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Philadelphia Portal

Southwest Philadelphia is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The section can be described as extending from the western side of the Schuylkill River to the city line, with the SEPTA R3 Media-Elwyn line serving as the northern border. The northern border is also defined by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission as east from the city line along Baltimore Avenue moving south along 51st Street to Springfield Ave. It follows the train tracks until 49th Street. From 49th and Kingsessing Ave the line moves east along Kingsessing Ave. The line then moves south along 46th St to Paschall Ave where it jogs to join Grays Ferry where the line runs to the Schuylkill River.^[1]

Southwest Philadelphia is also described by the city as being the area south of Baltimore Avenue (SOBA) ^[2]; this definition has historical merit as Baltimore Avenue between 49th and 52nd Streets was known as "The Hub of Southwest Philadelphia" at the turn of the century^[3]. Today however the R3 tracks are the more common reference dividing Southwest from West Philadelphia.^{[citation needed]}

More than 80,000 people live in Southwest Philadelphia. It is approximately 36% white and 60% black.^[4] A number of SEPTA Subway-Surface Trolley Lines traverse the area along Chester, Woodland, and Elmwood Avenues, providing easy access to Center City through the 40th Street Portal. These also extend to Darby and Yeadon in the Delaware County, Pennsylvania suburbs.

Philadelphia International Airport, a number of oil refineries, and many heavy industrial uses are located in the Southwest section. The housing stock is diverse with ornate Queen Anne style twin mansions in the neighborhoods bordering Cedar Park, plainer and simpler styles of twins predominating closer to the airport, and newer rowhouses, many with porches, filling in many neighborhoods.

Less than 1% of Southwest is covered by trees, giving it one of the lowest ratios of shade tree cover in the city.^[5]

• Southwest Community Development Corporation
• Row House Days: Tales from a Southwest Philadelphia Childhood, Jack Myers, 2005

1. ^ Philadelphia City Planning Commission
2. ^ Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual
3. ^ Cedar Park Neighbors
4. ^ http://philadelphia.about.com/cs/neighborhoods/a/neighborhoods_3.htm
5. ^ http://www.benfranklin300.com/upcoming.php?id=347

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Neighborhoods of the Southwest Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
	Angora - Bartram Village - Clearview - Kingsessing - Eastwick - Elmwood Park - Hedgerow - Hog Island - Mount Moriah - Paschall - PHL - Penrose - Southwest Schuylkill
Philadelphia neighbohoods Center City - North Philadelphia - Northwest Philadelphia - The Northeast - South Philadelphia - Southwest Philadelphia - West Philadelphia