Greening Plan for the South Philadelphia Target Area
Philadelphia, PA
Funded through the William Penn Foundation, Interface Studio and CityPlay were hired by Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green Program and Universal Companies to develop a comprehensive vision and strategy for open space within a large portion of South Philadelphia. Bridging many distinct neighborhoods, the study area is faced with many challenges including increasing market pressure, strains on existing infrastructure, strong physical boundaries, vacant and underutilized land, poor play space for schools, limited park space and street trees and, underutilized existing parks that are physically removed from the surrounding context.
Interface Studio developed a series of recommendations to improve local greening efforts that ranged from cost-effective improvements for homeowners to larger initiatives that concentrated greening investment to have a measurable and visible impact. This included guidelines for streetscape plantings and improvements as well as detailed design approaches for five ‘focal areas’ that were determined through a comprehensive analysis of the area. Each of the focal areas identified realistic short-term and long-term solutions that would dramatically alter the environmental quality of the study area. Proposals included an effort to manage storm-water around highways and rail corridors, a creative use of paint to develop a visual language for key corridors, increased information and outreach to assist community groups in greening efforts and, an environmental center that will serve as a city-wide greening resource for education and outreach.
Client: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green Program / Universal Companies
Project Team: CityPlay, Inc.
