neighborhood innovation : In The News

Philadelphia-inspired photographer Zoe Strauss and her series "I-95" is part of her new exhibition at the Museum of Art, reports The New York Times.

The exhibition, opening on Saturday, is billed as a mid-career retrospective, though Ms. Strauss’s career path is anything but conventional. For one thing, she conceived of "I-95" before she had gained any kind of experience as a photographer, before she had even bought a camera. Just five years into the project she received a Pew fellowship and was selected for the Whitney Biennial. Two years later came a monograph, "America," that nodded to none other than Robert Frank.

Original source: The New York Times
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Greenbang reports on the United States Green Building Council's the potential savings that greener schools could provide, including the School District of Philadelphia's recent successes.

Extended to every new school built and every existing school that’s renovated, improved efficiency could save $20 billion in energy costs alone over the next 10 years.

To recognize US schools that have made an effort to become more efficient, the USGBC and United Technologies Corp., the founding sponsor of the council’s Center for Green Schools, have awarded its first-ever Best of Green Schools list. The 2011 winners in each category include:

Original source: Greenbang
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Technically Philly sits down with Dr. Chad Womack, a nanobiomolecular entrepreneur who is trying to increase opportunities  in science, technology, education and mathematics (STEM) for city children.

Womack’s America21 Project is focused on empowering urban centers and communities through STEM education and workforce development, high-growth entrepreneurship and access to capital. With his new venture, he’s still actively engaging the District around STEM priorities.

Original source: Technically Philly
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Philadelphia's Dr. Richard Baron and his Greenhouse Internists practice in Mt. Airy are cited as pioneers of adopting electronic medical records and advocating for the kinds of innovations sought through $1 billion in federal funding, reports American Medical News.

The Health Care Innovation Challenge program was announced on Nov. 14 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. The center will provide grants of $1 million to $30 million to physicians and other health professionals, payers, local governments, community-based organizations. Priority will be given to public-private partnerships and multi-payer groups, as well as for proposals targeting patients with complex health care needs.

It is not yet clear whether the best way to achieve CMMI's goals is to change health care payment or to change the delivery system, said Dr. Baron, speaking at a Nov. 16 event on clinician leadership in health reform at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Dr. Baron, who joined the center in March, is overseeing efforts to implement Medicare accountable care organizations, among other duties.

Original source: American Medical News
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A University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine study found that converting vacant lots into small parks or community green spaces can reduce crime in distressed neighborhoods, reports The Atlantic.

Vacant lot greening was associated with significant reductions in gun assaults across all four sections of Philadelphia in the study and with significant reductions in vandalism in one section. Greening was also associated with the reporting of significantly less stress in one of the sections of the city and with more exercise in another. Cholesterol numbers were lower to a statistically significant degree for the greened areas across all four city sections.

Original source: The Atlantic
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The Free Library of Philadelphia and Allentown's DaVinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology are among 12 winners of a combined $1.2 million in grant funding to establish teen learning labs, reports The Digital Shift.

The 12 winners-four museums and eight libraries-selected from a pool of 98 applicants from 32 states, will receive a total of $1.2 million in grants. They include the New York Hall of Science and the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), which are among a growing number of schools and libraries that are slowly embracing the idea of learning labs and the self-directed style of instruction they add to support the curriculum. The labs will connect teens to mentors and peers, as well as offer them 24/7 access to information through online social networks so they can pursue their interests more deeply There are usually no tests. They’re often after-school. And students are often encouraged to play, in a sense, with the materials and technology around them in an informal way, acting as co-teachers in their own education.

Original source: The Digital Shift
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The Fairmount Park Art Association makes USA Today's list for America's must-see sculpture gardens.

This group started in 1872 to integrate sculpture into the city, and is the main reason Philadelphia is now said to have more public art than any other city. Visitors can download MP3s or use a cellphone for tours of the city's extensive sculpture collection, which is overseen by the association. You'll find a concentration of art in Fairmont Park, a 9,200-acre urban oasis.

Original source: USA Today
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Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter got busted for graffiti as a Philadelphia teen. Now he'll be the subject of public art with The Roots mural planned for South Street, reports the Associated Press.

"They remind us why we love art, why art is so important, why art is a lifeline, why art can be transformative and why we need it," said Jane Golden, director of the city's Mural Arts Program.

The energetic Golden literally jumped up and down with excitement in announcing the eight-month project, which will include soliciting mural design ideas, creating a storefront art studio for community workshops and developing a "Roots 101" arts education curriculum for students.

Original source: Associated Press
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Metropolis Magazine tells the story of industrial designer Andrew Dahlgren, his Philadelphia company ADMK and how he is helping revolutionize textile manufacturing and labor.

"Ultimately, what we are talking about is a new way of living," says Dahlgren. Pattern files can be digitally conveyed to satellite knitters in their homes who may, in turn, use the knitting machines to provide for themselves beyond their contracted production.

Dahlgren takes the long view, pointing out that "Stradivarius was still innovating violin making in his 80s, can we as a culture accept, as a way of living, making things?" Dignity, pride, and identity in workmanship seem like quaint yet timeless building blocks for reviving an industry that once boasted some 60,000 employees in Philadelphia and competed globally long before “globalization” was ever coined.

Original source: Metropolis
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TechCrunch covers ElectNext's launch out of beta on Monday, a month after we told you about them here.

The site, which likes to describe itself as an "eHarmony for voters," offers a familiar concept, thanks to the dozens of politically themed quizzes that attempt to suss out what political party best fits your personal interests and beliefs. But ElectNext takes the political quiz to the next level by actually matching up your beliefs with those from the actual candidates in the current election.

Original source: TechCrunch
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HiddenCity Philadelphia takes a look at DesignPhiladelphia's Gray Area symposium, led by Flying Kite contributor Elise Vider and intended to explode the conversation around historic preservation in the 21st century in Greater Philadelphia and beyond.

True to the event’s goals, the panel discussion itself resulted in a thoroughly open conversation where differences of opinion were aired in a productive fashion. Moderated by Mark Alan Hughes, a distinguished senior fellow at Penn’s School of Design and founding director of Philadelphia’s Greenworks, the panel consisted of Lloyd Alter, the Toronto-based editor of Architecture and Design for TREEHUGGER.COM; Randall Mason, chair of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at the Penn School of Design; Susan Szenasy, editor-in-chief of New York-based Metropolis magazine; and Tod Williams of Billie Tsien Architects in New York, designers of the Barnes Foundation.

A proposal for the Free Library on Ben Franklin Parkway was a favorite amongst panelists. Of the three categories that organize the catalogue -- shells, platforms, and voids -- the library proposal is considered a "platform" because it proffers "less polite" interventions into the extant structure. This proposal is one of the more provocative of the provocations, testing the flexibility of the gray area by radically juxtaposing the future with the past.

Original source: HiddenCity Philadelphia
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The Franklin Institute has received the largest gift in its 187 year history, according to Philanthropy Today.

Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute has received the largest pledge in its history, $10-million from the businessman Nicholas Karabots, The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

The donation puts the science center within $6-million of its $64.7-million campaign goal to fund an addition and other upgrades.

The new wing will be named for Mr. Karabots and his wife, Athena, and house exhibits on the brain and neuroscience as well as conference and classroom facilities.

Mr. Karabots, a South Bronx native who made a fortune in printing supplies and property development, said he was inspired to make the gift when he visited the institute "and saw what they were doing with all these kids. I went up to the observatory and there were four inner-city kids who were spending a year learning astronomy. I was impressed."

Source: Philanthropy Today
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As construction on the Parkway wraps up, The Barnes Foundation has been given the judiciary green light to leave Lower Merion, according to the Associated Press.

Montgomery County Orphans Court Judge Stanley Ott ruled Thursday that there is no new evidence to consider.
Petitioners had asked Ott to re-examine his 2004 decision allowing the Barnes to leave its suburban home.

They contend the 2009 documentary "The Art of the Steal" includes new evidence that he didn't have when he originally ruled. But Ott disagrees.

Source: The Associated Press
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October is Mural Arts Month, with 31 days of art activities and celebrations, as told by the Los Angeles Times.

Art is in the air in October as Philadelphia celebrates many of its more than 3,500 murals during Mural Arts Month.

What began in 1984 as part of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network has blossomed into the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.  Muralist and founder Jane Golden redirected the energy and creativity of graffiti artists from marring neighborhood walls into murals, and the program now gives birth to about 150 murals a year. 

Highlights of "31 Days, 31 Ways: Art Ignites Change" include mural dedications, outdoor celebrations and free tours.

Source: Los Angeles Times
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Consumers initially seem to be taking to Philadelphia Media Network's $99 bundled tablet and digital subscription offer , according to News & Tech.

Just weeks after Philadelphia Media Network put its faith in an Android tablet device to help it flex its digital marketing muscle, the publisher said the initiative is gaining traction.

"It's performing well within our expectations," Yoni Greenbaum, PMN's vice president and general manager, digital, told News & Tech.

Source: News & Tech
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