Neighborhood Innovation : Featured Stories

For the first time since 1960, Philadelphia has a master plan, and it aims to thrive, connect and renew.

The Convention Center expansion forced it from its old building (and old ways of thinking). From its new perch on Vine Street, AAI is welcoming all ethnicities, artists and changes in Chinatown.

Know where your cafeteria's lunch comes from? Common Market is changing institutional food from the inside out, sourcing food from local farmers and supplying it to schools, hospitals and corporations throughout the region.

With $129 million dollars in federal money, the Navy Yard is poised to become a national leader in energy efficiency and this longtime Penn professor has the inside scoop on GPIC's vast potential.

If you need a job, head to Temple on Tuesday. If you've got a green thumb or warm heart, head to Germantown Saturday morning. And if you're into live art, hang on the Fourth Wall in Old City Saturday night.

The Mt. Airy native has seen and done a lot since leaving for college. More than a decade later he's back to gain a foothold in the city's growing sustainability community.

If you're a DYIer, go Kenzo. If you're into fresh food access, head over to West Philly. And if you're into everything, or at least open to it, find your spot on the lawn at Independence Mall.

Historic architecture and growing green spaces are large contributors to Philadelphia's aesthetic, a powerful pull for residents and others here, according to the Knight Foundation's Soul of the Community study.

This ain't no jughandle. At Cuthbert Blvd. and Haddon Ave., things are looking up regardless of which way you turn as two neighboring communities grow in different ways. 

Our writer ate, slept, and drank Philly Tech Week, which proved that the time is right for Philadelphia to become Open Data city and that arts and sustainability are finding the right connections in the tech community.

Fittingly, there's no centennial extravaganza for the historic building in West Philly. There will simply be more of the same � a wide range of high-quality arts and community-building, including a site-specific dance performance this week.

Forbes points out the obvious - our industrial heritage - in ranking Philly atop its toxic cities list, but our own report finds that while we have some work to do, we live in an environment that's increasingly sustainable.

Community Education Center has been around for more than 30 years, serving artists and the community in a variety of ways. Its leader is its only full-time staffer and she is more determined than ever to grow CEC's impact and reach.

Through the innovative nonprofit Multicultural Youth Exchange, children from New Foundations School in Northeast Philly made good use of trash they found with hopes of giving waste a second life.

The 30-something, skateboarding South Carolina native is hard at work on Paine's Park, a mixed-use project that will give skaters and pedestrians more reasons to come to Philly and stay.