Philadelphia’s Riverwards—Kensington, Fishtown and Port Richmond—lie in the path of redevelopment pressure. They were also once home to 14 secondary lead smelters. Those smelters left a legacy of elevated lead concentrations in soils. The city of Philadelphia is a principal environmental regulator with respect to that lead. The city’s approach and legal framework may be unfamiliar to some developers in Philadelphia, and a misstep in regulatory compliance can cause unforeseen construction delays or other development impediments.

The accelerated change in the Riverwards has unraveled significant environmental issues.