Next Great City Philadelphia

The city has made extraordinary progress since 2007, when 130 community, faith, environmental, business, and union organizations declared that Philadelphia could be the Next Great City if it created cleaner, safer and healthier neighborhoods; the group also announced ten action steps to achieve these goals. The Next Great City Coalition, in partnership with the Nutter Administration, has achieved the majority of its initial recommendations, and now brings five more proposed recommendations to City Council to continue to move Philadelphia forward.

An Agenda for City Council: 2012

Sell or transfer publicly owned vacant properties
Make streets safe for walking and biking
Reuse and recycle food and construction waste
Disclose energy costs to property buyers
Improve access to fresh, local food

An Agenda for the Mayor: 2007

Stop Sewer Backups & Flooding
Create Public Riverfronts
Expand Recycling
Improve Transit Stops
Adopt Modern Zoning
Use Clean & Efficient Energy
Replant Neighborhood Trees
Maintain Healthy Parks
Reduce Asthma Caused by Soot

Zoning Code Approved by Council on a 17- 0 Vote

City Council voted unanimously for a new Zoning Code on Thursday, December 15, 2011.  The Code will become law eight months after the Mayor signs the bill on December 22, 2011. Next Great City played a critical role in the passage of the first new Zoning Code in Philadelphia in a half century.

Thank you all for your hard work and support. We were successful in submitting over 1,000 petitions to City Council in support of the new zoning code. Check out the sustainability elements in the new Code. 

 

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 us at 215-545-9692 or click here to send an email.

Poll Results

Over 80 percent of Philadelphians surveyed in the Fall of 2010 favor increased city funding to make streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, improve the availability of fresh foods, increase public funding to improve air quality, reduce waste and increase recycling, and reduce energy use by residents and business. Vacant land reuse was the #1 priority for Next Great City members.

Download the full poll results here.

Stay Informed

The Coalition

Endorsing Organizations in the coalition include:

Bella Vista Town Watch
New Kensington Community Development Corporation
SustainUS Philadelphia
Central Roxborough Civic Association
PenTrans
more