A HIGHER DENSITY HABITAT

The Oxford Green development is the largest, greenest project to-date by the Philadelphia chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Sited in the city’s Sharswood neighborhood, the project provides homeownership opportunities for 20 low-income families through Habitat’s unique community building model. While Habitat historically has largely been known for its single-family suburban detached homes built through the help of donated materials and volunteer labor, the organization’s Philadelphia chapter has committed to a more urban approach, contextually appropriate in a city of attached rowhouses. The Oxford Green development’s higher density attached rowhouse model provides enhanced sustainability, efficiency and livability for residents, serving as a key design prototype for Habitat’s future growth.


RELINKING FABRIC POST-RENEWAL

Sited on a former Philadelphia Housing Authority superblock, the Oxford Green development parcel plays a crucial role in reconnecting the project’s block to the surrounding neighborhood. As new streets are built (some reactivated after decades of closure) and multiple developers assigned sites for redevelopment, the Habitat project takes advantage of its early phase presence in piloting the restoration back to traditional rowhouse fabric. The homes line the south edge of Oxford Street, stretching along two full block faces and completing the long-interrupted urban edge.