The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA) was created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Urban Redevelopment Law of 1945. Until the Fall of 2011 it was known as the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia (RDA).

Function

The PRA focuses on

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. Some researchers regard the evolution of forethought - the cap ...

and developing balanced mixed-use communities to create thriving, well-served neighborhoods. As the public government agency charged with the redevelopment of the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority provides the foundations that enable private investors to revitalize neighborhoods. The Authority's function is to acquire real estate using the power of

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

, plan for

redevelopment Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space. Description Variations on redevelopment include ...

working with private firms, and financing the redevelopment by issuing

municipal bonds A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a Bond (finance), bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal ...

of the Authority, with the overall objective of eliminating

urban blight Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

in the city of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Board

The Authority is governed by a five-member board, appointed by the

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

Land disputes

The

University City Science Center The University City Science Center (UCSC) is an urban research park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was established as the first and largest urban research park in the United States. It was established in 1963, within the demo ...

filed a lawsuit to stop the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority from seizing two parcels of land in the 3800 block of Market Street in West Philadelphia. The lawsuit was filed on May 28, 2010. On September 28, 2009, the Authority found the Science Center to be in default of an agreement about the two parcels of land, currently used for parking. The Science Center contended in its lawsuit that current economic conditions had delayed redevelopment, saying that the apparent default was caused by an unforeseeable cause, and therefore should not be grounds for taking the land. From 2012 to 2014, Dupree Studios in the Mantua community of West Philadelphia was the subject of an

takeover attempt by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, which ended with Dupree keeping his studio.

References

{{Authority control Government departments of Philadelphia Municipal authorities in Pennsylvania Organizations based in Philadelphia Urban development authorities in the United States