Phillyneighborhoods.org Website Updated

Posted by on September 24, 2004

This is about http://phillyneighborhoods.org.

Many people on these lists access the web site for information and we’re glad to offer this service.

Some have told us, however, that the home page has been a bit overwhelming–meaning that has not been easy to find what you’re looking for.

I’ve also been struck by the number of questions about how to deal with the City on these lists which are answered by links on the web site.

So…I’ve reorganized and simplified the home page.

The buttons at the very top still link to Phila.gov, the School District, the Board of Realtors web site, SEPTA, etc. The buttons along the left column still link to pages dealing with Organizing, Funding, Housing, Education, etc.

But you go there now, at the top of the main body of the site, you will see the “Urban Voters Campaign” banner linking to ISCV’s Get Out the Vote web site, which will be fully updated by October 4th, as the voting registration period ends and the turnout drives begin. More on that later.

Just below the banner you will find one box labeled Take Action which gives
immediate access to L&I, the Police, etc. for reporting code violations and
public nuisances, along with direct access to information about City and School District departments and elected officials.

In the middle, there’s the map of planning Districts that has been at the lower end of the site. It’s now at the top. Click on a planning district and you’ll find a menu of links related to that section of the city–including community groups, census data, schools, recreation centers, health districts, libraries, and elected officials.

To the right of the map, you’ll see a second box labeled Neighborhood Data. This provides fast access to census data, Neighborhood Information System Data, directories of community groups, and other information relevant to neighborhood empowerment.

Scroll down and you’ll see a banner in the middle of the site that links to the directory of email lists that we sponsor. Many of you have used that page to join one or more of the lists.

Then there are two boxes at the bottom.

On the left is a boxlabeled “Building Community”–which gives you links to everything from Philadelphia More Beautiful and Town Watch, to after-school and youth development programs that will help you in building community organizations.

On the right is a box labeled “Strengthen Neighborhoods,” which provides access to City and School District initiatives that aimed at improving neighborhoods.

Scrolling down, there’s a banner linking you to “Neighborhoods Online: National” which gives access to federal agencies and national organizations working on these issues.

Finally..at the very bottom is a link to Amazon.com. If you order books, etc., from Amazon.com through this link, ISCV will get a commission on your purchases. And there’s a “Donate” button to the right –for those of you who appreciate our online services enough to make a tax deductible contribution to the Institute for the Study of Civic Values.

I’ll be posting more on the web site over the next several days.

In the meantime, I hope that it’s useful to you.

If you want to comment on it, just send your comments to me at edcivic@libertynet.org

Happy searching.

Ed Schwartz, Institute for the Study of Civic Values, 1218 Chestnut St.,Rm. 702, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107 215-238-1434 edcivic@libertynet.org

ISCV web site: http://www.iscv.org
Also Check out “Neighborhoods Online” at http://www.neighborhoodsonline.net.
Or in Philadelphia: http://www.phillyneighborhoods.org