IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Recycling Advocacy Summit
This summer there have been big steps forward in making recycling both easy and accessible. With the Recycling Rewards program, an incentive based program to reward every neighborhood for their good recycling habits, and the recent addition of plastics #3 - #7 to the curbside program, Philadelphia is making steady progress towards meeting the Greenworks goal of diverting 70 percent of our waste from the landfill by 2015.
City recycling rates have tripled in the past two years from a meager 5% to 15%, but while the numbers show significant improvement, we still have a long way to go.
Join the Recycling Alliance of Philadelphia at the Recycling Advocacy Summit on Tuesday, August 24 to discuss the future of recycling and share your ideas about the steps needed to advance recycling in Philadelphia.
Preserving History While Creating Jobs
According to two recent studies, preserving our city’s historic buildings and civic landmarks generates jobs, brings fresh investment to our communities and improves the quality of life in our neighborhoods. The reports were released by Pennsylvania Works!, a campaign advocating for policies to foster economic growth that benefits communities and our environment, in cooperation with the Preservation Alliance of Philadelphia and the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh. While the southeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania studies were conducted independently, each looked at the impact of historical preservation investments on the local economy and jobs in the region. After careful investigation, both studies found that restoration and reuse of historic buildings in our communities provides a long-lasting social and economic return on taxpayer investment.
Philadelphia and Pittsburg alone have invested a total of 1.2 billion of public and private funds over the course of five years to support preservation projects. That number could be even higher if the Pennsylvania State Senate’s would pass the Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Act which could work in conjunction with existing federal tax credits to boost our local economies while protecting our history one building at a time. Check out the PennsylvaniaWorks! website to find out more about how you can support this piece of legislation and others they are working on.
Progress on the Piers
A new pop-up park at Pier 53 on the Delaware River is scheduled to open this fall. The Pier 53 park has been designed with a special emphasis on ecology and ecologically-inspired art. In celebration of what will soon be South Philadelphia’s newest environmental resource, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Friends of Jefferson Square, Queen Village Neighbors Association and Pennsport Civic, and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) are hosting a viewing of the film Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time on Thursday, August 26. Like the park, the movie explores the relationship between man, nature, and art.
You may find yourself enjoying another pier park on the Delaware sooner than you think. With construction documents finalized for the Race St. Pier, DRWC is looking to hire a construction firm this September and start construction on the project this fall. If all goes according to schedule this pier park will be open to the public in spring of 2011.
If you’d like to make your mark on the pier park even before it opens, DRWC is in search of $2,500 donations to cover the cost of each of the 37 mature trees needed for the park. Sponsorship for each eight-year-old tree will be honored in paving at the base of the tree.
Events for Bike Enthusiasts
Want to teach your kids about bike safely while having fun? Attend the family-friendly Safe Routes Philly Family Phest on September 11 for on-bike activities, and resources for becoming a safe and healthy cyclist.
As an additional perk, Safe Routes Philly Family Phest participants can get a discount on registration for Bike Philly the next day, September 12. Bike Philly allows cycling enthusiasts of all skill levels to take a relaxing car-free ride on 10 and 20 mile cycling loops. Don’t miss out on your chance to ride, sign-up before the registration deadline on August 31.
If it’s not enough to see all the great things that are already going on around bicycling in Philadelphia, some cycling visionaries are looking at how Philadelphia could make cycling a key element of public transportation in the future. Bike Share Philly, in cooperation with the University of Pennsylvania, the Mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities, and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, is hosting a series of bike‐sharing system demonstrations so you can see what a bike share program might be like in Philadelphia. Check it out for yourself by stopping by for a free ride at one of three demonstrations:
• Thursday, August 26 in front of the Penn Bookstore in University City at 36th & Walnut Streets, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Friday, August 27 at JFK Plaza (Love Park) at 15th & JFK Blvd, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, August 28 at Penn's Landing on the Walnut Plaza, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Home of Next Great City Moves Down the Block
PennFuture, the lead organization behind the Next Great City coalition, has moved our offices! We hope to host many of you in our new digs, which are located at 1500 Walnut Street, Suite 502.
SPREAD THE WORD:
We want every Philadelphian to learn about Next Great City! If you want to help us spread the word, invite a Next Great City representative to come speak at the next meeting of your civic association, church group or other community organization.
In addition, if you'd like copies of the Next Great City report or brochures, contact Christine at 215-545-9692.
