Four U.S. Cities Join Philadelphia in Funded Sustainability Plan Akron, Chicago, Detroit and Memphis received $40 million in September to fund Reimagining the Civic Commons, an environmental initiative piloted in Philadelphia to demonstrate the positive effects of investment in public spaces. The pilot program, Civic Commons Collective, began in 2014 with an initial $11 million
MorePhoto by Margo Reed A Tale of Two Rivers by Matt Bevilacqua When Alan Robinson saw the turtle, he knew things had changed. It was 1990, and Robinson had recently taken up race walking after turning 40. He was practicing for the Schuylkill River Loop, a popular 8.4-mile race that takes participants from Boathouse Row,
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North Philadelphia North Philadelphia’s Peace Park is RebuildingPeace Park—a garden and education space in the Sharswood neighborhood of North Philadelphia—began rebuilding June 15 on land donated by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Lowe’s Home Improvement has provided funding, and PennDesign students donated labor. Habitat for Humanity will serve as a main partner and also support a
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A rendering of the Schuylkill Banks Parks on Tap location Parks on Tap Who would have thought that when the city loosened its liquor regulations in 2012, it would promote family friendly parties and some much-needed revenue for the parks system? Over a dozen parks this year will raise money for Parks and Recreation and
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Blazing a Trail The nooks and crannies of Fairmount Park will soon be documented in the same detail as the Street View tab on Google Maps. The tech giant has lent the city one of its Street View Trekker backpacks, a 50-pound, 15-lens camera system that looks like a robotic lollipop and will take a
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Story and Photos by Bradley MauleWilliam Allen wielded a lot of influence in colonial Pennsylvania—he was a merchant who built upon his father’s fortune, he helped finance the construction of Independence Hall, and he was a one-term Philadelphia mayor and a longtime chief justice of the Province of Pennsylvania. Mount Airy, his nine-acre estate, gave
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The Wissahickon Gorge of Wissahickon Creek Park is great for hiking, biking, and fishing. | Photo Credit: Friends of Wissahickon (http://www.fow.org/)Summer weather and extra daylight mean one thing: time to get outside. And what better place to do it than our own Schuylkill River! While perhaps best known for their bike and running paths, the
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My wife, Jen, adores Canada geese. She especially loves the fluffy goslings that graze alongside their parents throughout grassy Philadelphia, but she waves to the adults, too. Jen might be the only Philadelphian I’ve met who likes the geese, and, like anyone whose spouse holds a dangerously contrarian position, I am bound to publicly agree
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Fairmount Park cuts down trees to make way for meadowby Cassie CumminsUsually when you hear about someone cutting down trees, it’s a bad thing. Not in this case: Fairmount Park’s Houston Meadow Reclamation and Management Plan is using the systematic removal of trees to restore a valued ecosystem, and return breeding birds to a beloved
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