Eva Hayes is a resident of the West Powelton neighborhood in the University Southwest District of Philadelphia. She was appointed the Neighborhood Advisory Subcommitte (NAS) chairperson at the Partnership CDC in April of 2013. Beyond her role with the NAS, she is involved with her local church, a block captain for the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee, and has been involved with the National Action Network for several years.
Eva’s course project was creating an action plan to improve numerous aspects of her neighborhood. Since completing CPI she has revised her project to apply to more direct necessities. The action plan included a need for more green and recreational space for the community to make it a “unified, productive, and more pleasant place to live and learn.”
She later helped organize community members to scan and identify blighted properties and littered vacant lands to report to L&I for investigation.
In her course project she also explored and sought to improve the relationship and communication between the West Powelton community and Drexel University and its community, wanting to discourage the tension and negative attitudes between the two.
Since then, she has partnered with community members to attend a series of meetings that highlighted the need for preserving open space and the recently restricted Vida’s Park as well as the community’s concerns with the gentrification and development within the neighborhood.