The University City District is a non-profit 501(c)3 special services district created in 1997 to improve the University City

University City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

University City is the easternmost region of West Philadelphia.The University of Pennsylvania has long been the dominant institution in the area and was instrumental in coining the name University City as part of a 1950s urban-renewal effort...

 section of West Philadelphia

West Philadelphia

West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

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Its 25-member board of directors includes representatives from local institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

, local businesses, and other community members. The organization has a full-time staff of 16.

The organization divides its activities into four topics: public safety, public space maintenance, marketing & communications and neighborhood initiatives. Among other things, the group makes grants to local businesses, for $10,000 and other amounts.

The organization's web site lists among its accomplishments helping to create the Clark Park

Clark Park

Clark Park is a municipal park in the Spruce Hill section of West Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its are bordered by 43rd and 45th streets, and by Baltimore and Woodland Avenues....

 farmers market and "implementing" more than $3 million in street landscaping and public infrastructure projects, with another $1 million to be completed by the end of 2010.

The group is credited with helping to cut the area's serious crime by 20 percent and drawing nearly $4.5 billion in investment to West Philadelphia, according to a commission that studied tax policy for the city of Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

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