Interface Studio

    Bridging Southwest Philadelphia Open Space Opportunities
    Philadelphia, PA

    Due to a declining population, the landscape of Southwest Philadelphia is dotted with vacant lots and abandoned buildings and contains a disproportionate amount of transportation infrastructure serving the airport and local industry. It is within in this context that one finds some of the city’s most valuable natural and recreational assets including Bartram’s Garden, the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge, Cobbs Creek, and the Schuylkill River waterfront; as well as a number of institutional and community recreation facilities and public open spaces. Most of these amenities are entirely unknown to residents living elsewhere in Philadelphia and are, in many cases, fairly isolated from adjacent neighborhoods within the Southwest.

    With funding provided by the William Penn Foundation, the Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green program launched an open space planning initiative in Southwest Philadelphia to supplement GreenPlan, its city-wide open space plan.

    The preliminary data gathering for the project included a comprehensive windshield survey of land use, vacancy and open space for the 30,000+ parcels in the study area. In order to more fully capture the diversity of open spaces and potential for transformation of a variety of prevalent “slack spaces,” our definition of “open space” cast a broad net, but also very specifically identified each instance of fourteen classifications of unbuilt space in addition to vacant land. This empirical data, in combination with a comprehensive mapping of existing public realm initiatives, proposals, plans, and site-specific visions in Southwest Philadelphia and adjacent neighborhoods, provided the groundwork for exploring a coordination of resources to maximize the potential of open space opportunities. Strategies to supplement existing efforts by PHS and other community organizations were proposed for several intervention areas, including vacant land management, tree planting, neighborhood connectivity, recreation path networks, and recreational open space.

    Client: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green Program

    Project Team: CityPlay, Inc.

    Southwest Philadelphia's open space assets are a surprise to many. Scenes of the gritty approach to Bartram's Garden (left) and the wonderful amenities discovered there (right).
    Southwest Philadelphia's open space assets are a surprise to many. Scenes of the gritty approach to Bartram's Garden (left) and the wonderful amenities discovered there (right).
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    The survey of over 30,000 parcels revealed hard edges between the neighborhood fabric and industrial/utility areas
    The survey of over 30,000 parcels revealed hard edges between the neighborhood fabric and industrial/utility areas
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    Interface established a classification of open space to account for the variety of unbuilt space in Southwest Philadelphia
    Interface established a classification of open space to account for the variety of unbuilt space in Southwest Philadelphia
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    The survey data provided the basis for identifying recreational open space opportunities best suited to meet community needs
    The survey data provided the basis for identifying recreational open space opportunities best suited to meet community needs
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    The study recommended long-term advocacy to implement several proposed trail connections, resulting in a connected local and regional network
    The study recommended long-term advocacy to implement several proposed trail connections, resulting in a connected local and regional network
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    A path connecting the Schuylkill River to Cobbs creek would not only join existing and proposed paths along each bank, it could also unify Mount Moriah Cemetery and Bartram's Garden, linking to other neighborhood assets along the way and re-unifying a neighborhood fabric currently fragmented by transportation infrastructure.
    A path connecting the Schuylkill River to Cobbs creek would not only join existing and proposed paths along each bank, it could also unify Mount Moriah Cemetery and Bartram's Garden, linking to other neighborhood assets along the way and re-unifying a neighborhood fabric currently fragmented by transportation infrastructure.
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    Vacant land is managed by various groups using various surface treatments in Southwest Philadelphia. The ultimate goal is to have more lots designed, maintained, and used by the community.
    Vacant land is managed by various groups using various surface treatments in Southwest Philadelphia. The ultimate goal is to have more lots designed, maintained, and used by the community.
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    Building on the Philadelphia Horticultural Society's "Signature Lot" concept, a number of lotscaping elements were proposed that vary in duration
    Building on the Philadelphia Horticultural Society's "Signature Lot" concept, a number of lotscaping elements were proposed that vary in duration
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    Strategic locations for the enhanced stabilization of vacant land were identified. This proposed location would create an improved gateway between Kingsessing and Batram's Garden and could also help planning efforts to establish other trails along the Schuylkill.
    Strategic locations for the enhanced stabilization of vacant land were identified. This proposed location would create an improved gateway between Kingsessing and Batram's Garden and could also help planning efforts to establish other trails along the Schuylkill.
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    GreenPlan aims to plant about 50,000 street trees per year through 2028. Undeveloped land in Eastwick adjacent to the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge could become a site for a large tree farm, supplying locally-sourced street trees for tree planting initiatives in Southwest Philadelphia and across the city.
    GreenPlan aims to plant about 50,000 street trees per year through 2028. Undeveloped land in Eastwick adjacent to the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge could become a site for a large tree farm, supplying locally-sourced street trees for tree planting initiatives in Southwest Philadelphia and across the city.
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