Kensington Information Hub

This dashboard will be used to disseminate critical information to the community. As an ongoing and flexible process, you can expect this dashboard to change often with new data and changing circumstances.

Data Dashboard

This dashboard will be updated with relevant data on quality-of-life conditions in Kensington and feedback from residents on ongoing initiatives from government and the private sector. Check back for updates and changes as conditions in the neighborhood change.

Current and upcoming City Initiatives

Updated 01/14/2025:

  • According to a report from the Kensington Voice, a new addiction recovery housing and support center, the Riverview Wellness Village, will open later this month. The facility will offer up to one year of housing to people who have completed at least 30 days of inpatient substance use treatment.

  • According to the Kensington Voice, the city will launch its weekly “neighborhood wellness court” in Kensington in the coming weeks. “The program is for people arrested on summary offenses, including disorderly conduct, obstructing the highway, public intoxication, and failure to disperse. Those arrested will face same-day adjudication and be given a choice between entering a drug treatment program or facing criminal penalties.”

Updated 12/10/2024:

  • The City of Philadelphia is challenging a state trust’s decision to disapprove $3.4 million in opioid settlement funds earmarked for home repairs and small businesses in Kensington. On Nov. 4, city officials filed an appeal with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth Court is expected to respond by Dec. 18, according to the city. The trust ruled funding for Kensington schools, parks, and rent and mortgage relief compliant with federal guidelines. After a 15-minute private deliberation, the board maintained that funding for home repairs and small business support was non-compliant.

  • According to a report from the Kensington Voice, the Philadelphia Police Department announced its new “Drone First Responder” program. Nine Skydio X10 drones will be operated for use in Kensington. According to Deputy Commissioner Pedro Rosario, the drones will increase the capacity of first responders.

  • According to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Parker administration is planning to launch a neighborhood-based court in Kensington for drug users who are arrested. police and city records say those arrested will be brought before a judge the same day.

Updated 9/6/2024:

  • The City of Philadelphia is in their ‘law enforcement phase’ as part of their five-phase plan for Kensington. According to a report from the City of Philadelphia outlining the strategy, “the law enforcement in Phase Two will be a focused and intense effort, requiring extensive planning and coordination with PPD partners. We anticipate that this operation will take place one to two blocks at a time, while monitoring any displacement within the surrounding area and maintaining the blocks as the operation moves forward. A highly coordinated team of City service resources and providers will need to be in the wake of the sweep to clean these areas to prepare for Phase Three.”

  • According to an article by the Kensington Voice, the Philly Police have a “tentative strategy” to clear trash and people along school pathways that they announced this week at a civic meeting.

Community Feedback

As part of the City’s efforts to address the open-air drug market in Kensington, the City of Philadelphia completed an encampment resolution on the 3000-3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue on May 8th.  In June, community members gave immediate feedback on how that encampment clearing impacted the quality of life on their block and in the areas they frequent. According to the Kensington Voice, the City of Philadelphia has been in their law enforcement phase as part of the City’s five-phase plan for Kensington since June. We want your continued feedback on how your quality of life has changed since May 8th until now. Take the quick survey at the link below:

Take the survey

Proposed legislation

Updated 1/21/2025:

  • Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order Tuesday, January 21st, establishing the “Neighborhood Wellness Court”. Parker's executive order will give the Philadelphia Police Department the option to give drug users the lowest charge — a summary offense — and fast-track them to a judge without spending days or weeks in a jail cell. The Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court and Wellness Support Center will be located at 3901 Whitaker Ave, inside the 24th and 25th police district station house.

Updated 12/10/2024:

Updated 9/9/2024:

  • A proposed bill was introduced that would limit where mobile service providers could operate in Kensington.

  • A proposed bill was introduced that would require mobile service providers to remove all litter within a surrounding 50-foot radius where they have performed a distribution of goods.

  • A resolution was introduced to authorize the Joint Committees on Public Safety and Public Health to hold hearings on the effectiveness of mobile mental health units

  • A resolution was introduced authorizing the Special Committee on Kensington to hold hearings regarding the state of transportation infrastructure and services in Kensington

Ongoing Community Feedback

As part of this ongoing engagement process in Kensington, we are creating mechanisms for residents to provide ongoing input on the conditions of their neighborhood.

On May 8th, the City of Philadelphia completed a month-long encampment resolution on the 3000-3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue as part of the City’s efforts to address the opioid epidemic. Co-Creating Kensington surveyed residents to understand how the quality of life on their blocks and in the areas they frequent were impacted. In June, community members gave immediate feedback on how that encampment clearing impacted the quality of life on their block and in the areas they frequent. The tables reflect the results of input and feedback from 75 residents.


As the City of Philadelphia is in their law enforcement phase as part of their five-phase plan for Kensington according to the Kensington Voice, we want to know how your quality of life has changed from May 8th until now.

TAKE THE SURVEY

Proposed or initiated strategies for the 6 community priorities from government and the private sector

Through this ongoing engagement process, over 650 community members have identified their priorities for Kensington: public spaces, community health, investing in human capital, housing stability, public safety, and economic development. At the same time, the Parker Administration has identified 5 priority areas for Philadelphia: Public Safety, Clean and Green, Economic Opportunity, Housing, and Education.

The following section tracks proposed or initiated strategies for the 6 community-defined priorities.

    • Multiple agencies (e.g. Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS) and Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP)) and subcontractors (e.g. Center for Employment Opportunities, IMPACT, NKCDC) clean and stabilize (fence, grass seed, etc.) vacant lots. ​

    • The Philadelphia Land Bank manages the disposition of vacant lots throughout the city. ​

    • Through the Department of Commerce and Mayor Parker's initiatives, the Taking Care of Business program engages local community organizations in cleaning commercial corridors.​

    • The City’s "Rebuild" initiative invests in parks and recreation centers that have suffered from deferred maintenance and investment. ​

    • Business Improvement Districts (BID), such as Aramingo Ave, include cleaning and safety measures in these commercial districts.​

    • Event-based cleaning and activation of parks and public spaces such as the summer “clean every block” initiative, or "Love Your Park."tion text goes here

    • The Mayor’s budget includes a significant capital investment in creating new triage and wellness facilities to address the need for long-term housing, care, and treatment for unhoused individuals and those experiencing substance use disorder.

      • The Managing Director’s Office (MDO) plans to work with leaders in public health, including from Philadelphia’ world-class “ed and meds,” to develop this new model of care.

    • Proposed increase in outreach and community partnerships to address racial and ethnic health disparities in underserved Black and Brown communities.

    • Continue collaborating with the Department of Public Health’s Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction (SUPHR) division to ensure access to syringe service programs, provide harm reduction services, and linkage to substance use disorder treatment.

    • Provide workforce opportunities such as funding career and technical education to prepare students for the workforce, invest in the Taking Care of Business (TCB) Program. Invest $14 million for the PHL Open for Business Initiative to reduce the regulatory burdens on businesses.

    • Establish business roundtables and faith-based and intergovernmental roundtables and work with partners to solve shared challenges.

    • As part of an education strategy, provide multi-year rollout of full-day and year-round schooling and educational opportunities and invest $10 million in the Community College of Philadelphia.

    • Support workforce development and apprenticeship programs led by the building trades and other unions to train Philadelphians for careers in construction and in the booming life sciences and biotech industries

    • Kensington Community Resilience Fund provides $10,000 general operating grants and capacity building support to nonprofits and programs within Kensington's geographic boundary and is meant to address: Beautification and blight removal; building resilience, promoting wellness, and addressing community trauma; connecting residents to resources; public safety; workforce development and training; and youth development.

    • A “Top-to-bottom review” of Philadelphia’s Land Bank to better understand the challenges of developing vacant city-owned properties.

    • Turning Lank Bank parcels into vibrant homes and community spaces, including gardens, starting with unoccupied and tax delinquent ones.

    • The Parker Administration plans to build or repair 30,000 homes and to build affordable luxury: affordable homes with high-end fixtures for homeowners and renters.

    • The Mayor’s budget includes a significant capital investment in creating new triage and wellness facilities to address the need for long-term housing, care, and treatment for unhoused individuals or those who experience substance use disorder.

    • Extending and effectively making permanent Philadelphia’s Eviction Diversion Program.

    • Basic Systems Repair Program and Restore, Repair, Renew Program to assist homeowners with home repairs and maintenance.

    • Neighborhood Preservation Initiative (NPI) supports affordable housing and commercial revitalization programs in Philadelphia.

    • Philadelphia’s Commerce Department will add an additional investment of $13.5 million in PHL Taking Care of Business (TCB), growing the program to a total of $24 million to specifically increase investments in cleaning ambassadors and street cleaning.

    • PHL Open for Business will create a client service experience to help Philly businesses start, grow, operate, relocate to, and remain in Philadelphia. They will simplify processes, lower costs and the complexity of doing business, and offer trusted guidance, advocacy, resources, and targeted investments to help businesses thrive.

    • Planned collaboration with the Office of Minority Business Success and the Office of Economic Opportunity to continue to increase opportunities to achieve participation and create new models that support "scaling up" to increase the capacity of minority-owned businesses to become prime contractors, providing a pathway to generational wealth in the City’s communities of color.

    • The Business Services team expanded in FY24 to have a dedicated member assigned to every Council district in Philadelphia.

    • Build workforce development strategies that connect talent to growth industries and to jobs that pay family-sustaining wages.

    • Leverage partnerships and research to drive policy, strategy, and ease of doing business.

Community Context

This content is a part of Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project managed by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. The William Penn Foundation provides lead support for Every Voice, Every Vote in 2024 and 2025 with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Comcast NBC Universal, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, 25th Century Foundation, and Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation. To learn more about the project and view a full list of supporters, visit www.everyvoice-everyvote.org. Editorial content is created independently of the project’s donors.