Mobile Workshop
MW23-Philadelphia Center City Bikeways
$65
Explore several different kinds of bicycle facilities in Center City Philadelphia and hear the stories of how they came to be, including collaboration with community groups, businesses, elected officials and other agencies. The approximately 8-mile route includes bike lanes, protected bike lanes, curb protected bike lanes, the Delaware River Trail, a road diet and the dramatic Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk – a 2,000 foot long, 15 feet wide multi-use structure running parallel to the eastern shore of the river. Ride back into the street grid to separated bike lanes on Market Street. Then circle the famous Philadelphia Art Museum steps – pump your fists – and ride in glory down the Ben Franklin Parkway. See how the city is making safety improvements as it expands and connects the cycling network.
Photo credit: City of Philadelphia
Mobile Workshop
MW24-Infill TOD and Redevelopment in Fishtown
$45
Fishtown, a neighborhood along the Delaware River just north of Center City, is one of Philadelphia’s hottest and most transformed rowhome neighborhoods. A “riverward,” its origins date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when working-class communities sprung up in response to maritime commerce and the Industrial Revolution. Today, the story is transit-oriented development (TOD) and a trendy commercial retail and restaurant scene. But, in Fishtown, parcels are small, measured in square feet, not acres, or found in the adaptive reuse of formerly industrial or institutional buildings. Learn how new infill and redevelopment projects are designed and funded for small footprints. Walk the neighborhood and hear from developers, funders and community members about design and finance as well as how working together helps new development reflect community character while being clearly modern.
Economic Development, 2024 Conference, Community Development, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Mobile Workshop
MW25-Community Gardens as Community Assets
$45
Scattered across Philadelphia, community gardens provide fresh food and flowers for residents of every background. But not only that: often started by community members on vacant parcels, the gardens provide social, environmental and economic benefits. They are places for seniors to sit, a way to preserve cultural foodways, an opportunity to teach younger generations how to grow food. Imagine the blow to a community if a garden suddenly shuts down due to development. Tour gardens in South Philadelphia as you learn about the Neighborhood Gardens Trust and details of the movement to preserve these spaces, from innovative legal processes to unique partnerships to the arrangements with community stewards. Land assembly for garden preservation can be complicated. Take home a greater understanding of the various paths toward a successful preservation story – and why it matters.
Photo: Overhead view of community garden. Credit: Natalie Kolb Commonwealth Media Services
Mobile Workshop
MW26-South Philly’s Iconic Commercial Corridors
$45
South 9th Street and East Passyunk Avenue are iconic Philadelphia neighborhood commercial corridors. 9th is home to the Italian Market, one of America’s oldest and largest open-air markets, featuring businesses that have been in families for generations and new immigrant-owned shops. East Passyunk crosses 9th diagonally at “Cheesesteak Vegas,” with Gino’s Steaks on one triangular corner and Pat’s King of Steaks on the other. Passyunk is famed for its eclectic mix of small businesses, including more than 50 women-owned storefronts. What keeps these corridors vital? Take a walk down each and hear about strategies both conventional and innovative, from marketing, events and street cleaning to nonprofit ownership of commercial properties, tenant curation, public space enhancements, commercial façade programs and intersection safety improvements. Talk about an eclectic mix – get all the details!
Note: This workshop is not ADA accessible.
Photo: Italian Market. Credit: Visit Philadelphia
Businesses, Community Ownership, 2024 Conference, Community Development.
Mobile Workshop
MW27-Two Tales, One Road: Lessons from a Road Diet
$45
There’s a road diet on the eastern half of Washington Avenue but not on the western half. Washington Avenue is a 5-lane arterial in South Philadelphia that touches Black, Vietnamese, Mexican and Italian communities along its route. It’s a quickly changing corridor with multiple large development projects. Take the bus to Washington Avenue and walk with local advocates and planners. Hear how Philadelphia politics and gentrification fears greatly impacted a roadway safety project a decade in the making. Discuss lessons learned from the road diet’s protracted planning and engagement process as well as early indications about the two road treatments’ outcomes for safety, multimodal access and local business activity. Take a break at Center City Pretzel Company for some soft Philly Pretzels fresh off the oven and time to contemplate how this tale of two road segments might play in your city. Ride back on the Broad Street subway, aka the B.
Photo: Four views of Washington Avenue. Credit: Will Tung.
