Inquirer Editorial: Housing needs help

As Philadelphia embraces new, affluent residents, City Council President Darrell Clarke is right to try to protect the economic diversity of gentrifying neighborhoods. He has a plan to supply 1,000 new low-income apartments and 500 moderate-income homes in Francisville, Point Breeze, and a few other areas.

But his still nascent idea is in some ways as vague as a campaign promise. Clarke should make sure it doesn't go the way of John Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, which spent a lot of money but didn't transform neighborhoods.

There is no doubt about the need for affordable housing. Although 80,000 Philadelphians live in public housing or use federal rent subsides, 140,000 poor families or individuals await decent housing. And obsolete public housing isn't being replaced: The Housing Authority has 6,000 fewer apartments now than in 1999.

That has idled millions in federal subsides. Clarke sensibly proposes using some of those funds, as well as money from the city's Housing Trust Fund, which is devoted to developing and preserving affordable housing.

However, experts say new housing should be part of broader neighborhood improvements. Just as private development is raising property values, so can well-planned subsidized housing with complementary services. That would include demolishing blighted buildings that work against the city's investment and residents' quality of life.

Asked about such efforts, Clarke told the Editorial Board he wants good services throughout the city. Who doesn't? But transforming neighborhoods will take a lot more than the overextended city bureaucracy usually provides. A few new apartments and houses are unlikely to be enough.

Clarke's idea is still evolving, and he was right to back off a $100 million bond issue that was in the original proposal. He should also work more closely with the Nutter administration, which would have to implement the plan. The affordable-housing conversation he has started is welcome, but it will take more hard work to produce viable new homes.