Preliminary design was recognized as a cost-effective, powerful tool for community development at last week’s Reinventing Older Communities, a national conference organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. As part of a conversation on the future of the community development industry that culminated the conference, John Bendel, Director of Community Investment at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, emphasized the need for strategic investments and the importance of funding predevelopment and feasibility studies. “A small amount of money at the right time goes a long way,”said Bendel.

One of the takeaway messages from Reinventing Older Communities was that a different brand of community development will emerge from the current economic downturn. Shrinking credit, falling house values and increasing foreclosures have made community development more challenging than ever, especially in older, urban communities.   But the policymakers, community development specialists, researchers, and investors presenting at the conference (including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke) put the spotlight on emerging ideas, strategies, and initiatives for reinventing and rebuilding communities, like green jobs, sustainable development, and new financing models for housing and business development that share wealth more equitably.

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People call it “the Miracle on Seventh Street.” Between a brownstone church, a superblock apartment house, and a scattering of rowhomes, two North Philadelphia pastors built a 56-unit  green-roofed, 55,000 square-foot “cyber village” that offers low and moderate-income seniors an affordable and engaging place to live.

Rev. Martha Lang and Rev Mary Lou Moore, pastors of Mt. Tabor AME Church and leaders of Mt. Tabor Community Education and Economic Development Corporation, were the driving force behind the creation of the Cyber Village.

Rev. Mary Lou Moore, PhD, and Rev. Martha Lang

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The Roll-Out House

Deborah Gans is Principal of Deborah Gans Studio and a professor at Pratt Institute and Yale University.  She’s best known for her “extreme housing”, design prototypes for people displaced by homelessness, natural disaster, or war.  Gans Studio’s Roll-Out House was recently featured in Into the Open, the 2008 Venice Biennale exhibition that explores the ways architects are collaborating to foster civic engagement and build better communities.

When Into the Open came to Philadelphia this summer, the Collaborative spoke with Gans about her work, building a practice, and her role in planning the exhibition. Read Full Story

Forget the dog days of summer with a celebration of edible education, architects in conversation, a sustainability tour, and a one-day community workshop exploring the creative opportunities of urban revitalization.

The Into the Open exhibition highlights architects who are working collaboratively to invigorate community activism and environmental policy. The National Constitution Center, in partnership with Slought Foundation, invites you to take part in a series of public programs during August. These engaging, thought-provoking activities will take place at the National Constitution Center and non-traditional urban settings, with public programming partner the Community Design Collaborative

A sunny outlook on North Seventh Street.

Affordable housing doesn’t have to be boring! Mt. Tabor Cyber Village Senior Housing in East Poplar has a colorful contemporary design that looks a lot like neighboring NoLibs. This affordable apartment complex offers its senior residents multiple ways to stay connected: a cyber café, garden, green roof, and fitness center.  Join us on Thursday, July 16 at 6 p.m. for a tour of Mt. Tabor Cyber Village, followed by drinks at The Swift Half, Piazza at Schmidts.  Read Full Story

Not your grandmother's senior housing: Mt. Tabor Cyber Village gets its groove on with a mix of materials and colors.

Posted by Linda Dottor
Mt. Tabor Cyber Village Senior Housing opened its doors with a jubilant ribbon cutting celebration on January 10. The affordable, 56-unit apartment complex just below NoLibs is a refreshing break from the ordinary, due in part to early design assistance from the Collaborative.

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Posted by Haley Loram
Another one of our projects that has forward momentum is volunteer firm Interface Studio Architects’ 20-unit sustainable housing development for the Associacion de Puertorriquenos en Marcha. ISA did the conceptual design for this project through the Affordable Infill Housing Design Challenge in 2005.  Sheridan Street Housing  broke ground on September 10th, 2008.

Beth Miller, Brian Phillips and May Narintorn of ISA, Beverly Coleman of NeighborhoodsNow, and Heidi Segall Levy get together at the September 10th, 2008 groundbreaking.