Featured Articles
Lewiston Wins $30 Million Choice Neighborhood Grant!
We received the FANTASTIC news today that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant to fund the Growing Our Tree Streets Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan in Downtown Lewiston. We couldn’t be more excited for the Tree Streets community, the City of Lewiston, Healthy Neighborhoods and all the project partners. Congrats to everyone involved!!
Read Article
Great turnout in Downtown Atlanta!
Nearly 500 folks came through to view the plan and add their 2 cents. Participants dove in to the planning process, adding comments to a sprawling map of the area, leaving comments on pictures of other cities, taking surveys about transportation and amenities they would like to see in the neighborhood, and even designing their ideal street.
Read ArticleEnvironmental foundation to guide Eastwick's plan
It’s easier to understand Eastwick’s flooding problem when you look at an old map and realize that most of the neighborhood was part of the Tinicum Marsh. By 1900, the marsh encompassed 5,700 acres covering not only what the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge protects but also where most of the Philadelphia International Airport and the Philadelphia Refining Complex stand today. As the city started developing, the wetlands started getting filled and dredged. And by 2000, the marsh was just 200 acres.
Read Article
Interface Studio kicks off the Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy
"After decades of dealing with the impacts of what was called the largest urban renewal project in the country, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority launched a new planning and feasibility study to decide the future of Lower Eastwick’s 190 acres of publicly owned land." We couldn't be more thrilled to be part of the next chapter for Eastwick!
Read Article
Downtown Atlanta Master Plan wants to hear from YOU
"Ultimately, the Master Plan, when finished, will be “the primary vision-setting and policy-directing strategy to lead the ongoing evolution of Downtown Atlanta for the next fifteen years,” according to Central Atlanta Progress. [...] that sounds pretty important." Check out the article for a link to the survey, and visit www.plandowntownatl.com for details on other ways to get involved!
Read ArticleKnight Cities Challenge Finalists
Congratulations to the Knight Cities Challenge finalists! We're proud to be among this passionate and innovative bunch of folks and hope we get the chance to roll up our sleeves and implement.
Read ArticleMacon gets some love
Next City gives Macon a little love for their excellent work in creating the world's first pop-up bike network. As stated in the article: "Macon, Georgia, population 150,000, was able to increase cyclist counts nearly tenfold during a one-week pop-up bike network, which at 8 miles, may have been...
Read Article
GR Forward Day!
Grand Rapids celebrates the one year anniversary of the adoption of GR Forward.
Read Article
Reimagining the Civic Commons
The strength and vibrancy of cities has always taken root in the public assets we share collectively as citizens. To build social capital, encourage civic engagement, and prosper, cities need common ground, spaces where citizens of all backgrounds can mix. Yet in the past century, support for public assets – our libraries, parks, recreation centers, pools, and schools - has declined. Assets and organizations that once defined our shared experience as citizens have, in many cases, suffered from decades of disinvestment and decline, decreasing our sense of trust, empathy, and connection to our neighbors, a trend that has come to epitomize our era. Reimagining the Civic Commons is a national effort initiative to demonstrate how public assets can once again drive prosperous, equitable, and connected communities. Working in Akron, Chicago, Detroit, and Memphis over the next three years, our charge is to help each community measure the social, economic, cultural, and environmental impact of their work. Building from our recent work on Philadelphia’s Rebuild initiative, we look forward to being partners in the work of the Civic Commons, developing new tools and methods for understanding the dynamics of public space, and discovering new ways of unlocking the potential of our common ground to revitalize communities. Reimagining the Civic Commons is made possible by the generous support of the JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and local funders.
Read Article
Chinatown: more than just a tourist destination
Philadelphia’s Chinatown is a unique ecosystem that encompasses immigrants, small businesses and manufacturers, institutions, visitors, and a growing creative class. Known to outsiders mainly as a place for food and commerce, Chinatown is also a residential neighborhood and remains a vital hub of community and services for immigrants who have dispersed to other parts of the city – a home away from home.
Read ArticleRebuild receives $100m grant towards implementation
The William Penn Foundation announced today that it would be giving its largest grant ever (!) to help implement Rebuild - Philadelphia's proposed $500m investment in its community infrastructure. Interface Studio led the team to help shape the program, and we're over the moon about its potential impact on our City.
Read Article