City of Philadelphia City Map Poster

About City of Philadelphia

Although Philadelphia is rapidly undergoing gentrification, the city maintains mitigation strategies to minimize displacement of homeowners in gentrifying neighborhoods.The city is home to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, both among the world's most prestigious universities. The Philadelphia area has a rich history of higher education dating back to colonial times with several colleges that were founded in the 18th century and are regarded as having been among America's first institutions of higher learning. Collegiate athletics began in Philadelphia when Penn opened Pennsylvania's first college building—the Academy—in 1740; it was followed by an English-language school for Quakers known as "The College" (1751). In 1755, butler William Pennington built what was then called "the nation’s largest college building," Old West Church on Locust Street between Walnut and Chestnut Streets; it measured 40 feet wide by 90 feet long at its widest points.