Thanks to everyone who helped out and stopped by our  “sustainable backyard” on PARK(ing) Day.  We had a great time talking with curious people, meeting PARK(ing) Day participants and fans, looking up at the clouds from the hammock, hanging out laundry, and taking our lunch break in this improvised plant-filled backyard in front of the Center for Architecture on 1218 Arch Street.

The Collaborative’s  Park(ing)Day  installation used repurposed materials (salvaged wood, Interface carpet samples,  and used  construction buckets) along with native plants, a hammock and a clothesline and sparked discussions about how to make the most of  an urban open space.  We also gave away recycling containers to Philly residents and a handed out flyers with strategies and resources for promoting sustainability in your own backyard.

A special thanks goes to volunteers Karena Thurston and Nissa Grant, who worked with Emily Stromberg to plan and design the project.  Karena also helped assemble the yard and loaned us over twenty plants from her own backyard for the day. Read Full Story

The Collaborative's "Park-a-Lounger" from Park(ing) Day 2008.

Hang out in the Collaborative’s “backyard” on PARK(ing) Day and get some ideas on how you can embrace sustainability- even in your tiny city backyard!  If you can’t wait, here’s the list of resources we’ll be sharing at PARK(ing) day on Friday, September 18 at 1216 Arch Street.

We encourage everyone to come by and check it out, along with the many other exhibitions around the city. Find all the locations here on google maps. Our installation will be an example of a sustainable backyard with native plants, recycling stations, and salvaged materials, not to mention the hammock.

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Last Friday was the culmination of a home-building project that has taken five years. Three families from West Philadelphia receive the keys to their new LEED-certified houses, built by Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia. The Wright, Wanamaker and Seawright families each dedicated 350 hours of sweat equity to building their homes.

These homes are part of a seven-unit affordable housing development designed to have low energy costs. In 2005 The firm of WRT and the Energy Coordinating Agency donated pro bono design services worth over $21,000 to perform a feasibility study for the project and develop a sustainable design that would be consistent with the fabric of the surrounding neighborhood. The Collaborative is proud to have contributed to the design of this groundbreaking project.

Take a look at a slideshow

On September 17th, the Urban Sustainability Forum will turn its focus to issues of vacant land in Philadelphia.  The forum, entitled No Vacancy: Re-imagining Vacant Land in Philadelphia, will look at vacant land as an environmental and economic issue and explore ways to rejuvenate abandoned spaces.  Panelists will address potential reuses for empty space, tensions between temporary and permanent use, and best practices.

Beth Miller, the Collaborative’s executive director, will be moderating a panel of experts  that includes Terry Gillen, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and Dan Kildee, Treasurer of Genesee County, Michigan. Kildee was instrumental in creating the Genesee County Land Bank in Flint, Michigan, which has encouraged the reuse of abandoned properties and played an important role in the revitalization of the city.

Mark your calendars for September 17 at 6 p.m. at the Academy of Natural Sciences, 19^th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

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

The Energy Coordinating Agency has received a 1.1 $ million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to renovate its warehouse in Kensington as a LEED Silver training center for green jobs. The grant will give a big boost to the $1.8 million project and Pennsylvania’s place in the emerging green economy.

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A green wall system will make Dickinson Square's community building more sustainable and welcoming.

Posted by Linda Dottor
The dedicated members of Friends of Dickinson Square  regularly pick up litter and tend the park’s 25 fledgling shade trees. But, in 2007, the group realized that it needed to take a longer view to be good stewards of this well-loved, well-worn public park in Pennsport. Friends of Dickinson Square sought help from the Collaborative to develop a conceptual master plan for future park improvements. Read Full Story