The 4^th Annual Ed Bacon Foundation Student Design Competition turned its focus to urban brownfields in 2009 with Brown to Green, challenging participants to create designs for transforming the Grays Ferry Crescent at the elbow of the Schuykill River in South Philadelphia, opposite UPenn’s campus.  The winning submission, by a team of six Cornell University students, would turn the area into a new sustainable neighborhood.

The submission incorporates green design and planning to create a vibrant mixed-use community. Apartments  along the river provide residents with walking distance access to public amenities, like stores, and work in new office buildings and green jobs. A green promenade connects neighborhoods to the water and a waterfront park opens the river to the public and filters stormwater, while a learning center would teach people about brownfield clean-up and the Crescent’s industrial past.

To find out more about the winning submission, go to PlanPhilly.