Mariposa Co-op: Bust a Move

Mariposa Co-op grew out of buying clubs that flourished in the 1970s. In the early ’80s, several groups merged, opening a storefront at 4726 Baltimore Avenue. The co-op has come a long way since then: currently 1,000 members strong, Mariposa has outgrown its original space.

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1 min read

Recipes: Seeing Green

January is the month for fresh starts. Some people decide to lose weight, others to quit smoking or recycle more. In my house, we’ve decided to be diligent about eating our greens. Thankfully, this doesn’t have to be a chore.

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3 mins read

Featured Article: Water Pressure

In Philadelphia, there is nothing as cleansing as a good rain. In the moments after a storm, the city feels renewed: trees drip, skies clear and birds reemerge. Dirt, soot and trash have been swiftly swept away. The concrete and pavement feel, if not exactly new, at least a little fresher.

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8 mins read

Onion Flats: Rising Waters

“My passion is water,” says builder and master plumber Pat McDonald. “I can live without the lights being on.” McDonald is co-founder (with his brother Tim) of Onion Flats, a sustainable development company based in Kensington that is revolutionizing the relationship between structures and stormwater in Philadelphia.

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4 mins read

Urban Naturalist: Deer Diary

I once enjoyed the deer of Woodlands Cemetery. I would jog around a mausoleum and they’d go bounding away. Often they wouldn’t flee, eerily tolerant of the human stumbling (you never feel clumsier than when you’re comparing yourself to deer) only a few yards away. They were a delight to watch, but it couldn’t last.

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2 mins read

Along for the Ride: Cities for Cycling

"Race that train!” yelled Alex Doty. A familiar site was before us: a CSX train slowly lurching towards the Locust Street crossing to Schuylkill Banks Park. Charles Carmalt, Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator for the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU), was already halfway across the tracks.

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2 mins read

Guest Column: The Giving Trees

Have you ever locked your bike to a tree? Did you know that every time you do this, you damage that tree? The tree’s bark serves as a layer of protection, just as your skin protects you. When you scrape off bark with a chain or lock, the tree becomes more susceptible to disease. It

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1 min read

Interview: One-on-One with Michelangelo Pistoletto

This interview was conceived as a back-and-forth, but give an Italian intellectual open-ended questions and you’ll get expansive—and fascinating—open-ended answers. A retrospective of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s thoughtful, dynamic work (From One to Many: 1956-1974) opened in November at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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3 mins read

Dispatch: Paper Heart

How can two people and two cats make so much garbage? My husband used to ask this question almost every time he took out the trash. I had pondered it myself ever since we started living together. There was only so much we could blame on the cats. Among the many things Glenn and I

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2 mins read
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