Lower Italian Market Revitalization Plan
Philadelphia, PA
Interface Studio, in collaboration with an economic consulting firm, was hired to create a strategy to revitalize two blocks of retail along South 9th Street – Philadelphia’s Italian Market corridor. The Lower Italian Market has long been vacant, with a depressed market and limited activity. Over the past year, however, an influx of Hispanic families, Asian business owners and hipsters have settled in and around the Lower Italian Market stirring new debate about the street’s future. The plan’s objective was to bring new and long-time residents together to talk about their vision for the corridor in the context of market realities. The resulting plan identified new development opportunities and outlined strategies to reinvent the image of this forgotten stretch of the Market, manage parking, improve and expand local open space, and calm traffic to make room for bikes and pedestrians.
The Lower Italian Market Revitalization Plan was awarded the 2009 National Planning Excellence Award for a Grassroots Initiative by the American Planning Association (APA). Here’s hoping that the corridor — the two blocks of South 9th Street between Washington Avenue and the infamous cheesesteak dueling grounds — will, in turn, receive the attention it deserves, the TLC it requires, and the funding and support necessary to implement the plan.
Client: Passyunk Square Civic Association
Project Team: Econsult Corporation
