City in the Rain by artsyexistence

Read the response to the last question in PlanPhilly’s exit interview with Mark Alan Hughes for some optimistic words on sustainability and Philadelphia.

Urban acupuncture: Less painful than it looks!

Philadelphia’s own Alan Greenberger will be deliver the keynote address at the Association for Community Design conference in Rochester, NY this week. The theme of ACD’s conference is Shrinking Cities, Growing Communities. Greenberger, executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and past president of the Design Advocacy Group, will speak on planning for the post-industrial city. He’ll talk about making connections between neighborhoods, fallow industrial land, natural resources, and current and future economic drivers to support the growth and success of cities in a very competitive world.  ACD’s organizers say Alan may also discuss “urban acupuncture”– a concept to describe how energy flows in cities and how, when it’s blocked, both citizens and government must step in to unblock it.

The Collaborative’s Executive Director, Beth Miller, will also be at the ACD conference as part of a panel discussion, Community Food Supply/Environmental Justice.

Frankford Friends School (FFS) reports that it  has hired the architecture firm DIGSAU to design a new middle school facility on its historic property in Frankford. This long-awaited expansion will unite the school’s sixth, seventh, and eight grade classrooms on the main campus, along with adding a music room and multipurpose space.

Frankford Friends School leaders engaged the Community Design Collaborative last year to help its Capital Campaign Committee determine the best course for expansion. Read Full Story