The following is a list of neighborhoods, districts and other places located in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The list is organized by broad geographical sections within the city.
Common usage for Philadelphia's neighborhood names does not respect "official" borders used by the city's police, planning commission or other entities. Therefore, some of the places listed here may overlap geographically, and residents do not always agree where one neighborhood ends and another begins. Philadelphia has 41 ZIP-codes, which are often used for neighborhood analysis.[1]
Historically, many neighborhoods were defined by incorporated townships (Blockley, Roxborough), districts (Belmont, Kensington, Moyamensing, Richmond) or boroughs (Bridesburg, Frankford, Germantown, Manayunk) before being incorporated into the city with the Act of Consolidation of 1854.[2] Adding further complication is the fact that in some parts of Philadelphia, especially the central areas of North, West and South Philadelphia, residents have long been more likely to identify with the name of their section of the city than with any specific neighborhood name. Today, community development corporations, neighborhood watches and other civic organizations are influential in shaping the use of neighborhood names and approximate boundaries.
For planning purposes, the city is divided into 18 Planning Analysis Sections, which are Upper Far Northeast, Lower Far Northeast, Lower Northwest, Lower Southwest, University Southwest, West, West Park, Lower Northeast, River Wards, Lower North, North, Central, South, Lower South, Upper Northwest, Upper North, Central Northeast and North Delaware.[3]