When cinephile and Germantown resident Stephanye R. Watts entered the world of independent cinema, she discovered a troubling pattern. “I started to notice there were no other Black people in the theater, unless they were like 60-plus,” Watts says. “Black millennials are on the internet, talking about wanting to see more Black films, and …
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In the nine years Julia Jackson lived in Manayunk, just a few streets from the Leverington Avenue bridge, she witnessed her fair share of flooding — and Venice Island residents using the bridge to evacuate from their homes during floods. When she saw that the paper mill site at the island’s northern tip had been
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A new climate resiliency plan is in development for Philadelphia, with a new focus: community vulnerability. The work is being funded by $600,000 the Office of Sustainability (OOS) received in March from the William Penn Foundation. The City’s resiliency plan outlines climate change’s impacts on Philadelphia and how the City will meet the challenges they
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When Grid was planning a home electrification guide for the January 2025 issue, the universe threw us a curveball. Donald Trump’s reelection as president of the United States cast doubt on the longevity of federal financial incentives for homeowners across the country to purchase solar panels, electric stoves, heat pump HVAC units and other climate-friendly
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Philadelphia climbed four spots in the Trust for Public Land’s latest ParkScore index, released today, May 21, rising in the rankings from 32 to 28 out of the country’s 100 most populous cities. The index scores city park systems in subcategories such as access, acreage, amenities, investment and equity. Two factors explain Philadelphia’s rise through
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Have you ever looked down into the depths of the Delaware River and thought, “It could be deeper”? The likely answer is no. Just last fall, however, The Port of Philadelphia released part of a 15-year plan to expand the port that includes dredging and deepening the Delaware River an additional five feet to a
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Amid a federal disinvestment in technical support for environmental justice communities, four community-based organizations (CBOs) in Philadelphia are advancing their work to address the local impacts of climate change. Partnered with Drexel University’s Environmental Collaboratory, Esperanza, Mantua Civic Association, Overbrook Environmental and Education Center (OEEC) and SEAMAAC have released the findings of thorough community outreach
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Imagine the dirtiest engine legal in the United States. It’s an engine responsible for an annual 30 million tons of carbon dioxide, 21,000 tons of fine particulates and 68,000 tons of nitrogen oxides nationwide that are harmful to human health and the environment, PennEnvironment reports. A heavy-duty truck or SUV may spring to mind, but
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Sustainable agriculture projects on 143 farms in the mid-Atlantic region have ground to a halt after a climate resiliency grant was paused by the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze. The Pennsylvania-based nonprofit Pasa is administering a $59 million United States Department of Agriculture grant to develop climate-smart practices and increase revenue streams to hundreds of
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Twelve million federal dollars granted to Philadelphia’s tree canopy expansion efforts are caught in the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze, officials said at a City Council hearing on Wednesday, March 5. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR) Commissioner Susan Slawson told Councilmember Jamie Gauthier that the department does not have access to the funds. PPR declined
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A nearly $14 million federal grant awarded to the Schuylkill River Development Corporation (SRDC) and Philadelphia Department of Streets is at risk after the Trump administration’s recent executive orders disrupted the flow of federal spending. An SRDC representative told Grid in an email that it is waiting to see whether the administration will pay for
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