GridPhilly

Thanks to Philebrity for a heads up on this AP-compiled map of Marcellus Shale wastewater—just one of the environmentally-damaging by-products of fracking (no, not the fun Battlestar Galactica kind). Scary stuff.  Speaking of the shale: “Environmental Mummery.”

Resolution time, right? Well, one Salon writer, Francis Lam, has vowed “no more cheap chicken.” It seems like a simple proposition, but quickly gets complicated when Lam thinks about giving up some storied food traditions, like Charles Gabriel’s fried chicken. So this, then, is my omnivore’s dilemma: Which is more important to me? To stop having

In early December, Mill Creek Urban Farm held its annual benefit to raise funds and promote the farm's mission—providing access to fresh food and nutrition education. The party also marked the debut of a two-part documentary, West Philly Grown, that shares the story behind the farm.
The content for the documentary was collected by filmmaker Clay

When will global warming really become a political issue? Maybe when weather disasters leave politicians scrambling? That’s the gist behind this Atlantic post from Alexis Madrigal: What you need to know is that your city — pretty much wherever it is — was built for a climate that it may no longer have. That’s going

Image courtesy Ed Ou/The New York Times The world of renewable energy—solar panels, especially—is often accompanied by a certain amount of grandeur. Gleaming rooftop arrays appear on immaculate buildings of influential companies in the hearts of bustling cities. Or, as you’ll see in our upcoming February issue, on top of an elementary school that has

Image via eater.com
A new year often brings new things—a new workout routine, new career aspirations, a new home, you name it.
One of the best things about new beginnings is a new set of trends, especially food trends. While a forecast of what will be attention-grabbing, cult-inducing and downright delicious in the coming year is naturally

Please welcome Dana Henry, longtime Grid contributor, to The Griddle. We’re excited to have Dana on board; she’ll be filing bi-weekly posts. A building is not an island, and LEED ratings might soon be updated to reflect that fact. According to the Center for Neighborhood technologies, an urban sustainability think tank hired by the U.S.

West Philly: "Surprisingly Safe"Feel like getting your blood pumping this morning? Then go check out Philadelphia Magazine's recent story entitled: "Is West Philly the Next Center City." (What? Was "West Philly, the Cure for the Common Neighborhood" taken?)
There's obviously a great story to be written about development in West Philly, and the role of Drexel

More year-in-review goodness from PlanPhilly. They’ve put together a video compilation of the year in local development. The site had a big year; here are just a few of the things they covered: There was the interactive, multi-media, five-part project chronicling blight in Philadelphia and development by the APM community development corporation in Eastern North

Grist has a crowd-sourced list of the year’s best food books. The big winners? Paul Greenberg’s Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food and Jan Poppendick’s Free for All: Fixing School Food in America.  The list also mentions one of my personal favorites, The Town That Food Saved. Here’s what I had to say in