Since 2000, when WPLP director Anne Whiston Spirn moved to MIT, WPLP has been based at MIT, and virtually all WPLP work since then has been supported by the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) and MIT’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program through research assistantships and support for courses.

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Formerly known as the Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, the Netter Center provided WPLP with a wide range of financial, administrative and volunteer support, including seed grants for research projects and curriculum development, research assistants, transportation, and grant administration. The Netter Center’s role was critical to the formation and success of the Mill Creek Project.

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In 1987, Sheldon Hackney, President of Penn, secured a grant from J.N. Pew Charitable Trust, which launched the West Philadelphia Landscape Plan and Greening Project, a collaboration among Penn’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Philadelphia Green, the Organization and Management Group, and the West Philadelphia Partnership. From 1987-2000, WPLP was based at Penn. During this time, more than 100 Penn students participated in research and classes associated with WPLP. Penn and the School of Design provided Internet space, computer lab, and teaching assistants to support WPLP.

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Region III of the EPA is responsible for monitoring and regulating environmental quality in the Mid Atlantic States. Region III's Water Protection Division took a leadership role in addressing environmental issues in Philadelphia and was instrumental in fostering the partnership between WPLP and the Philadelphia Water Department from 1996-2001. In 2001, the EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection provided the Philadelphia Water Department with a grant to fund an outdoor classroom-environmental study area-detention basin project to reduce combined sewer overflows from the Mill Creek watershed. EPA was also a part of the Philadelphia Urban Resources Partnership, a group of federal agencies, which supported the Mill Creek Project in the mid 1990s. In 2012, EPA and the City of Philadelphia signed a agreement to collaborate on developing green infrastructure in Philadelphia as part of the city’s landmark program Green City, Clean Waters.

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A grant from the Kellogg Foundation to Penn’s Center for Community Partnerships supported teaching assistants for the Mill Creek Project from 1997-1999.

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A Community Outreach Partnerships Center grant from HUD to Penn’s Center for Community Partnerships supported research assistants in 1997-1998. COPC grants were intended to help and universities apply their resources to the challenge of revitalizing distressed communities.

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A grant from the Ford Foundation to Penn’s Center for Community Partnerships supported a summer research assistant in 1997.

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A grant from the JN Pew Trust, which funded the West Philadelphia Landscape Plan and Greening Project from 1987-1991, provided the foundation on which all succeeding work is based. It enabled the initial partnership with Aspen Farms, supported the design and construction of community gardens and other landscape improvements, and enabled the construction of a ground-breaking digital database, including a comprehensive study of urban vacant land and the Mill Creek watershed.

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