Abstract World Media
September 26th 2026: Mzee Kambui
The West Philly Peace Park, located in the heart of the West Philadelphia section of the city is one of many community gardens that are replacing the empty lots were abandoned homes once stood. The Park is a second addition of the Peace Park organization with “The North Philly Peace Park” located in North Philadelphia is the first lot turned into a beautiful community garden featuring many different plants, vegetables and fruits that are grown and maintained by the Peace Park organizers.
West Philly Peace Park also has many different guest and volunteers who provide education services on health and wellness, the parks are located in sections of the city where poverty is high as well as crime. The Peace Park Organization was established when the North Philly Peace Park was created back in 2012.
According to phillypeacepark.org In 2015 the Peace Parks organizers faced a challenging delima when the North Philly Peace Park was displaced by PHA development plans and fought these actions aggressively from 2015- 2017, resulting in a move to its current location along the block of 2200 Jefferson St. gaining long term land security. From 2016 to the present, the Peace Park has been engaged in community-powered redevelopment process with a wide range of partners and stakeholders with the goal of expanding into a block wide neighborhood park and ecology campus.
The Peace Park is recognized by the Philadelphia Orchard Project https://www.phillyorchards.org/, an organization that sponsors communities and other city project aimed at turning abandoned lots around the city into gardens that provide fresh fruit and vegetables to members of the surrounding community.
The Peace Park also offers wellness programs which attempts to address systemic health disparities among the people in the community of Philadelphia, in a city where according to https://metrophiladelphia.com/ there are over 8000 – 10,000 abandoned houses throughout the city with the majority of them in the West and North Philly sections, many of them which have been abandoned since the 80s & 90s sit vacant deteriorating and posing a danger to surrounding structures due to many being rowhomes. The city of Philadelphia launched a program to either sell the properties to developers” which are buying up most of them” or the city is simply demolishing them in which they become empty grass lots perfect for members of the community to transition the empty lots into gardens and peaceful gathering place in a sometimes chaotic city.
Members of the surrounding communities are encouraged to join and volunteer at both Peace Parks and anyone is welcome to grow their own food as well as flowers and the public is free to pick from the garden during harvesting in the summer and fall months.
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