Anti-gentrification activists including Protect Squirrel Hill and West Philly United Neighbors are celebrating a victory in the zoning process for a proposed 76-unit apartment building at 48th and Chester, in the Cedar Park neighborhood. The land is currently zoned for duplexes, so the apartment building requires special approval by the City’s Zoning Board of Adjustment
More
The Clean Air Council’s Feet First Philly program is encouraging Philadelphians to demand better sidewalks. According to the Clean Air Council, more than 230 miles of Philly sidewalks are in poor or very poor condition. Broken sidewalks make travel particularly difficult — impossible even — for people in wheelchairs or with other mobility impairments, often
More
The Olney Culture Lab is bringing back its Revival Walk series in Tacony Creek Park this summer. The walks, created by dance artist and activist Lela Aisha Jones as a healing outlet during the pandemic, will be hosted by storyteller Mama Carla Wiley and special guest artists, including poets, drummers, dancers, and storytellers. According to
More
The Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership (TTF) has launched a master planning process for North Philadelphia’s Tacony Creek Park. The 300-acre park, one of Philadelphia’s five watershed parks, directly serves the Olney, Lawncrest, Feltonville, Juniata Park, and Frankford neighborhoods. The last master plan, dating back to 1997, focused on the park’s ecological assets. The current process will
More
Philadelphia City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson will introduce legislation on May 12 intended to close some of the loopholes that plague Philadelphia’s tree protections. “As Chair of City Council’s Committee on the Environment, I know trees and green spaces are not amenities, but necessities that improve the health and quality of life of our residents,”
More
Philly Tech Sistas will be hosting a networking brunch on Friday, May 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to help women of color break through into leadership roles in the tech industry. Women face barriers to employment in the technology sector at every level, and women of color even more so. Philly Tech Sistas
More
YouthBuild Charter School has announced that it will relocate to what is planned to be a stellar example of green building. The school will invest $15 million to renovate a former PECO building at 2309 N. Broad Street, with plans to move in July 2024. The new building, designed by Atkins Olshin Schade Architects (AOS),
More
The numbers bear it out: Philadelphia’s parks are severely underfunded. The Trust for Public Land has released its annual ParkScore Index, and Philadelphia has slipped in the rankings to 32 out of the country’s 100 most populous cities, down from 19 in 2021. The index scores city park systems in subcategories such as access, acreage,
More
Want to get involved with advocacy around the Cobbs Creek Golf Course development? Two opportunities are coming up this month: First, the Cobbs Creek Foundation, which is the nonprofit developing the golf courses, is holding a town hall Zoom meeting on May 18 at 7 p.m..: The Cobbs Creek Foundation (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization), would
More
As a publication committed to a healthy, sustainable, and just city, I am extremely disappointed in Grid’s April coverage calling for the resignation of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell. Like many Philadelphians, I expect Grid to do tough, but fair, reporting on environmental issues and public works projects. However, your recent op-ed
More