records Center, University of Pennsylvania, accessed July 8, 2026, https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-history/brief-history/#content-top.
“An American Tradition: The History of Student Movements in the U.S.,” CAIR California, accessed July 13, 2026, https://ca.cair.com/updates/an-american-tradition-the-history-of-student-movements-in-the-u-s/.
"The Origins of Modern-Day Policing," NAACP, accessed July 13, 2026, https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/origins-modern-day-policing.
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