A rainwater collection system at Springside School | Image via blog.cdesignc.org Rain gardens, green roofs, porous pavement—these are some of the techniques being used to green Philadelphia’s stormwater system. But can these tools also help revitalize the urban communities in which they’re installed? That’s what the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
MoreThe new YIKES storefront in Fishtown. | Image by Danni SinisiOn a corner of Girard Avenue in Fishtown sits a new milestone in green design and construction. The building—once a tavern before becoming vacant—is now the first LEED Platinum mixed-use rehab project in Pennsylvania. Platinum is the highest level for the LEED (Leadership in Energy
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Last Friday, 59 metered parking spaces got a temporary makeover in celebration of Park(ing) Day 2012. Park(ing) Day is a worldwide event to enhance public awareness of the need for more green spaces in our urban environments. Last year, Philadelphia had 30 parks. This year (the fifth for the city), there was a record-high 59
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story by Shaun Brady | photos from The Barnes
While the Barnes Foundation is best known for its priceless art collection—which now resides in a new $150-million building on the Ben Franklin Parkway—its founding mission extended beyond the man-made wonders hanging on the walls to the natural beauty outside of them. The
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story by Kristen Dowd
Walls made from plastic bottles. Rainwater recycled to flush toilets. Electricity generated from the sun. Green building is on the rise across the nation, and institutions in the Philadelphia region are prime examples. While only some have official Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, all have
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Janet Milkman, Executive Director for the Delaware Valley Green Building Council
Mayor Michael Nutter has pledged to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America. His administration, led by the Office of Sustainability, is on its way to meeting this goal through its Greenworks Philadelphia plan. In the meantime, our entire region will
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story by Samantha Wittchen
When Greenbuild, the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual conference and expo, comes to Philadelphia in 2013, it will attract more than 30,000 sustainably-minded folks to the region, all of whom will need a place to stay. But for Greenbuild attendees, a clean room and comfy bed won’t be
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story byLiz Pacheco | photo by Albert LeeLast March, Roger Lewis was laid off from his job at Hostess Brands. An electrician by trade, Lewis had worked in food industry manufacturing facilities for the past eight years. His recent job was as an industrial mechanic. “That’s basically making sure the building is running properly,
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While useful, the typical blue rain barrel isn’t exactly beautiful. So, when the Philadelphia Water Department donated five barrels to the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District this past April, the Mt. Airy Art Garage, a community art nonprofit, volunteered their creativity. Neighborhood artists were recruited and soon word spread, attracting more local artists—adults and kids—to
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Steps away from the Temple University Train Station is another example of how green building can be affordable. Paseo Verde, or “green way,” is a new, sustainable mixed-use rental housing development spearheaded by the Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) and Jonathan Rose Companies. APM has already built eco-friendly, single-family homes
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