Neighborhood Innovation : In The News

The Natural Resources Defense Council blog applauds and captures the spirit of Philadelphia's plan to convert vacant lots and asphalt yards into small neighborhood parks throughout the city.

According to the executive summary, more than half of Philadelphia's residents currently do not have access to a park within convenient walking distance. But there are 558 acres of publicly owned, vacant land located in underserved neighborhoods, and a larger inventory citywide of over 1,000 acres of publicly owned vacant land, over 1,000 additional acres of schoolyards that could be multi-purposed, and over 3,000 acres of additional vacant land currently in private ownership, identified in the map below left as "opportunity areas." The map on the right shows proposed new trails, bike lanes, and "creek walks" in the city.

Original source: Natural Resources Defense Council
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Tek Lado, the new (and free) Philadelphia magazine catering to tech-savvy Latinos, launched last week with a print run of 20,000, reports the Associated Press.

Mel Gomez, director of niche publishing for Bartash Media Group, self-described geek and Tek Lado publisher, said it fills a void in the marketplace of publications for tech-savvy Latinos.

"I love technology, gadgets, smart phones, gaming, graphic novels. I watch Star Trek," he said with a laugh. "Typical Latino publications are often tabloids, either general publications or some sort of (gossip) rag -- nothing that speaks to geeks and their different subcultures we have in the U.S."

Gomez, Tek Lado editor-in-chief Liz Spikol, two staff photographers and eight bilingual freelance writers are based for now at Bartash's offices in southwest Philadelphia. Tek Lado is the first venture in magazine publishing for Bartash, a 58-year-old printer of catalogs, magazines, newspapers and niche publications for hundreds of companies from Maine to Alabama.

Original source: Associated Press
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While developers don't appear willing to put all their chips on a plan that would save the historic S.S. United States by making it a casino along the Delaware River, the ship's rehabilitation continues to garner attention, reports The New York Times.

A group that has been raising money to restore the 58-year-old ship had considered moving it from Philadelphia to Manhattan and converting it into a hotel and tourist attraction. But on Monday, the group proposed making the ship part of a plan to open a casino complex along the Delaware River.

The first casino in Philadelphia opened in September, but no progress has been made on a waterfront site where another casino was supposed to be developed. The ship, affectionately known as the "Big U," has been tied to a pier near that site for years, while the members of the S.S. United States Conservancy sought a way to pay for its rehabilitation.

The ship, which at 990 feet is longer than the Titanic was, made 400 ocean crossings before it was retired. It was saved from the scrapyard this year when a Philadelphia philanthropist, Gerry Lenfest, donated $5.8 million. The conservancy used that money to buy the ship from Norwegian Cruise Lines, which had decided to sell it for scrap, and to keep it afloat long enough to devise a big idea for reviving the Big U.

Original source: The New York Times
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The month-old Museum Without Walls audio program uses technology to give many of Philadelphia's outdoor sculptures museum-quality perspective, reports the Associated Press.

Its self-guided audio tours are available 24-7 in several different formats: You can call phone numbers listed with each sculpture, use a free smart phone app, download the audio at http://museumwithoutwallsaudio.org to an MP3 player, or scan a special bar code (known as a QR or quick response code) on the free "Museum Without Walls" map at locations around the city.

The project's first phase includes 51 outdoor sculptures at 35 stops along a three-mile stretch of the bustling Benjamin Franklin Parkway from downtown to leafy Fairmount Park, a route popular with bicyclists, runners and walkers.

Original source: Associated Press
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Temple University junior engineering student Hasan Malik, founder of Northeast Tree Tenders, is helping restore tree cover in his native Northeast Philadelphia, reports Temple University News.

Once every spring and fall, Malik and his loyal crew of trained volunteers--including a core group of fellow Temple students--dig holes (removing concrete, if necessary) and plant trees along streets and in yards at the request of homeowners throughout Northeast Philadelphia. The group's first planting was 23 trees. Now, groups of about 60 volunteers plant 50 to 70 trees at a time. Since 2007, the group has planted a total of 270 trees, offering hope for a greener, shadier and healthier future in the Northeast.

"There's too much concrete and not enough greenery in the city," Malik said. "Rather than complain about it, let's do something about it."

Why plant trees? Malik cites increased property values, reduced incidence of asthma and childhood obesity among residents, shelter from the sun and wind, a reduction of greenhouse gases, more homes for wildlife and the absorption of storm water runoff.

Original source: Temple University News
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The new home of the Barnes Foundation along the Ben Franklin Parkway is both challenging and controversial, and the Wall Street Journal's hard-hat tour reveals a new take on classic art.

Tod Williams, of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in New York, pointed out the siting of key features: a three-story garden that will interrupt the art galleries; a long, low water feature near the visitor entrance; a cantilevered light court connecting the galleries with an L-shaped building containing a caf�, gift shop, auditorium and other amenities.

Another innovation is a small second-floor gallery that will house Matisse's famous 1905-06 painting "The Joy of Life," currently in a stairwell and difficult to see. "It was not [handicapped] accessible," Mr. Williams said, "so we were able to break the rules. There were not too many opportunities, but that was one of them."

Decisions on interior details are still being made. Using a full-scale model, Mr. Williams said, "We are investigating changing the color of the wood, we're investigating changing the color of the fabric, we're investigating whether to use the exact moldings that they used. We're investigating the floor. One of the things that may be controversial is detailing that is more contemporary."

Original souce: Wall Street Journal
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The Washington Post caught up with suburban Philadelphia philanthropist Gene Epstein, who is promoting his $250,000 effort to donate $1,000 to charity for each unemployed person hired.

Epstein, who amassed a personal fortune through car sales and real estate investments, has set aside his money for the first 250 hires - and thinks thousands more jobs could be created if others took on his idea, too.

"It's an encouragement to businesses to not wait," said Epstein, who thinks the incentive may be just enough to get small businesses over the hump to make a hire in tough economic times. "This becomes like an incredible stimulus program."

The idea came to Epstein at his sprawling home in suburban Bucks County last month. He said he hopes his program will encourage businesses in the region and beyond to make hundreds of thousands of new hires they wouldn't have otherwise made.

Original source: Washington Post
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The two year-old Bike Pottstown bike-sharing program is examined as a smarter transportation case study by FavStocks.

The Bike Pottstown bike sharing program was launched in June of 2008 with 30 beach cruiser bikes all painted yellow and accompanied by a lock and a basket. Managed by Preservation Pottstown, a local non-profit organization within the borough, the program operates six days a week out of Tri-County Bicycles, a local independently owned bike shop. Anyone with a valid ID can rent the bikes and ride anywhere in the Pottstown until the end of the day. The bikes are free of charge and by December 2009 had been shared over 2,000 times.

"Bike Pottstown is a community bike-share program," said Tom Carroll, president of Preservation Pottstown. "By having it operate out of this location, and eventually out of others as well, it brings the program to more people in the community, and, hopefully, will bring more community support to the program."

Original source: FavStocks
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Members of the Norfolk Arts Commission visited Philadelphia last week to get a close-up look at some of the thousands of works of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Programs, reports The Hour.

"I was blown away by how these community murals in Philadelphia brightened the neighborhoods. It's inspiring to hear the stories of how these murals got made, and how it brought the community together," Becker said. "This is how to revitalize neighborhoods and instill a sense of pride, something I see Norwalk needs help with."

Launched in 1984 to combat graffiti, the city of Philadelphia Mural Arts Programs now bills itself as the largest public art program in the United States.

Original source: The Hour
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on two online news publications that have launched recently, including yours truly.

As the market for news fragments, new models for journalism are emerging. Two of those experiments, Flying Kite and Patch, launched in Philadelphia last month.

"This is a fresh way to get fresh content about all the innovative things happening in our city," said Danielle Cohn, (Philadelphia Convention and Visitors) bureau spokeswoman.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Led by Drexel University students and faculty advisors, the Drexel Smart House is pushing the envelope when it comes to sustainably improving the quality of life in urban residences, reports Forbes.

The group has received several EPA grants in support of its work (an impressive feat for a student organization) as well as other funding from the university and community groups. Seven of the students have already received LEED AP certification through their work in the student group.

Other similar projects exist in a handful of schools across the country; however, this project is unique in that it is a rebuild of a house in an urban environment.

Source: Forbes
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A group of Temple University students dubbed the Philadelphia Urban Creators are taking lessons from rebuilding New Orleans and applying them to their work, which includes establishing community gardens, reports Temple News.

Our School at Blair Grocery and Epstein's Philadelphia Urban Creators were both recently featured in a Time magazine article about urban farming in the Lower 9th Ward. Together, the groups represent some good to be found in the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, five years after the storm ripped through New Orleans.

The Philadelphia Urban Creators are focusing on creating a youth-led movement that will teach people how to help themselves.

Source: Temple News
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