Eastwick Oral Histories

This collection of Eastwick Oral Histories document the rich history and complex cultural life of Eastwick — a vibrant community in Southwest Philadelphia in the midst of a public land planning process. The oral history project is a close collaboration between the Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition (EFNC), the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, and the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities.
Members of EFNC are community activists and leaders who advocate for environmental, economic, and social sustainability for Eastwick. From the early 1950s, Eastwick was the site of attempted urban renewal-as-spectacle on the part of Philadelphia’s city hall. Following the flooding of Hurricanes Connie and Diane in 1955 shaped by the industrial landscapes surrounding the marshy, semi-rural neighborhood, the community was designated a blight, with thousands of acres turned over to public-private redevelopment projects that displaced thousands of residents from what was once Philadelphia’s most integrated neighborhood. Neighboring wedges of the mouth of the Schuylkill have been cut off to expand Philadelphia’s airport and the massive oil refinery complex, while runoff from unlicensed dumps led to an EPA Superfund designation on neighborhood’s western edge. Since 2012, EFNC's community-leadership has organized to support community empowerment in decisions of the neighborhood’s future.