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Green2015

Advisory Group Conveners and Participating Organizations

Michael DiBerardinis, Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner, co-convener Alan Greenberger, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, co-convener Amtrak Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future Delaware River Waterfront Corporation Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Fairmount Park Conservancy Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust Friends of the Wissahickon Greenspace Alliance Natural Land Trust Neighborhood Gardens Association Next Great City Coalition Office of City Councilman Darrell Clarke Office of Councilwoman Anna Verna Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Pennsylvania Environmental Council Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations Philadelphia City Planning Commission Philadelphia Department of Commerce Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections Philadelphia Department of Public Health Philadelphia Department of Public Property Philadelphia Department of Revenue Philadelphia Housing Authority Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development Philadelphia Office of Sustainability Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Utilities Philadelphia Orchard Project Philadelphia Parks Alliance Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commission Philadelphia Water Department Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia School District of Philadelphia Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority United States Forest Service William Penn Foundation Green2015 An Action Plan for the First 500 Acres

by PennPraxis for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation supported by the William Penn and Lenfest Foundations

Green2015 1 table of contents

4 CHAPTER 1 74 CHAPTER 6 executive Summary tHe First 500 • We’re Well on Our Way 18 chapter 2 • Recreation Centers and Philadelphia Loves Its Parks Underused PPR Sites • The Benefits of Parks • Public Underused Land • What’s Your Park? • Schoolyards • The Time Is Right • Private Underused Land • Implementation Costs 28 chapter 3 tHe Goals of Green 2015 102 CHAPTER 7 • Greenworks Philadelphia Mandate: What We Can Do Today 500 Acres • Immediately Achievable Steps for • What Does 500 Acres Look Like? Philadelphia Parks and Recreation • Green2015 Process • Citizens: What You Can Do Today • Citizen Principles • Parks on the Near Horizon

36 CHAPTER 4 110 cHAPTER 8 Priorities for New Parks beyond 2015 • Fair and Equal Access to Parks • Connecting to Philadelphia2035 within Walking Distance • A Vision for the Future of • Stormwater Management in Philadelphia’s Green Network Our Neighborhoods • Looking Ahead • Environmental Benefits of Regional Significance 126 Appendices • Transportation and Land Use • A. Acknowledgements • Healthy Living • B. Interview List • Partners on the Ground • C. Additional Implementation • Site-Selection Criteria Matrix Research • D. Endnotes 54 CHAPTER 5 • E. Image Credits oPPortunity Sites • Recreation Centers and Underused PPR Sites • Public Underused Land • Schoolyards • Private Underused Land

2 letter from the director

PennPraxis is pleased to submit institutional partners has proved Philadelphia’s long tradition of an Green2015: An Action Plan for the the power of collective action. And interconnected system of parks First 500 Acres to the Philadelphia we’ve learned that we can create and green public spaces dates to Department of Parks and Recreation an equitably distributed network of its founding. Green2015 aspires to and the Philadelphia City Planning park spaces using funding sources build upon this legacy—creating Commission. that already exist to support other new types of parks that will help related policy objectives. us meet the challenges of our Over the past year, we have had the generation while connecting privilege of working in partnership This study was generously funded Philadelphians and their parks with with these city agencies, along by the William Penn Foundation the world beyond. with many other colleagues, to and the Lenfest Foundation. The help establish criteria to guide the Penn Project for Civic Engagement city in adding 500 acres of greened and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Harris Steinberg, FAIA public space by 2015. This goal was Society skillfully crafted a civic- Executive Director, PennPraxis put forth in the “Equity” section of engagement program for Green2015 Greenworks Philadelphia, the City that allowed Philadelphia citizens December 2010 of Philadelphia’s sustainability plan. to inform the plan. The Philadelphia One of its major aims is to provide Water Department was a valued park space to residents who don’t partner, lending both technical have a park within a half-mile walk expertise and professional insight of their homes. The target number into how to create green infrastruc- of 500 acres of greened public space ture. And a host of advisory group is considered the minimum amount members, experts, policy makers, that will advance the city’s objective advocates, and citizens contributed of becoming more fair, livable, and their knowledge, skills, and plans competitive. toward the effort. We are grateful for everyone’s contributions. Already, we are well underway in our efforts to achieve this Greenworks The benefits of green public space goal. are abundantly clear. Be it for social, economic, ecological, or Since the start of the Nutter public-health reasons, creating ac- Administration in 2008, many cessible, green public space adds people across the city have real value to the lives and welfare been creating parks. In fact, as of our citizens, our city, and our Green2015 demonstrates, a range region. Taken together, the impact of public, private, nonprofit, and of these benefits is exponential.

Green2015 3 executive summary

4 executive summary Chapter 1

Green2015 5 Creating Parks from Vacant and Underused Land

The goal of Green2015 is to unite city government and neighborhood residents to transform 500 acres of empty or underused land in Philadelphia into parks for neighbors to enjoy by 2015. As we all know, vacant lots hurt our communities. Transforming these empty spaces into parks and green places creates important new opportunities for kids to play and neighbors to gather.

Most of the land that can be greened is already publicly owned and therefore requires no money to acquire. The planning, implementation, and maintenance of these parks will be a collaborative effort among many partners, including neighbors, businesses, nonprofit organizations, developers, and the city.

In the past, greening has been a successful strategy for addressing every- thing from blight removal to water quality in Philadelphia. Green2015 shows how parks can again be used to improve our city and neighborhoods.

6 executive summary What’s Your Park?

What park do you visit regularly when you want to walk your dog, play with your child, or sit on a bench and watch the world go by? Chances are that your park plays many roles to help your neighborhood. In addition to their many recreational uses, parks help manage stormwater runoff, provide healthy habitats for local plant and animal species, remove greenhouse gases, and offer land to plant fresh food. But in Philadelphia today, over 200,000 residents can’t answer the question “What’s your park?” because they have no parks in their neighborhoods. Green2015 is necessary to ensure that every resident has fair and equal access to a park.

Green2015 will only succeed, however, if it creates parks that are clean, safe, and ready to use. The new Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation (PPR) has made “clean, safe, and ready to use” a priority and is committed to achieving these standards for existing and new park spaces. PPR is studying ways to manage costs, involve community members, and ensure long-term maintenance. Solutions will include new ways to generate maintenance revenue and new park designs that are easier to maintain. PPR will be working with community members every step of the way as new opportunities for city parks are identified. Priorities for New Parks

Greenworks Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter’s sustainability Improving Health Green space improves our overall plan, prioritizes new parks for neighborhoods that have little or no health, reduces health-care costs, access to parks or green space. There are currently more than improves air quality, and saves lives. The new green stormwater infrastruc- 200,000 Philadelphians, about 1 in 8 residents, who do not live ture created through Green City, Clean Waters, to which Green2015’s acreage New parks on within a 10-minute walk of a public green space. will contribute, will improve air quality formerly vacant land will transform neighborhoods, create jobs, help sufficiently to reduce the number of premature deaths in the city by reduce crime, and provide access to fresh food. Access to parks is an average of one to two annually, essential to the health of every community across the city. prevent about 20 asthma attacks per year, and reduce work loss or school absences by up to 250 days per year.3 Creating Access businesses, residents, and tourists.

About 202,000 Philadelphians do not As a result of the Philadelphia Water Protecting and live within walking distance of a park, Department’s Green City, Clean Waters Restoring Nature which represents about 12 percent program, which will utilize green Green space saves money by catching of the city’s total population. This is infrastructure around the city to better stormwater runoff and managing comparable to about 65 percent of manage stormwater, an average of flood waters, reduces deaths caused Pittsburgh’s total population. Leaving 250 people will be employed with by excessive heat, protects our drink- this many citizens without access to green jobs annually.1 ing water, saves energy, and helps park space is like leaving the entire reduce the impact of climate change. cities of Allentown and Erie com- Engaging Partners Implementing the Green City, Clean bined without access to parks. If you Many city agencies, nonprofit orga- Waters plan will produce a citywide added the populations of Harrisburg, nizations, and private companies, green stormwater infrastructure net- Lancaster, and Reading together, as well as thousands of citizens, are work, of which Green2015’s acreage you would still have fewer residents already helping to create new green are an important part. This will result than the number of Philadelphians spaces in Philadelphia. In 2007, the in up to 1.5 billion pounds of carbon who do not currently have access to extensive network of volunteer and dioxide emissions avoided or absorbed parks within walking distance of their friends groups in Philadelphia con- over the next 40 years, the equivalent of homes. tributed more than 229,000 hours removing close to 3,400 vehicles from of volunteer labor working on green Philadelphia’s roadways each year.4 Adding Jobs and space, valued at $8.6 million.2 This Economic Value collaboration of government, citizens, Parks add value to public investment, and the private sector makes it possible increase property values, and im- to give more Philadelphia residents prove the local economy by attracting the chance to enjoy parks.

8 executive summary WALKING DISTANCE TO PUBLIC GREEN SPACE

Half-Mile

Zero Existing Public Green Space

This map shows access to green space by determining a half-mile walking distance from all publicly accessible green spaces in the city. The 202,000 residents outside the half-mile walk live primarily in the dense residential neighborhoods circled: South Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, Lower Northeast Philadelphia, and East and West Oak Lane.

Green2015 9 As a part of the process of creating Green2015, over 200 residents in summer 2010 participated in public forums, and their input played a central role in determing the plan’s recommendations. The plan also builds on input received from thousands of others during earlier park-planning projects. The community principles that resulted help shape the citywide green vision embodied in this plan: opportunity sites Complete the system First, serve neighborhoods with less Our top opportunities for transforming underused land into green space, providing parks within a reasonable walking distance of all city new city parks exist at recreation centers and on underutilized, residents. publicly owned land. These public sites exist in every neigh- It takes a village borhood across the city, and in many cases they are not living Create parks that enhance people’s relationships and create stronger up to their full potential as vibrant centers for community use. communities. Community members must work together and with PPR to Within the parts of the city that do not have easy access to parks, make certain that their parks remain clean and safe. there are 62 acres of paved recreation centers and underused PPR land, and greening these will serve an average of 1,100 There’s gold in green Identify future green spaces that will residents per new acre of park. In these same areas, there are act as catalysts for the revitaliza- 426 acres of schoolyards under the jurisdiction of the Phila- tion of underutilized industrial sites, vacant land, and their surrounding delphia School District, and greening each of these acres will communities. serve an average of 260 residents per new acre of park. The total Look beyond the bend student population at these schools is over 36,200 children. Any new green space created for 2015 must meet the city’s long-term vision for open space. As there are about 10,000 vacant prop- space. However, one-quarter acre is erties in the city’s inventory, sites must just a minimum; in reality, PPR should Protect resources be selected that meet a certain number prioritize sites that are larger. A full Any new green space should provide a of criteria to ensure that these parcels list of indicators for selecting sites multitude of benefits for city residents. are transformed into successful parks. for future parks can be found on For example, sites must be at least page 52 of the full report. Respect diversity one-quarter acre in size; this minimum Create diverse and multifunctional area helps ensure that there is enough The Green2015 mandate for more spaces for changing age groups, space both to catch stormwater and parkland also encourages the private recreation types, and animal habitats. to serve as a recreation amenity for sector to create new green places. As neighbors.5 There are about 558 acres of July 2010 data, the total amount of Investment yields dividends of publicly owned vacant sites that are vacant land in Philadelphia is 4,100 Raise the funds necessary to acquire, one-quarter acre in size and that are acres, over three times the size of design, implement, and maintain new located in neighborhoods that cur- Center City, so plenty of land is avail- city parks. rently lack walkable access to green able to ensure that all residents are within easy walking distance of a park.6 10 executive summary 1,043 acres of publicly owned vacant land citywide

1,365 acres of schoolyards citywide

183 acres of PPR land that is either over 90% impervious or underused citywide

3,030 acres of privately owned vacant land citywide

opportunity Sites

Recreation Centers and Underused PPR Sites Public Underused Land Schoolyards Private Underused Land

Green2015 11 How we get to 500 acres

There are tens of thousands of underused parcels in Philadelphia. partner and collaborate Creative partnerships and collabora- Green2015 presents the results of a thoughtful approach to iden- tions between the public and private tifying 500 acres of land from these opportunity sites, many of sectors are already in place to achieve the goals of Green2015, including which are currently harming Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and these: costing taxpayers millions of dollars. Making some of that land • Philadelphia Water Department’s Green City, Clean Waters; into new city park space helps remove blight, provides children • Philadelphia Department of and families with places to play, reduces basement flooding, Public Health’s Get Healthy Philly; and raises property values. • School District of Philadelphia’s new facilities master plan;

The city is already well on its way to achieving the Green2015 • Philadelphia Industrial Development goal. Since Mayor Nutter took office in 2008, 100 acres have Corporation’s new focus on using green amenities to draw business been added to the city’s green landscape, almost half of which and jobs to the city; will not or did not cost the city anything in acquisition and con- • The Philadelphia Managing Director’s Office and Finance struction costs. If this trend continues, about 200 of the 500 acres Director’s Office, which include the will be added by the private sector by 2015, and the city, with creation of parks in their citywide strategy for managing vacant land; various partners, will create and maintain the remaining parks and through existing capital funds, innovative design solutions, and • Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, and Drexel University, partnerships with communities and other stakeholders. These which are adding new green spaces sorts of partnerships will help add new park space to improve as a part of their campus expansions. lives, revitalize neighborhoods, and build a better city at an affordable cost.

12 executive summary Green space underway adds 100 acres

Recreation centers and underused PPR sites add 62 acres 500-Acre Goal

Public underused land adds 558 acres

Schoolyards add 426 acres

Private underused land adds 1,257 acres

Green2015 13 • Create a “rail corridor watch list” with the Mayor’s Office of Trans- portation, the city’s Law Department, and Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission that identifies rail corridors. With this watch list, whenever a site becomes available for sale or donation, the city will be able to coordinate a purchase or an easement for a walking and biking trail. This starts us down the path of achieving the long-term goal of a connected network of green trails. what we can do today • Work with Neighborhood Gardens Association, Natural Lands Trust, and These are some of the actions that • Partner with the Managing Director’s Trust for Public Land to identify pos- the Philadelphia Department of Parks Office and the Finance Director’s sible areas in which to implement and Recreation can take: Office and their vacant land task force Green2015 where they would be to create a streamlined process for • Partner with the Philadelphia Water most useful for PPR. Department’s Green City, Clean identifying and transforming public Waters initiative to increase the vacant land into public parks and Citizens can help by taking part in amount of public green space in green spaces. these actions:

order to better manage stormwater. • Work with the Mayor’s Office of • Coordinate with PPR to outline the Sustainability to create a database to specific needs of Friends of Parks • Transform one or two recreation groups and form an agreement with centers as a demonstration project track the progress of parks projects PPR so that citizens can receive sup- to test low-maintenance design ideas and identify priority sites for green port and training in how to improve and sustainable-design practices. space. and maintain their parks. • Meet with the upper management of • Coordinate the policy initiatives of • Encourage large landowners to ded- PPR, the School District of Philadelphia, all public agencies that own land to icate a portion of their lands for new the Philadelphia Water Department, discuss the free or low-cost transfer park space. and the Philadelphia Department of of publicly owned vacant land for the purpose of creating new city parks. Public Health to green schoolyards • Work with state and local elected and make them assets for students • Work with the Philadelphia Industrial officials to protect existing public and neighborhoods. This could al- Development Corporation to open its parks and to gain funding for the low schools to gain funding associ- park spaces in the Navy Yard to the expansion and maintenance of ated with Green City, Clean Waters public for longer hours, and identify existing spaces. and Get Healthy Philly—a measure other PIDC-managed places in the • Bring existing neighborhood plans that by itself could dramatically im- city where park space can help sup- to PPR to identify what parcels in prove the greening of Philadelphia. port economic development. One outcome of this coordination each neighborhood would be best of efforts could be the creation of • Coordinate with the Philadelphia used as park space (based on the a list of potential demonstration Water Department and private land- criteria on page 52) and could be sites that address the issues of ac- owners who have expressed interest created by 2015. Coordinate these cess, healthy living, and stormwater in greening their parcels to manage efforts with the Philadelphia City management. stormwater, thereby reducing their Planning Commission’s district plans stormwater-management fees. as they get underway. • Reduce the impediments to transforming schoolyards into parks. Work • Work with Philadelphia International • Identify vacant land that poses with the nonprofit community to help Airport to ensure that public access is a public nuisance and a potential implement a citywide schoolyard granted on a portion of the 82 acres nonprofit conservator to gain control greening program, building on suc- of compensatory wetland sites in of the land and create a future cessful pilot projects in Philadelphia Philadelphia required as a part of its park under the Pennsylvania as well as national programs. runway expansion plan. Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act. 14 executive summary Byberry Meadow Parcel

60 E. Willow Grove

Upper Roxborough Reservoir

Lardner’s Point Nicetown Skate Park

Gustine Lake Interchange Kroc Center

Panati Playground Philly Coke Addition

Temple University Quadrangle Kensington CAPA

Tuttleman Field Girard Avenue 54th and Interchange Upland Streets Schmidt’s Park Barnes on Sugar House Greenway the Parkway Festival Pier Mill Creek Park Drexel Park Center City Greenway Race Street Pier Walnut Hill Dilworth Plaza Community Park and Farm Shoemaker Greenfield School Green Grays Ferry Penn Park Washington Avenue Crescent Green Expansion Julian Hawthorne Park National Heat Abele Washington and Power Park Karen Avenue Green We’re Well on our way Donnelly 3801 South Park Sites completed or underway 58th Street (100 acres)

Sites already identified for greening (105 acres) Navy Yard Parks Size of dots on map indicates their relative acreage

Green2015 15 beyond 2015

The 500 acres of park space that will be added by 2015 within Rivers and Creeks Complete all watershed parks and the city limits represents a great start to the city’s transformation river trails to ensure continued public into a green city. The map at right, described in fuller detail in access for pedestrians and cyclists. the full report, shows a vision for a greener Philadelphia that is historic streams Create small-scale bicycle and pedes- . Each feature on tied to the city’s 25-year comprehensive plan trian corridors following the course the map represents a proposed green trail designed to connect of a historic stream. “Creek walks” typically connect multiple streets with our parks to neighborhoods citywide. Connecting Philadelphians coherent streetscape, signage, and to parks is the path to a healthier and more competitive where possible a separated bike path. Philadelphia in the 21st century. Green2015 is a smart road map Streets Provide on-grade bicycle and pedes- to a green Philadelphia. It updates the meaning of “park space” trian routes to existing parks following for the 21st century and rethinks the future of Philadelphia’s a street right of way, with varying levels of separation depending on the park system. width of the roadway.

rail Use existing rail corridors (some active, some vacated) to create major, separated bicycle and pedestrian connections that link citizens to existing waterfront parks and that contain significant planting.

16 executive summary A Vision for Philadelphia’s Green Network proposed trail connections

Rivers and Creeks Historic Streams Streets Rail

Green2015 17 philadelphia loves its parks

18 philadelphia loves its parks Chapter 2

Green2015 19 Fair and Equal Access to Parks within Walking Distance Philadelphia’s parks began with William Penn’s five public squares in what is now Center City. Following the Civil War, city leaders realized the importance of parks, not only to protect the water supply, but also to give city residents relief from the stress of a growing industrial metropolis. Since then, our park system has grown to become a regional and national cultural asset that is on the benefits of parks par with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The transformative effect of parks in Philadelphia and other cities Providing equal access to park space across the country is well documented. The importance of high- is important because parks help bring quality, well-maintained green spaces has been demonstrated in neighbors together. In 2007, the extensive network of volunteer and friends such wide-ranging areas as affordable housing and new industrial groups in Philadelphia contributed more than 229,000 hours of volunteer development. Parks make our dense cities healthy and livable, labor while working on green space, competitive and resilient. labor valued at $8.6 million.9 Parks serve multiple purposes, including Today’s parks serve many uses. They provide gathering places for providing fresh-food access. A study by researchers at the University of citizens, the pathways on which we ride our bikes (and teach our Pennsylvania reports that Philadelphia community gardens produced over children how to ride theirs), the riverfront greenways that prevent two million pounds of fresh produce flooding, the sports fields that provide recreational opportunities in summer 2008 alone, most of which went to feed neighborhood residents for our children, the trees that relieve the sweltering summer sun, or to supply local philanthropic organizations.10 the rain gardens that filter stormwater, and the places that offer escape from the bustling city, places that draw us to live in a The power of park space to transform neighborhoods has become clear in particular neighborhood and draw us to relax after a long day’s recent decades with the increase of work. City parks provide residents with equal access to public Compare Philadelphia on a Per Capita space, create new jobs and economic value for the city, promote Basis with Other Cities in Terms of Parks per 1000 Residents 13 healthy living, improve water quality, and help prevent flooding. Total Park City Park Acres per 1000 Residents Population Acres Washington, DC 591,833 7,617 Seattle 598,541 5,476 Boston 620,535 4,897 Baltimore 636,919 4,905 Philadelphia 1,540,351 10,886 New York 8,363,710 38,019 Chicago 2,853,114 11,907

20 philadelphia loves its parks vacant land in the city. In some of Improvement Districts (BIDs). Both Quantifying the Value of Philadelphia’s most challenged neigh- had a “consistently significant rela- Philadelphia’s Parks and borhoods, the work of the Philadelphia tionship to corridor success.”15 Recreation Resources8: Green program of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) has been Parks bring revenue to the city an important part of a strategy to and its residents. A study of more Revenue-Producing Factors stem disinvestment and depopulation. than six years’ worth of greening for City Government Neighborhoods all over Philadelphia projects in the New Kensington • Tax Receipts from Increased attribute their recent growth and neighborhood determined that the Property Value: $18,129,000 revitalization to the transformation greening of vacant lots created a of vacant properties into productive 37 percent increase in the values • Tax Receipts from Increased green space by PHS and other part- of adjacent properties. Conversely, Tourism Value: $5,177,000 ners.11 A study underway by the values declined by as much as • Tax Receipts from Real Estate Cartographic Modeling Lab at the 20 percent for properties located close Transfer Tax: $1,137,000 University of Pennsylvania shows that to a non-greened vacant lot. The Estimated Total, Municipal the greening of lots through PHS’s cumulative impact of the greening was Revenue-Producing Factors: Vacant Land Stabilization program found to be significant: $4 million in $24,443,000 contributed to a reduction in crime in increased property value due to the these neighborhoods.12 trees planted in New Kensington and $12 million in increased property Cost-Saving Factors jobs and economic value value due to the greening of vacant for City Government Green space brings jobs to Phila- lots.16 A study recently completed • Stormwater Management delphia. As a result of the Philadelphia for PHS found that the value of Value: $5,949,000 Water Department’s Green City, homes near converted green spaces Clean Waters program, which will appreciated at an average of • Air-Pollution Mitigation utilize green spaces around the city 13.3 percent per year, while the average Value: $1,534,000 to better manage stormwater, an home value increased by 7.8 percent • Community Cohesion average of 250 people will be em- during the same period, yield- Value: $8,600,000 ployed with green jobs annually.14 ing $22.2 million in incremental Estimated Total, Municipal In a study on the economic impact of tax revenue after seven years.17 Cost Saving Factors: commercial-corridor improvements The Philadelphia Water Department $16,083,000 in Philadelphia, the Local Initiative estimates that the implementation Support Corporation and the consult- of Green City, Clean Waters will ing firm Econsult found two factors increase property values in greened Cost-Saving Factors to Citizens that helped create economically vital neighborhoods by 2 to 5 percent, or business districts: the cleaning and up to $390 million.18 • Direct-Use Value: $1,076,303,000 greening of vacant land along these • Health Value: $69,419,000 corridors and the creation of Business Parks provide free recreation space, Estimated Total, Citizen which also has economic value. A re- Cost-Saving Factors: port by the Coalition for Philadelphia’s $1,145,722,000 Riverfronts in Philadelphia indicates that the total recreational value of connected waterfront greenways Wealth-Increasing Factors Total Park 19 City Park Acres per 1000 Residents alone is $28 million. Population Acres for Citizens • Property Value from Park Washington, DC 591,833 7,617 12.9 According to a citizen survey done Proximity: $37,887,000 Seattle 598,541 5,476 9.1 by Penn Future in 2006, “92 percent • Boston 620,535 4,897 7.9 of Philadelphians believe that Profit from Tourism: $40,263,000 Baltimore 636,919 4,905 7.7 environmental and infrastructure Estimated Total, improvements are necessary to Philadelphia 1,540,351 10,886 7.1 Wealth-Increasing Factors: improve the area’s economic com- $78,150,000 New York 8,363,710 38,019 4.5 petitiveness and growth.”20 Chicago 2,853,114 11,907 4.2

Green2015 21 In 2006, green Healthy Living 140 excessive-heat-related fatalities Simply put, city parks save lives. could be avoided over the next infrastructure People with access to public green 40 years.25 In addition, the improved space are healthier. The one-mile air quality resulting from full imple- improvements extension of the Schuylkill River Trail mentation of Green City, Clean Waters from the Art Museum to Locust Street will reduce the number of premature made by the opened in 2000 sees up to 2,200 users deaths in the city by an average of one Philadelphia Water per warm-weather day and has been to two annually and will prevent about a boost to adjacent neighborhoods. 20 asthma attacks per year. It will also Department and Numerous studies have shown that reduce work loss or school absences green space is good for our physical by up to 250 days per year.26 others saved nearly and medical health and that exposure $35 million in hard to nature and green helps us recover Further, park space saves energy. from ailments more quickly.22 A study The Philadelphia Water Department infrastructure costs.28 by Penn State University showed that estimates that the implementation of visits to parks reduced stress, low- Green City, Clean Waters will lower ered blood pressure, and improved electricity use by six million kilowatts physical health.23 As a result, parks per hour and fuel use by eight million reduce health-care costs. A study kBTU per year.27 in the October 2000 issue of The Physician and Sportsmedicine found Water Quality and that physically active individuals Flood Prevention had lower annual direct medical Fairmount Park was created on either costs than did inactive people. If all side of the Schuylkill River to protect inactive American adults became the city’s water supply. The integral physically active, the potential sav- relationship between parks and ings could be $76.6 billion.24 water continues today.28 An important benefit of creating more green space Park space also improves air quality citywide is catching stormwater and reduces the urban heat-island runoff, which will help prevent base- effect that makes our neighborhoods ment flooding and hazardous sewage unbearable on hot summer days. overflows. In 2006, green infrastruc- Estimates indicate that the new green ture improvements made by the stormwater infrastructure created Philadelphia Water Department and through Green City, Clean Waters, others captured 17 million gallons of which includes some of Green2015’s rainwater, saving nearly $35 million acreage, could lower heat in the in hard infrastructure costs.29 city to the extent that more than

22 philadelphia loves its parks The Costs of Vacant Land Quantifying the Social Benefits of Green Infrastructure

Creating parks on public land not only Park space preserves the environ- plan add up to a present value of attracts residents and increases tax mental benefits of watersheds and $2.2 billion31. That $2.2 billion comes revenue, but it can also serve practical other ecosystems. For its Green from these positive effects: purposes that save city governments City, Clean Waters initiative, which • Heat-stress mortality reduction: millions of dollars in expenses. seeks to manage stormwater using $778,000,000 According to a study released in 2010 green infrastructure techniques, the by the Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) • Increased recreation: $487,000,000 Philadelphia, the City of Philadelphia conducted a “triple bottom-line • Added property value: $391,000,000 currently spends over $21 million analysis” to quantify the additional • Improved water quality and habitat: annually responding to and maintaining environmental, social, and economic $319,000,000 vacant land, much of which is privately benefits that creating these public owned. These are among the costs21: spaces would yield over simply building • Improved air quality: $100,000,000 new sewer pipes. PWD estimates that • Social costs avoided through green • City Council, staff time, $100,000 full implementation of Green City, jobs: $81,000,000 • Fire Department, cost of responses, Clean Waters will prevent five to eight • Energy savings: $21,000,000 $5.95 million (includes police) billion gallons of combined sewer • Carbon-footprint reduction: • Department of Public Health, overflow from going into our rivers every $14,000,000 (1.5 billion pounds of vector control, $33,000 year and restore 11 miles of streams and carbon dioxide emissions avoided up to 190 acres of wetlands.30 Twenty • Law Department, follow-up on or absorbed) years after its full implementation, delinquent tax accounts, $400,000 according to PWD’s conclusions, the • Reduction in construction-related • Department of Licenses and net social benefits of the $1.6 billion disruptions: $4,000,000 Inspections, clean and seal demolition-code enforcement, $7.92 million

• Managing Director’s Office, Community Life Improvement Program, $1.8 million The Economic Value of Protected Open Space • Ofiice of Housing and Community Development, maintain vacant in Philadelphia parcels, $2.99 million (includes PHDC) GreenSpace Alliance and Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, with work • Department of Public Property, from the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia and Econsult, released a study managing city-owned vacant in November 2010 that shows the value of open space to residents of Southeastern parcels, $100,000 Pennsylvania through the lens of property value, environmental benefits, healthy • Redevelopment Authority, managing living, and more. Here are the findings of how Philadelphia County benefits from its vacant parcels under RDA green space network: ownership, $1.63 million • Total Property Value Added by Open Space: $6.4 billion ($9,763 per household) • Streets Department, disposal of • waste dumped on vacant parcels, Total Property and Transfer Tax Revenues Added by Open Space: $69.6 million $390,000 ($106 per household) • Annual Environmental benefits: $10.5 million Total Cost of Vacant Land to the City of Philadelphia: $21.3 million • Total Economic Value of Recreational Activity: $221.1 million • Total Health-Related Cost Savings: $408.6 million The study also concluded that • Annual Expenditures: $131.1 million Philadelphia’s vacant land costs its residents $3.6 billion in lost household • Total Employment: 1,055 wealth, reducing adjacent property • Annual Earnings: $46.1 million values by 6.5 percent and by up to 32 • Annual Taxes: $10.3 million 20 percent in some neighborhoods.

Green2015 23

what’s Square your park? Function A basic unit of the park system, a square What park do you go to when you walk often includes a playground and an area your dog, play with your child, or sit for socializing and relaxation. and watch the world go by? Chances are that your park plays many roles General Acreage to help your neighborhood. In addi- One to 10 acres tion to recreational uses, parks help Example manage stormwater runoff, provide Carroll Park, West Philadelphia Wetland healthy habitats for local plant and Function animal species, remove greenhouse A wetland is an area of gases, and offer land to plant fresh naturalized, low-lying land food. But in Philadelphia today, over saturated with water to protect 200,000 residents can’t answer against flooding. the question “What’s your park?” because they have no parks in their General Acreage One-half-plus acre, depending neighborhood. Green2015 is neces- on location within watershed sary to ensure that every resident has fair and equal access to a park. Example Saylor’s Grove, Green2015 will only succeed, if it Northwest Philadelphia creates parks that are clean, safe, and ready to use. The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation (PPR) has made these standards a priority for existing and new park spaces. This cannot be achieved without addressing issues of cost, community involvement, and long- term maintenance. PPR is studying new ways to generate maintenance revenue and new park designs that are easier to maintain. PPR has heard Sports Field citizens’ concerns and is making main- Function tenance a top priority. In addition, Green sports fields are the Philadelphia Water Department used for active recreation. is working with community groups General Acreage to determine the best approach for One-quarter to two acres, maintaining neighborhood green depending on the sport infrastructure and has set aside $100 million in Green City, Clean Waters Example for maintenance. Further, PPR will Neighborhood Park Capitolo Playground, involve the community in the site se- Function South Philadelphia lection and programming process to The neighborhood park is a larger park ensure that the new park spaces are filled with more active programs, including productive and valued by neighbors. ball fields and trail networks.

General Acreage Once land for a park is secured and One to 25 acres made publicly accessible, a wide variety of green uses can take place at Example each site. At right are different types Clark Park, West Philadelphia of parks found in Philadelphia today:

Playground Function A playground offers the use of manufactured equipment and games geared toward small children.

General Acreage One-quarter acre minimum

Example Rain Garden Norris Square, North Philadelphia Greenway Function Function Runoff is directed into a basin A greenway is a landscaped with native plants, providing path along a waterfront that an attractive amenity while offers convenient pedestrian managing stormwater. and bicycle access.

General Acreage General Acreage One-tenth of impervious area 100-foot width draining to garden Example Example Schuylkill River Trail, Herron Recreation Center, Center City South Philadelphia

Meadow Function As a large field of native species, a meadow serves ecological functions and provides a habitat refuge.

General Acreage Community Garden/ 10-plus acres Urban Farm Large Waterfront Park Example Function Function Houston Meadow, Often part of a neighborhood park; Parks created along our rivers and Northwest Philadelphia these provide gardening opportunities creeks draw users from throughout and fresh produce for nearby residents. the region and are designed to protect the quality of the water supply. General Acreage One-tenth acre if part of a park, General Acreage one-half acre if a stand-alone farm 100-plus acres

Example Example Schuylkill River Park Community Garden, Pennypack Creek, Northeast Philadelphia Center City; Glenwood Green Acres, North Philadelphia Philadelphia 2035: A Com- prehensive Plan Philadelphia 2011 Zoning Code Reform

2011

Vacant Land Strategy

2011

Friends

Green2015 PPR

2010

Get Healthy Philly

2009

GreenPlan Philadelphia PHS

2010

Green City, Greenworks Clean Waters Philadelphia

2009 2009

26 philadelphia loves its parks lives, and saving energy costs. PWD GreenPlan Philadelphia, which intends to use $1.6 billion in capital began under the leadership of the funds to leverage $3 billion of total Office of the Managing Director in investment over a 20-year period and 2006, presents an extensive analysis to convert one-third of Philadelphia’s of various green places in order to es- drainage area that is currently con- tablish a long-term open-space plan nected to the combined sewer system for the city. Led by planning consul- into a diffused, permeable network tants Wallace Roberts and Todd, LLC, of sustainable infrastructure that GreenPlan has had an impact beyond distributes the task of managing the its own purview, as parts of the plan first inch of rain water across the city were used in Greenworks Philadelphia the time during storms. and Green2015. is right In early 2010, the Philadelphia The current administration is City Planning Commission began working on devising a citywide Green2015 is one of many policy ini- PHILADELPHIA2035: The Comprehensive strategy for how to acquire, manage, tiatives the city has begun with the Plan, and the team will be finished and dispose of vacant land. July 2010 goal of making Philadelphia a greener by spring 2011. The city’s first data from the Philadelphia Water and healthier city. Here are some of comprehensive plan in 50 years, Department and the City Planning the prior and current initiatives that PHILADELPHIA2035 will serve as the Commission show approximately are shaping the city’s green agenda: most important planning-policy docu- 40,600 vacant lots in Philadelphia, ment in the city for decades to come. one-quarter of which are owned Greenworks Philadelphia, un- Once the citywide plan is released, by the City of Philadelphia. The veiled in spring 2009, represents the planning commission will work on Redevelopment Authority has taken Mayor Nutter’s plan for making 18 district-level plans through 2016. steps to address the city’s vacant- Philadelphia the greenest city in The plan includes a section on open- land disposition process, and now the America. Released by the Mayor’s space projects that shows the value Office of the Managing Director and Office of Sustainability, Greenworks of public park space for the long-term the Office of the Director of Finance establishes 15 targets that include viability of the city. will develop a citywide policy on va- increasing energy efficiency in build- cant land management.33 ings, managing stormwater overflow Get Healthy Philly is an initiative in city sewers, increasing residents’ of the United States Department In May 2007, voters overwhelm- access to fresh food, and creating of Health and Human Services to carry ingly approved the creation green-collar job opportunities for out community-based prevention and of a Zoning Code Commission to Philadelphia’s workforce. wellness strategies to prevent obe- reform and modernize Philadelphia’s sity and tobacco use. A group of local outdated and complex zoning code. Green City, Clean Waters is organizations, led by the Philadelphia The project is being done in co- PWD’s proposal for protecting Department of Public Health, re- ordination with the Philadelphia and enhancing our watersheds by ceived $25 million in spring 2010 to City Planning Commission’s compre- managing stormwater with innovative implement a two-year strategy that hensive planning process. Drafts of ecological infrastructure throughout implements sustainable programs the new zoning language have been the city while maximizing economic, aimed at lowering tobacco-use rates public since spring 2010 and are social, and environmental benefits to and promoting physical activity in expected to be formally adopted Philadelphia. While many cities are daily living. Projects include enabling in 2011. simply building larger underground 1,000 corner stores to start selling pipes (gray infrastructure) to ease the fresh produce, building outdoor Green2015 can contribute positively burden on their combined storm and play spaces, instituting health-food to multiple city strategies by creat- sanitary sewer systems, Green City, programs and nutrition classes in ing new city park spaces that will Clean Waters offers the innovative ap- schools, developing fitness programs help Philadelphia become a greener, proach of using green infrastructure in all recreation centers, and making healthier, and better-connected city. that serves valuable infiltration func- public health a cornerstone of the tions while also creating jobs, saving comprehensive planning process.

Green2015 27 the goals of green2015

28 the goals of green2015 Chapter 3

Green2015 29 1 acre greenworks Philadelphia mandate: 500 aCRES Green2015 received its mandate from the chapter called “Equity” What does 500 Acres Look like? in Greenworks Philadelphia, which called on the city to create This addition of 500 acres will not come 500 new acres of “greened public space” by 2015 in order to in the form of one new park, as it did in the 19th century for portions of East and 34 increase public access to parks and recreational resources. West Fairmount Park (1,970 acres) or in the early 20th century with the creation The “greened public space” classification casts the net of of FDR Park (345 acres).35 Green2015 possible types of open space broadly: the spaces must simply strives to add parks to neighborhoods throughout the city. New green spaces be outdoor areas that are heavily planted and open for public will take many different shapes use, regardless of ownership. Throughout this action plan we and sizes, feature many different partnerships, be distributed across refer to these potential new green spaces as parks, although many different neighborhoods, and serve many different functions. These many will not look like a traditional park. Green2015 places 500 acres of new green public space emphasis on creating parks that are basic, useable, and easy represent merely 0.55 percent of Philadelphia’s total land area and a to maintain and that have minimal infrastructure, while 2.9 percent addition to the city’s park acknowledging that opportunities to create more extensively and recreation system (assuming that about 300 of the 500 acres will be designed spaces will arise as well. within public-sector ownership).36 In fact, 100 acres of this new city park space have been created since 2008 or are underway, 45 of which were accomplished without acquisition, construction, or maintenance costs to the City of Philadelphia.

30 the goals of green2015 500 acres What Does 500 Acres Look Like?

The size of 500 acres in relation to the total land mass of Philadelphia

Green2015 31 green2015 process

To create this Green2015 action plan, Stakeholder Interviews Design Workshops PPR and PennPraxis combined citi- PennPraxis staff interviewed over 140 After distilling the Citizen Principles zen values and input with technical public officials, design professionals, and identifying themes emerging expertise. landholders, and community members from the interviews and geospatial- from Philadelphia and around the data analysis, PennPraxis organized Advisory Group country. See Appendix B, page 129, a series of four design workshops. Co-convened by Parks and Recreation for a list of stakeholder interviews. In the workshops, a targeted group Commissioner Michael DiBerardinis of experts refined the themes and and Deputy Mayor for Economic Extensive Plan Review helped shape the approaches for Development Alan Greenberger, the Green2015 builds upon a strong base implementing Green2015. Two work- Green2015 Advisory Group included of long-term planning projects shops focused on design and site 40 government officials, nonprofit recently completed or underway selection, while the other two leaders, and other stakeholders. This in Philadelphia. The team care- focused on acquisition, maintenance, advisory group helped guide the pro- fully reviewed documents by the and stewardship. cess and provided input at important Philadelphia Water Department, stages of the plan. Philadelphia Industrial Development City Partners Corporation, Economy League of Four city agencies played especially Civic Engagement Greater Philadelphia, Greenspace important roles in helping PennPraxis In collaboration with PennPraxis, the Alliance, Pennsylvania Environmental refine the details of the plan and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Council, and the Redevelopment its recommendations: PPR, Phila- and the Penn Project for Civic Authority. delphia City Planning Commission, Engagement designed and facili- Philadelphia Water Department, and tated a civic-engagement process for City-Scale Data Analysis Philadelphia Department of Public Green2015 that focused on familiar- PennPraxis conducted an extensive Health. PennPraxis met with staff izing citizens with the Greenworks geospatial data-collection process, from these agencies throughout the Philadelphia mandate and then ask- reviewing data on the existing con- process to learn from their expertise ing them how PPR should prioritize ditions in Philadelphia for public and keep updated on their related site selection for public green space, green space, vacant-land ownership, projects. given the short timeline and the goal impervious-surface coverage, urban of coming closer to fair and equal ac- tree cover, demographics, public- cess. Trained moderators facilitated health indicators, transportation the dialogue and submitted notes access, regional ecological systems, from each discussion group, which social capital, and more. The next were used as the basis for the Citizen chapter presents a condensed sum- Principles. mary of this analysis.

32 the goals of green2015 Green2015 33 pr o tect res ou rces c o mp l ete t h e s y stem t h ere ’ s g ol d in green respect di v ersit y it ta k es a v i ll age in v estment y ie l ds di idends look be yo nd t h e bend

34 the goals of green2015 It takes a village and make decisions with an eye to the Create parks that enhance people’s long view—as our forebears did with relationships and create stronger the creation of the Fairmount Park communities. Do not plan in a system. Make sure that future parks pr o tect res ou rces vacuum; ensure that any new green fit within the larger open-space net- space fits into the neighborhood in works identified in the City Planning which it is located. When appropri- Commission’s PHILADELPHIA2035 ate, locate new green space so that comprehensive plan. Remember that a c o mp l ete t h e s y stem it is connected to or relates to other connected city is a competitive city. green spaces nearby. This provides t h ere ’ s g ol d in green a cohesive experience that extends Protect our resources Citizen beyond an isolated public space and Any new green space should provide improves existing parks. Remember a multitude of benefits for city resi- Principles that parks can only be successful if dents. New green space should pro- they are safe. Community members mote healthy living while enhancing Approximately 200 people partici- must work together and with PPR to the city’s natural ecosystems. Design pated at six Green2015 public forums spaces that will improve air quality, respect di v ersit y make certain that their parks remain throughout the city in May and June curb heat-related deaths, improve

it ta k es a v i ll age clean and safe. 2010. Opinions were also collected on access to nutritious foods, increase the project website, at neighborhood There’s gold in green exercise and recreation opportuni- group meetings, and from GreenPlan As Philadelphia’s population has de- ties, increase neighborhood aesthetic Philadelphia, for which the city held clined since the mid-20th century, the and economic value, protect natural a robust citywide civic-engagement city’s landscape has become littered and cultural resources, and protect process in 2006. The following prin- with empty lots and buildings, harm- landscapes. ciples were distilled from the input of ing neighborhoods and costing the a diverse group of residents, business city hundreds of millions of dollars. Respect diversity in v estment y ie l ds di idends owners, community leaders, and park Converting underused lots to produc- The identities of our neighborhoods volunteers. tive parks can help regenerate the and their residents are always land and the surrounding communi- evolving, so create diverse and Complete the system ties. Identify future green spaces that multifunctional spaces for changing Fairmount Park is one of the larg- will act as catalysts for the revitaliza- age groups, recreation types, and look be yo nd t h e bend est urban parks in the country, but tion of underused industrial sites, animal habitats. Add green elements because the park grew out of the vacant lands, and their surrounding to our existing public spaces to help need to protect our water supply, the communities. Well-maintained green strengthen community resources and current system disproportionately space can play an important role increase their use as town squares favors those who live near the Upper in neighborhood renewal and help for all neighborhood residents. Schuylkill River and the Wissahickon spark interest and investment from Creek. Too many areas of the city are people both inside and outside the Investment yields dividends without access to public green space. community. Incorporate a plan for job Raise the funds necessary to acquire, First, serve neighborhoods with less creation and revenue generation into design, implement, and maintain new green space, providing parks within the overall vision for PPR. city parks. Long-term maintenance a reasonable walking distance of all is central to the success of any park city residents and acknowledging that Look beyond the bend space over time. Develop and main- a half-mile walk is not appropriate in Any new green space created for tain local involvement through the every neighborhood. Pay particular 2015 must meet the city’s long-term support of friends groups. Cultivate a attention to dense neighborhoods vision for open space. Develop a city- regional strategy for fundraising and and give consideration to the young wide strategy for new park creation conservation while encouraging local and the elderly, who are most in need based on the principles of equal community members to take owner- of park space. Pay close attention to access, healthy living, and environ- ship of their park spaces. physical barriers such as highways mental performance that will position and railroad lines that would limit Philadelphia as the greenest city in pedestrian access to existing parks the nation. Think comprehensively and trails.

Green2015 35 PRIORITIES FOR NEW PARKS

36 priorities for new parks Chapter 4

Green2015 37 priorities for new parks Green2015 seeks to establish 500 acres of new city parks thoughtfully and strategically. This chapter presents the key priorities that will guide decisions about where to create new parks. While the Greenworks Philadelphia goal is to ensure that all residents have fair and equal access to parks, other important considerations will also guide the creation of new parks. A synthesis of these considerations can be found in the site-selection criteria matrix at the end of this chapter.

The following sections within this chapter look at Philadelphia’s need for new green space according to different criteria. Within each section, small maps show the primary datasets analyzed to determine the “need for green” in each category. The large map shows the composite map that combines the data to present a full picture of where new parks are needed most and where opportunities exist. Many of these categories overlap, showing a “need for green” in certain Philadelphia neighborhoods for multiple reasons, while others prioritize different parts of the city.

38 priorities for new parks Green2015 39 Least Access to Parks Highest Population of Children and Seniors

accessible, although it is privately low access to green space. Here are owned (for example, parks built by some findings compiled through the universities such as Drexel University, mapping process. University of Pennsylvania, and • Number of greened acres in Philadelphia University of the Sciences). Thus, within a half-mile walk: 65,365 / 71.3 Green2015 presents a new and more percent of total land inclusive definition of “greened fair and public space.” Showing the dense • Number of residents within half-mile residential areas in the city was also walk: 1,338,180 / 88.2 percent of total equal important, since a new park will have population greater impact in a densely populated • Total number of residents under the age area. Population-density indicators access to of 18: 406,409 also eliminate those parts of the city parks within that are heavily industrial (mainly • Number of residents over the age along the riverfronts). The Green2015 of 65: 214,144 project team also prioritized the need walking • Highest population density in Philadelphia: 37 for access to green by considering the distance presence of users with the greatest 133 people per acre, West Philadelphia need for public parks: children under • Area with largest population density and The primary purpose of the 500-acre 18 years old, seniors over 65 years lowest access to green: South Philadelphia mandate in Greenworks Philadelphia old, and residents with low income. is to increase the number of residents • Area with largest population of children within walking distance of public Even with 9,995 acres within the and seniors and lowest access to green: green space. Therefore, it is impor- Philadelphia park system, there are North Philadelphia tant to understand what parts of the still areas of the city without access city are currently served by parks and to useable parks or connections to the where fair and equal access to green existing large parks that could pro- can be enhanced. The Green2015 vide places for safe outdoor activity. project team mapped the number of There are 202,000 people currently residents living within a half-mile not served by green space within a walk of green space. This included half-mile walking distance of their mapping all PPR land (not including homes, populating 25,900 acres of sites that are vacant or overwhelm- the city. A primary aim of Green2015 ingly paved) as well as institutional is to find opportunity sites for new open space that we know is publicly city park space within these areas of

40 priorities for new parks Highest Population Density Lowest Third Median Household Income

The yellow areas on this composite map show locations where the most fair-and- equal-access factors overlap, indicating a high need for green space.

Green2015 41 Combined Sewer Highest Impervious Cover System Coverage

sewer system (about 60 percent of paved city, consistent and system- Philadelphia’s total area) to alleviate wide efforts will be needed to convert pressure on the sewers by manag- a large percentage of impervious ing stormwater before it enters the surfaces to porous surfaces and to system. The Philadelphia Water increase our tree canopy. Here are Department anticipates management some findings compiled through the of 1,700 acres of impervious surface mapping process. within the combined sewer drainage • City land area within the combined area within the first five years of sewer system: 39,780 acres implementation. Every greened acre keeps 900,000 gallons of stormwater • Percent of tree canopy citywide: 19.6 from entering the sewer system each stormwater • Neighborhood with the highest need for year. So it makes sense for PWD’s green (per its tree canopy and impervious- initiative to be linked with PPR’s management surface percentages): South Philadelphia Green2015 goals. Most areas in the (1.8 percent tree cover) in our city with little or no access to green 38 space are also within the combined neighborhoods sewer system drainage area, which means they are priority areas for the As mentioned above, the Philadelphia Philadelphia Water Department. Water Department is poised to implement incentives for a green Within the combined sewer area, stormwater infrastructure system we looked at numerous indicators to to address the overburdened sewer develop a general “need for green” system. Thus it makes sense to align metric. This gave us a better sense the Green2015 goal of equal access of which neighborhoods could most to parks with a site’s environmental benefit from new city park space performance as we identify future from an environmental perspective. sites for city park space. We can We looked at the percentage of im- improve the urban environment by pervious surface and the percentage linking park access with stormwater of tree cover by census tract. As ma- management. terials such as asphalt and concrete prevent water from flowing into the Green2015 began its environmental soil and force stormwater into the analysis by using the Green City, sewer drains, the areas with the Clean Waters vision of targeted, highest surface cover and lowest tree green stormwater infrastructure proj- cover have a high “need for green.” ects within the area of the combined Because Philadelphia is a densely

42 priorities for new parks Least Tree Canopy

This composite map shows that most areas in the city with little or no access to green space are also within the area of the combined sewer system, which means they are priority areas for the Philadelphia Water Department.

Green2015 43 National Heritage Inventory Natural Lands Trust “Unprotected” Lands Adjoining Land Study

of which was to identify unprotected benefits composite map, as their lands that needed to be acquired in linear nature and de-facto green order to preserve healthy naturalized condition after generations of neglect areas. Green2015 combined these make them prime candidates for factors with the outline of the 500- naturalization and preservation. Here year floodplain. Given what we know are some findings compiled through about climate change, the location the mapping process. of the floodplain can inform how the • Acres of unprotected priority land city should develop in the future. in Natural Heritage Inventory for Philadelphia: 7,645 The environmental-benefits compos- environmental ite map has interesting similarities to • Number of sites identified in the fair-and-equal-access composite Philadelphia as unprotected priority benefits of map on page 41, as well as stark dif- land in Adjoining Lands Study: 96 ferences. Immediately visible on these • Priority ecological corridors identified maps are areas such as the Schuylkill regional in two studies: Delaware River, 39 and Delaware Rivers. While these Schuylkill River, Tacony-Frankford areas do not show up as high prior- significance Creek, Poquessing Creek ity from the perspective of half-mile Any citywide park-planning process pedestrian access, they still need must consider the impact of new to be considered for greening be- parks on the environment. Targeted cause of their crucial environmental investments can have significant benefits. The environmental-benefits positive impacts on water systems, composite map calls for finishing in- habitat areas, species preservation, complete environmental and trail con- and watershed restoration. Green2015 nections along our rivers and creeks, used this data and other indicators such as the Poquessing, Tacony- to determine what potential park Frankford and Cobbs Creeks. Overall, locations offer substantial ecological however, the environmental-benefits benefits and how those locations composite map shows opposite needs rated in terms of the Greenworks to those revealed by the access map. Philadelphia goal of creating fair and Targeted green investments in high- equal access. Two important datasets density neighborhoods that have long for this work were the 1999 Fairmount since been detached from natural Park Adjoining Land Study by Natural systems do little for larger ecological Lands Trust and the 2008 National goals such as habitat survival and Heritage Inventory by the Western water quality. Rail corridors are also Pennsylvania Conservancy, the goal identified on the environmental-

44 priorities for new parks 500-Year Floodplain

This composite map presents areas with the highest need for greening according to three data sets. These areas play vital roles in regional environmental protection and in most cases are currently unprotected.

Green2015 45 Quarter-Mile Walk to Transit Highest Population and Employment Density

be just as valuable in employment rail-corridor conditions in the city— centers as it is in population centers. from the busiest passenger track in The correlation of population and the nation along the Amtrak Northeast employment density was highest in Corridor to a vacated freight-rail line Center City, but other parts of the city with nothing left but a dirt path— were highlighted as well, including and prepared an assessment of the the northeastern stations along the viability of the rail-corridor network Market-Frankford El and the southern for use as a citywide system of edges of South Philadelphia. A further connecting trails, based on available level of analysis was conducted data regarding ease of implemen- around “service-based centers” and tation. The potential for rail corridors “transit-based centers,” which had to contribute to a connected park been identified by the City Planning network will be discussed in greater Commission for PHILADELPHIA2035. detail later in the report. These centers prioritize areas of fu- transportation ture long-term growth in Philadelphia Here are some findings compiled 40 according to proximity to transit, through the mapping process. open space, and city-operated facili- & land use • Number of rail transit stations ties. Green2015 also looked at those in Philadelphia: 98 While the goal of locating new city centers that did not fully meet the park space within a half-mile walk City Planning Commission’s criteria • Rail stations lacking access to of residences is a good general mea- for “service-based centers” to see if green space: 13 sure for green space, planning needs there were underused or redundant • Number of service-based centers to be integrated with planning for facilities that could be converted to identified by the City Planning other systems and land uses. For this green space. Commission: 9 reason, Green2015 looked at hubs of activity around public transit, aiming Finally, the value of Philadelphia’s ex- • Acres of railroad right-of-way: 2,103 to find opportunity sites that might tensive rail infrastructure provides an further increase activity in those opportunity to create linear corridors • Acres of railroad right-of-way identified as areas. Green2015 began by drawing a for recreation as well as connections either vacated or heavily underused and quarter-mile radius around all Market- to larger waterfront parks in the city included in the “Beyond 2015” chapter of Frankford Line, Broad Street Line, and region. Philadelphia has over this report: 219 and Regional Rail stations, exploring 77 miles of vacated rail from its the potential in the immediate vicin- industrial past that currently sit ity of heavy rail transit. Green2015 unused by adjacent communities.41 layered a composite of population Many such rails run through neigh- and employment density on top of borhoods that are underserved by this, recognizing that park space can green space. Green2015 looked at all

46 priorities for new parks PHILADELPHIA2035 Rail Right of Way Neighborhood Centers

This composite map combines four data sets to show heavily used areas in need of more green space as well as opportunities to create such green space along rail corridors.

Green2015 47 EPA Air Toxics Heat-Related Deaths Assessment

generally state that income level is the equal access to park space. Finally, single strongest factor in assessing data on the prevalence of obesity susceptibility to health problems. As in Philadelphia was assembled from it turns out, many of the areas in the the annual health survey adminis- city with low access to green space tered by Public Health Management are also areas with a relatively high Corporation, as well as from auxiliary percentage of low-income residents. data describing the characteristics of the geographic area. While the data Next, Green2015 looked at three ad- is not comprehensive, it shows the ditional health indicators: the urban correlation between obesity and heat-island effect, air quality, and poverty, therefore identifying focus obesity. As a city, Philadelphia gets areas for creating new park space little relief from the urban heat-island that can serve the dual benefits effect, which raises temperatures in of providing free outdoor fitness cities where paved surfaces domi- opportunities and providing space nate. This heat sends utility bills for community gardening and urban

42 skyrocketing in the summer and agriculture, which can offer fresh healthy living puts the elderly and those with low produce to parts of the city without income at risk of heat stroke due to easy access to grocery stores. Data Yet another important benefit that Philadelphia’s relative lack of urban from the Philadelphia Department park space brings to Philadelphia is tree canopy and of reflective-surface of Public Health confirms a frequent improved health for our citizens—our areas. This issue plagues almost correlation between neighborhoods children, our seniors, and everyone every neighborhood in the city, with without access to fresh food and in between. New city park space for the exception of those alongside the those without access to public green safe recreational activity must be a large waterfront parks, as vegetation space. This bolsters the argument part of the city’s health agenda, as reduces the heat-island effect. for the fair and equal distribution of the Philadelphia Department of Public park space and adds further strength Health is demonstrating through Green2015 also looked at air-quality to the case that green space is a its Get Healthy Philly program. data because of the impact that trees viable investment in the strength of The concept of calculating the full and other vegetation have on lo- our neighborhoods and the overall health benefits of city park space is cal air quality. The incidence of future of our city. relatively new, but many different asthma in Philadelphia children factors can be incorporated into such continues to increase with every an analysis. First, Green2015 looked passing year, so looking at the at median household income across power of plants and green spaces the city (shown in the “Fair and Equal to filter air pollution is important, Access” section via the map on page especially in low-income areas and 41), as public-health professionals in neighborhoods without fair and

48 priorities for new parks Highest Obesity Rates

This composite map presents areas where health factors indicate the highest need for green space. This space must serve the dual purpose of providing free outdoor fitness opportunities and offering space for community gardening, which can offer fresh produce.

Green2015 49 Parks with Friends Groups Community Development Corporations

partners on the ground

An extensive volunteer and nonprofit Green City Youth Program. There organizations not mapped include network supports the Philadelphia are also more than 1,900 volunteers business improvement districts, Department of Parks and Recreation in PHS’s Tree Tenders and Garden which typically see greening as a part in ongoing maintenance and cleanups Tenders programs.44 of their larger marketing and promo- and has been critical to the contin- tion strategy. Center City District, for ued quality of our parks. While it is Two other datasets that offer a broad example, maintains 800 street trees impossible to map all of the resident view of the organizations around within its boundaries and leads the hours put into park upkeep around the city involved in caring for green Plant Philadelphia initiative so that the city, knowing the locations of space are the project boundaries of residents and businesses can plant PPR’s nonprofit and citizen partners community development corporations trees as well. There are also green- is important for two reasons: to (CDCs) and neighborhood organi- specific nonprofits such as UC Green, highlight areas of the city that appear zations. CDCs often include tree which has planted over 2000 trees in to have the capacity to adopt future planting and beautification as parts University City, West Philadelphia, park spaces and to identify neighbor- of their mission of neighborhood and Southwest Philadelphia.45 hoods in which such networks are improvement and development. New However, PPR must foster partner- needed. The latter are potential focus Kensington CDC is one of the most ships in communities to support areas for future training in park care. prominent examples in Philadelphia existing volunteer networks and to of a CDC that has launched extensive ensure that volunteer capacity grows The work done by the Philadelphia tree-planting projects, helped green in areas that do not already have it. Green program of the Pennsylvania vacant land and schoolyards, and Horticultural Society (PHS) in cooper- incorporated environmentally friendly This impressive web of formal and ation with PPR has had an important development into the neighborhood informal activity boosts the civic life impact on the city’s landscape. Its fabric. Neighborhood associations of the city, and its work is measurable work in facilitating the creation of coordinate park cleanup days and economically. For instance, in 2007, friends groups in neighborhoods fundraising events for local green volunteers contributed 220,891 hours across the city has been central to spaces or partner with PPR or organi- in “sweat equity” to Philadelphia’s the success of many green spaces. zations such as CDCs to tackle larger parks, at a value of over $4.3 million Largely due to the work of PHS and goals. Mapping both of these types of for that year, with additional financial the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, there groups shows where paid nonprofit contributions totaling over $4 million.46 are 137 friends groups and neighbor- staff members as well as citizen Ongoing maintenance is one of the hood organizations whose focus is volunteers are working on greening most important issues to residents, to provide ongoing care for green and other initiatives in the name of and with an extensive network of space within the PPR inventory.43 community improvement. nonprofits and volunteers, it should Philadelphia Green’s efforts include be a goal of PPR to better support working with faculty at 70 schools Due to data limitations, the mapping these volunteer networks to accom- around Philadelphia as a part of the of this volunteer work shows neither plish even more throughout the city. Green City Teachers program and the true extent of our “green” with seven additional schools for the social capital nor its limits. Other

50 priorities for new parks Neighborhood Organizations

This map demonstrates the large portions of the city where partnership opportunities for PPR exist, as well as areas where PPR must work to encourage volunteer participation.

Green2015 51 SITE-SELECTION CRITERIA MATRIX

This matrix provides a decision- primary indicators making framework for the City of Philadelphia as it works to create Indicator Priority new parks on a fast timeline. Those Access to Green The new space provides quick access to green by foot (half-mile walk criteria listed in Tier 1 are most im- or less). Give preference to those sites that, when transformed into a portant. The more criteria overall that park, will provide access in currently underserved areas. a particular site meets, the better the Population Density The new space will serve more people in an area of dense residential case for creating a new green space population. Give priority to those green spaces in denser areas. there, though it is understood that new green space could be valuable Ownership If a city government agency is creating the park, give priority to publicly owned land for ease of implementation. to any neighborhood in the city. The • Is the site currently managed by Philadelphia Parks and Recreation green spaces that meet the most cri- but not in use as a public green space? teria will provide the most benefits in • Is the site owned by the City of Philadelphia? areas of access, the environment, the • Is the site owned by the School District of Philadelphia, or is it an open economy, and citizen health. schoolyard that has a blacktop ready to be greened? • Is the site owned by another public or quasi-public agency, such as the Redevelopment Authority, the Housing Authority, SEPTA, PIDC, PAID, Gas Commission, PWD, DRPA, PRPA, PennDOT, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or the United States of America?

Current Use If a city government agency is creating the space, give priority to land that is vacant or underused for ease of implementation.

Acreage The new park must be able to serve recreational and environmental functions for the neighborhood. Do not consider sites smaller than 1/4 acre, and give priority to sites greater than 1 acre that have the capacity to serve multiple benefits. Additional acreage standards may apply, depending on the planned use.

Green City, The new space must successfully manage stormwater to achieve Clean Waters its full potential as a "greened acre." Give priority to those sites that have been approved by the Philadelphia Water Department as potential green infrastructure that will take pressure off the combined sewer system.

PHILADELPHIA2035: Future green spaces must fit into the long-term goals of the city. Iden- The Comprehensive tify green space that addresses policy set by the comprehensive plan Plan for Philadelphia. • Does the site address one of the goals of the RENEW section of the plan? • Does the site contribute to a linear connection identified in PHILADELPHIA2035 that crosses multiple neighborhoods? • Does the site add green space to one of the “service-based centers” or “transit-based centers” identified as priority growth areas?

52 priorities for new parks secondary indicators Indicator Priority Impervious Surface New green space should contribute to the health of the neighborhood. Give priority to sites within census tracts that contain high amounts of impervious surface within the combined sewer system.

Tree Cover New green space should help reduce urban heat-island effect. Give priority to sites within census tracts of low tree cover.

Partners on the Local stewardship is crucial to the success of any park space. Give priority to sites within areas where community Ground stewardship and pride already exist, based on such indicators as neighborhood groups, nonprofits, tree-tender volunteers, and community-based arts organizations. For areas that do not have this active volunteer network already, PPR must incorporate building this network into the park plan.

Riverfront Philadelphia’s rivers and streams are its most prized natural possessions. Give priority to sites that are on the following riparian corridors: Delaware, Schuylkill, Pennypack, Tacony-Frankford, Poquessing, and Cobbs.

Income New green space should go to those who need it most. Give priority to sites in areas with lower overall median household income as defined by the latest U.S. Census data.

Age New green space should go to those who need it most. Give priority to sites in areas with greater overall child and senior populations as defined by the latest U.S. Census data.

Obesity Prevention New green space can improve the health of its users as well as the health of the environment. Give priority to sites in areas where obesity rates are high, as defined by annual survey data by the Public Health Management Corporation. • Consider community gardening and urban agriculture as potential green-space uses in areas with low access to healthy foods, on the condition that the garden have hours of public accessibility.

Rail Transit New green space should be linked to centers of density and to multiple modes of transportation. Give priority to sites within a quarter-mile walk of high-speed and regional-rail transit.

“Unofficial” Green Many residents in underserved neighborhoods have created green spaces on their own for their community's benefit. Give priority to such sites.

Ecological The new green space should serve an ecological benefit when possible. Give priority to sites identified within Western Significance Pennsylvania Conservancy's Natural Heritage Inventory (2008) as "priority unprotected" and identified in the Natural Land Trust Adjacent Lands Study (1999) as high and medium priority.

Bike and Trail New green space should be connected via multiple modes of transportation. Give priority to sites that are along an Network existing or proposed component of the bike and trail network, giving priority to (1) off-road paths, (2) complete green streets, and (3) dedicated bicycle right-of-way.

Floodplain Future growth must contribute to the health of the city. Prioritize sites that replace impervious surface with porous surface within the 500-year floodplain.

Maintenance A maintenance plan should already be in place before construction begins. Prioritize sites that allow for creative Costs approaches to keeping costs minimal, especially in terms of ongoing maintenance.

Commercial New green space should also be a part of a destination area of the city. Give priority to sites near commercial corridors Corridors and activity centers.

Enforcement When looking at land that is not owned by the City of Philadelphia, partner with agencies such as Water, Revenue and Opportunities Licenses and Inspections to identify sites that are ideal for conversion to green.

Greenworks Give priority to sites that coincide with other Greenworks initiatives, such as improving tree canopy and increasing Philadelphia access to fresh, local foods.

GreenPlan Give priority to those sites identified as an "opportunity" by the long-term open space plan for the city. Philadelphia

Philadelphia Give priority to sites that connect to proposed expanded pedestrian and bicycle routes, as listed in the long-term Pedestrian Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. and Bicycle Plan

Neighborhood In advance of the City Planning Commission's district-level planning, give priority to sites identified as priority Plans green-space sites by neighborhood plans approved by the City Planning Commission.

Interagency Ensure that the site has been presented or will be presented to Commerce, Planning, Transportation, and other city agencies Collaboration to make sure that no redundancy occurs and that green space is the best use for that particular parcel.

Green2015 53 opportunity sites

54 opportunity sites Chapter 5

Green2015 55 child in Philadelphia should have a park space to play in before, during, and after school; at the moment, many do not.

In fact, many schoolyards are domi- nated by staff parking and do not actually have play areas, so creating green spaces on these sites would help increase park access for our kids. While many have ball fields and other green spaces, a significant number of recreation centers and opportunity sites schoolyards are primarily impervious surface—pavement or asphalt The reality is that there is enough vacant land in Philadelphia to that stops the flow of water into the ground soil. This can cause flooding accommodate all of the city’s revitalization goals for affordable during storms. Such areas become unbearably hot sites for summer play housing, job centers, and new city park space. In fact, using the and will now be cost burdens to their current Philadelphia Planning Commission estimates on popula- owners, as increases in stormwater rates will be phased in over the next tion and job growth for 2035, Philadelphia will need 1,306 acres four years to account for the costs of of new construction to meet this additional demand. In a city with impervious-surface coverage.

4,100 vacant acres, there is plenty of land to go around. Each type of opportunity site— recreation centers, public vacant land, schoolyards, and private vacant land—brings different conditions and restrictions, but all should be considered when identifying priority sites for future green spaces.47 The city Using the criteria and priorities during Philadelphia’s population is interested now in creating more outlined in the previous chapter, decline and therefore are too small park space citywide and in devising Green2015 compiled the list of pos- to create a meaningful park. a cohesive strategy for vacant-land sible opportunity sites in the city management; these two projects will that by 2015 could become green, be Despite the extensive inventory of va- build on one another’s success. made publicly accessible, and serve cant land in Philadelphia, Green2015 environmental and health benefits. had to look deeper to examine oppor- Greening has been used as an ap- We looked first at vacant or under- tunity sites that are equitably distrib- proach to stabilizing vacant lots used land that is publicly or privately uted throughout the city and are at in Philadelphia since the 1970s. owned, which presents a wealth of least one-quarter acre in size. That is Greening underused public land potential. July 2010 data from the the minimum size that can accommo- makes that land a valuable asset Philadelphia Water Department and date both stormwater-management for the city on numerous levels: it the City Planning Commission shows needs and recreational space. Using provides residents with a safe com- approximately 40,600 vacant lots in these standards, recreation centers munity space for gathering and Philadelphia (representing 5 percent and schoolyards were identified as recreation, it makes the area more of the city’s total land area), 10,000 assets in need of greening. These desirable as a place to live, it raises of which are owned by the city, the sites, owned by public agencies and property values, and it dedicates city Redevelopment Authority, and the already serving as community gather- tax money to public assets and saves Philadelphia Housing Authority. ing spaces, are crucial because they the public money that was being However, many such parcels are can give our children safe, healthy, spent on blighted sites that offered former rowhouse sites left empty and high-quality places to play. Every no return on investment.

56 opportunity sites 1,043 acres of publicly owned vacant land citywide

1,365 acres of schoolyards citywide

183 acres of PPR land that is either over 90% impervious or underused citywide

3,030 acres of privately owned vacant land citywide

opportunity Sites

Recreation Centers and Underused PPR Sites Public Underused Land Schoolyards Private Underused Land

Green2015 57 For every acre of recreation center we can “green” in those areas of the city that do not currently have access to green space, an average of 1,100 residents will gain access to green space.

58 opportunity sites study as not currently having fair cover for the children who attend and equal access to green space. For day camp during Philadelphia’s hot every acre of recreation center we can summers. This kind of greening has “green” in those areas of the city that already begun, and PPR recently do not currently have access to green received a PENNVEST grant to plant space, an average of 1,100 residents 2,500 new trees at recreation centers. will gain access to green space. Added opportunities for greening ex- recreation ist on sports fields, as some baseball In addition, PPR manages 121 acres of fields are seldom used, and their soil centers and vacant or underused land, 42 acres of is so compacted that it can serve which are located in neighborhoods little environmental function. underused that do not currently have fair and equal access to green space within Greening recreation centers aligns PPR sites walking distance. These sites should with PPR’s youth-development strategy. be considered as new city park PPR plans to heighten the quality and Lands under PPR’s jurisdiction are opportunities. Even sites that would public profile of its youth-development the easiest to transform into park not make good publicly accessible opportunities. It is engaged in efforts space because the department has green space can still be considered to expand its leadership in out-of- embraced greening as a priority. for other uses that benefit the public. school activities, to engage more Its 181 playgrounds and recreation Potential uses include rain gardens of the city’s youth, and to make the centers are well distributed through- for stormwater infiltration, tree-farm benefits of its programs better known. out residential neighborhoods and sites that can help the city achieve PPR will create innovative programs already serve as neighborhood focal the Greenworks Philadelphia tree- to accomplish a range of goals, points. Designed to require minimal planting goal, community gardens including better connecting children, maintenance, most play areas are (with sites being leased), and ease- youth, and families to the outdoors; asphalt yards; sometimes even ments for watershed protection.49 developing successful partnerships; playing fields are not made of actual expanding the use of technology; and grass. Those that are predominantly In addition, recreation centers can increasing the focus on community covered with asphalt become ideal be redesigned to accomplish many engagement and public relations. The opportunities to construct green different functions. Balancing new physical transformation of recreation- stormwater infrastructure in order to greening with the wealth of program- center sites through greening could capture local stormwater runoff. ming that already exists on site is an be a crucial part of this strategy. important consideration. Many recre- In order to identify high-priority ation centers have multiple basketball recreation centers in need of green- courts, sets of playground equipment, ing, Green2015 looked at sites that a swimming pool, a splash park, and Sites managed by Philadelphia Parks and are more than 90 percent covered fixed tables and chairs for chess, so Recreation that could become enlivened green with impervious surface.48 Green2015 they often do not have large, continu- spaces in their communities include the following: identified 62 acres of recreation ous areas that can be greened. But 1 This vacant lot adjacent to Duckrey Playground in centers that meet this criterion, strategic greening and tree planting North Philadelphia, 2 Northern Liberties Recreation 20 of which are located within the can still be accomplished on these Center, and 3 West Mill Creek Playground in West neighborhoods identified in this sites; trees will provide much-needed Philadelphia.

1 2 3

Green2015 59 A Transformation: recreation centers and 1 underused ppr sites

1 Dozens of recreation centers across the city, including this 3.7-acre site in South Philadelphia, are overwhelmingly paved and heavily programmed. 2 Small adjust- ments such as rearranging programming to create space for a central green area and adding elements like small planters, porous pavement, and trees create a much more useful and comfortable play site for neighborhood residents.

60 opportunity sites New Tree Canopy

New Planters and Lawn

Existing Program and Site

Green Recreation Center

Green2015 61 The entire Green2015 target of 500 acres of new parks could be accomplished using public vacant land alone.

62 opportunity sites consolidating decades-worth of prop- removing a portion of the $21 million erty records and titles into a single, that the City of Philadelphia spends accurate inventory. City agencies every year responding to problems with purview over vacant land work associated with vacant land. with their specific land holdings only, and land-use decisions are not yet Because of the scattered nature of made on a comprehensive, citywide public vacant land, the rendering on scale. In addition, different agency pages 64 to 65 shows its potential for missions can lead to differing in- filling in important gaps in access public terests regarding the best use for a in residential neighborhoods with specific site. relatively small yet targeted green underused investments. The Green2015 project team looked land at publicly owned vacant parcels of one-quarter acre or larger. From this Sites managed by public agencies that could As noted earlier, of the 40,600 vacant data, we calculated the following be converted to green include the following: parcels in Philadelphia, about 10,000 land-availability statistics. 1 this Clean and Green lot in East Kensington, are owned by a local public agency. • Publicly owned vacant land greater 2 this quarter-acre lot in North Philadelphia, cur- Most are scattered throughout resi- than one-quarter acre: 777 acres in rently used as an informal recreation space, and dential areas in neighborhoods such Philadelphia, 558 in areas without 3 this lot in Mill Creek, owned by the Philadelphia as North Philadelphia, so it is not access to green Housing Authority. surprising that most of the public vacant land in Philadelphia is in small • Quarter-acre parcels assembled from parcels; 95 percent of them are less the Department of Public Property: 1 than one-tenth of an acre in area. 215 acres in Philadelphia, 77 in areas These parcels are not ideal candi- without access to green dates for public green space, unless • Quarter-acre assemblages of several parcels can be assembled into contiguous parcels owned by a one larger green site. While many single city agency: 818 acres in contiguous vacant lots exist, owner- Philadelphia, 560 in areas without ship of these parcels can vary from access to green a single agency to multiple agencies or can even be a mix of public and • Quarter-acre assemblages of con- private ownership. Differences in tiguous parcels owned by multiple ownership can make converting city agencies: 831 acres in public vacant land into parks chal- Philadelphia, 560 in areas without 2 lenging, but it is worth the effort to access to green transform sites that are large enough to make valuable contributions to The entire Green2015 target of 500 a neighborhood. Recommendations acres of new parks could be accom- for how to green sites depending on plished using public vacant land their ownership can be found in the alone. There is ample vacant land next chapter. in Philadelphia—enough to build affordable housing, new job centers, The city currently does not have a and new green space. The goals of strategy for the acquisition, manage- Green2015 should be one element of ment, or disposition of vacant land, a citywide strategy for vacant-land although the Office of the Managing acquisition, use, and disposition. 3 Director and the Office of the Finance These parcels can be transformed into Director hope to have draft recom- public open space without acquisition mendations for one soon. There is costs or long legislative processes. no centralized agency charged with This would help the city’s budget by

Green2015 63 A Transformation: public underused land 1

1 Sites such as this 1.3-acre assemblage of lots in North Philadelphia sit vacant across the city. 2 Land transfers between public agencies would allow sites like these to become permanent neighborhood parks where children can play, parents and grandparents can comfortably watch them play, and local residents can find a new source of pride in their communities.

64 opportunity sites New Tree Canopy

Stormwater Infiltration Water Features Lawn Paths and Gathering Spaces

Public Underused Land

Neighborhood Park

Green2015 65 There are 426 acres of schoolyards within areas of the city without easy access to public green space. The total student population at these schools is over 36,200 children.

66 opportunity sites to enjoy—to be a part of her agenda and pavement, even a small amount and legacy. The conversion of of green can go a long way. Recent schoolyards into public green spaces schoolyard greening examples in- was identified in both Greenworks clude the School of the Future in Philadelphia and Green City, Clean Parkside, Penn Alexander School in Waters as vital to future greening West Philadelphia, Greenfield School efforts. In a time of fiscal constraint, in Center City, and the McCloskey the option of sharing resources while School in East Mount Airy. Many dividing operations and maintenance schoolyards have empty tree pits that responsibilities could be explored. can be filled, which would provide The School District of Philadelphia shade for children and help reduce is the largest owner of impervious the heat-island effect in the warm pavement in the city aside from the months. These types of interven- schoolyards city itself, and with the Philadelphia tions can be accomplished without Water Department charging for compromising existing uses, such as Because of their equitable distribution impervious-surface coverage as of play equipment, basketball courts, across the city, their role as com- July 1, 2010, the school district may and parking. On particularly large munity gathering places, and their have a financial reason to go green. sites, woods or meadows could be extensive impervious-surface cover- Federal funding for healthy living and constructed, along with amphitheater age, schoolyards are an important fitness initiatives such as “socialized seating for performances or outdoor part of a citywide greening strategy. recess” offer additional incentives to classes. Sports fields could be planted The creation of safe, inviting city upgrade schoolyards. with buffalo grass, which needs no parks that are easily available for rec- mowing or watering, as used for the reation strengthens neighborhoods There are 426 acres of schoolyards newly opened Kensington Creative and helps ease the growth of obesity, within areas of the city without easy and Performing Arts High School. diabetes, asthma, and other health access to public green space. The And because most schoolyards have issues. By greening schoolyards, the total student population at these a similar layout across the city, a con- city and school district could have schools is over 36,200 children. sistency can be developed between an immediate positive impact on Fifty-one of these acres are on sites sites, while individual schools may our children, providing them with that have greater than 90 percent choose the form of “green interven- a space to play, outdoor classrooms, impervious cover, and 71 additional tion” they prefer. and fresh-food gardens. And since acres are slightly less impervious but many school properties are already could still benefit from intensive open to the public after school greening. Many schools are currently These three sites owned and operated by the hours, these new green yards would studying how to green their yards. For School District of Philadelphia are among be available to the entire commu- every acre of schoolyard “greened” in hundreds throughout the city where asphalt nity. School District of Philadelphia these areas, an average of 260 resi- could be converted to green space to benefit Superintendent Arlene Ackerman dents gain access to green space. the children who attend the school, as well as has said that she would like “green the larger community: 1 South Philadelphia campuses”—campuses that increase Since most of the schoolyards in High School, 2 Laura Wheeler Waring School in educational opportunities and provide dense urban areas consist of entire Spring Garden, and 3 Stephen Decatur School in more beautiful schools for children city blocks with nothing but asphalt Northeast Philadelphia.

1 2 3

Green2015 67 A Transformation: Schoolyard 1 1 Schoolyards with little more than asphalt and a play structure are distributed throughout Philadelphia’s underserved neighborhoods. 2 This 4.3-acre site in North Philadelphia shows how planting new green can transform a schoolyard into a vibrant space with such amenities as an outdoor running track, a community garden, an amphitheater for student performances, and a stormwater meadow that also provides educational opportunities. This creates a schoolyard that brings tremendous value to the students and the surrounding community.

68 opportunity sites New Tree Canopy

Outdoor Classroom/Theater Paths and Entrances Porous Play and Parking Spaces Meadow School/Community Garden Running Track and Walking Paths

Existing Program and Site

Green Schoolyard

Green2015 69 There are 2,009 acres of privately owned vacant parcels greater than one-quarter acre in Philadelphia, 1,257 of which are located in areas that do not currently have fair and equal access to green space.

70 opportunity sites large, privately owned vacant lots run The rendering on pages 73 to 74 of pri- along the rivers. This makes them vately owned vacant land converted especially valuable, as they can help to green space shows an example of the city complete public access a large industrial parcel along a riv- along our waterfronts, as well as erfront. A parcel of this size is ideal protect habitat and mitigate flood for integrating parks with private damage. Such lands include parcels development, since well-designed along the Delaware River, Lower green space can make the site more Schuylkill River, Tacony-Frankford attractive for potential developers. private Creek, Cobbs Creek, and Poquessing This site is 28 acres total, only three Creek. The next chapter presents of which are needed to make a trail underused strategies for the use of some of connection through the site. Such these vacant lands through joint sites showcase the economic benefit land agreements, partnerships, zoning, of open space. Investing in green and enforcement. space yields financial return in Privately held vacant land repre- the form of business and real-estate sents the majority of available land There are 2,009 acres of privately taxes, as well as bringing many other in Philadelphia. Opportunities for owned vacant parcels greater than financial benefits. transforming this land into parks will one-quarter acre in Philadelphia, inevitably arise, and some of these 1,257 of which are located in areas transformed properties will play im- that do not currently have fair and portant parts in the city’s progress equal access to green space. This is Three-quarters of the 40,600 vacant parcels toward its long-term green vision. a significantly higher number of suit- across Philadelphia are privately owned. ably sized plots than the public owns Examples of privately owned vacant land in Current data shows that privately in the city. However, much of this neighborhoods underserved by park space owned land represents 75 percent private underused land is in areas include these sites in 1 Brewerytown, 2 Fairhill, of all vacant acres in Philadelphia. without dense residential neighbor- and 3 Kensington. Because of the relative size and loca- hoods, so its conversion to parkland tion of many of these parcels, they would not address the goal of provid- can make valuable additions to the ing park space within easy walking 1 green-space network. While many distance of residential areas for those privately owned rowhouse lots would currently underserved. not be ideal for green space, there are significantly more large vacant In addition to empty parcels, there are parcels in private ownership than thousands more acres of industrial in public ownership. These large lots land in the city that are partially are primarily former industrial sites, underused, with large portions sitting though some are private parcels in fallow or occupied by parking lots or residential neighborhoods. Because junkyards. These sites are often in Philadelphia’s rivers were important areas that currently lack access to locations for industry, some of these park space.

2 3

Green2015 71 A Transformation: private underused land 1

1 Public green space can be created on private land, such as this 28-acre site along the Lower Schuylkill River. It makes the site more marketable for future development, provides a neighborhood benefit, and may earn a credit toward PWD’s parcel-based stormwater charges. 2 Creating basic public access and a generous greenway extends trail connectivity through a previously inaccesible riverfront area and stimulates private development on site.

72 opportunity sites New Private Development

Public Streets and Paths

Waterfront Park

Private Development, Public Benefit

Green2015 73 Chapter 6

The First 500

74 the first 500 Green2015 75 we’re well on our way Thanks to the ongoing initiatives of public agencies, institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private developers, the city is well on its way to adding 500 new acres of public green space by 2015. Since Mayor Nutter took office in 2008, 100 acres have been funded as new park space, and construction is either underway or will begin shortly. The largest transfer, 35 acres at the Upper Roxborough Reservoir, represents a partnership between PPR and the Department of Public Property. Other sites range from major university expansion to park space as a part of a museum to an urban farm on vacant SEPTA property. Thus the city has already met 20 percent of the Greenworks Philadelphia goal.

As this report shows, the city can ac- to schoolyards that will give children healthy lifestyles. The recommenda- quire, fund, construct, and maintain needed places to play and enhance tions are not set in stone; rather, new green spaces on four major types the role of schoolyards as community they offer the City a number of of opportunity sites using existing focal points. options, in no particular order, to resources and initiatives. be explored simultaneously in order Private Underused Land to create a variety of park spaces Recreation Centers and Use code and tax enforcement and that contribute to the richness of the Underused PPR sites legislative tools to help turn private city’s park system. Use existing capital funding to trans- vacant land into park space. This inform sites managed and operated by cludes railroad corridors as potential Next we present a closer view of the PPR into improved, greener places. walking and biking trails. 100 new green acres to date. The subsequent sections present how the Public Underused Land The four identified types of oppor- four major types of opportunity sites Green land that the city government tunity sites present different ways can be transformed into park space. already owns. to accomplish the short-term goals of addressing access issues and the Schoolyards long-term goals of strengthening our Partner with the School District of Phila- neighborhoods, improving environ- delphia to make green improvements mental performance, and encouraging

76 the first 500 60 E. Willow Grove

Upper Roxborough Reservoir

Lardner’s Point

Kroc Center

Kensington CAPA

54th and Upland Streets Barnes on Sugar House Greenway the Parkway Drexel Park Race Street Pier Walnut Hill Community Park and Farm Greenfield School Penn Park Hawthorne Park Grays Ferry Julian Crescent Abele Washington Park Karen Avenue Green We’re Well on our way Donnelly Park Sites completed or underway (100 acres)

Size of dots on map indicates their relative acreage

Green2015 77 500 acres 100 acres

100 acres toward our goal

Drexel Park center is one of 25 throughout the Near the northern edge of campus, Julian Abele Park nation that will be created as a part at 32nd Street and Powelton Avenue, Located in the Graduate Hospital of a Salvation Army project to provide Drexel University redeveloped a neighborhood of Philadelphia at 22nd recreation space in underserved brownfield into a 2.5-acre open space and Montrose Streets, Julian Abele neighborhoods. Although the fitness- known as Drexel Park. The site was Park is an important addition to a com- and-recreation portion of the Kroc originally purchased with the intent munity lacking public green space. Community Center will be important to build permanent structures on The site is comprised of reclaimed to the Green2015 public green space the space, but input from the com- vacant lots of about one-third of an goal, the center will provide other munity caused Drexel to reconsider acre in size. The lots were originally important resources for the commu- and ultimately to create usable open in the Redevelopment Authority’s nity as well, including education, job space that offers picturesque views inventory and were greened as a part training, and human services. The of the skyline and the Schuylkill of PHS’s Philadelphia Green program. site also has environmental ameni- River. Drexel maintains the option After a series of city approval pro- ties, including planted areas and to develop a building on the site in cesses (including the RDA board and berms that naturally filter stormwater. the future. The site was dedicated in City Planning Commission, as well Staff and facility maintenance will be October 2008.50 as a City Council bill), the land was funded through an endowment that is transferred to the former Department a part of the capital campaign.51 Hawthorne Park of Recreation. The park is named A new public green space is under- after Julian Abele, the first African- Grays Ferry Crescent way just south of Center City at 12th American graduate of the Penn The Schuylkill River Development and Catharine Streets. The park is architecture program, who designed Corporation (SRDC) is a public- approximately half of a city block, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and private partnership aimed at making and the land was previously owned the Free Library while working for the Schuylkill Banks Master Plan by and managed by the Philadelphia Horace Trumbauer. Neighbors sup- the SRDC a reality. The group com- Housing Authority (PHA). As a port the park through the Friends of pleted remediation on the east side part of a new revitalization plan for Julian Abele Park, which coordinates of the Schuylkill riverfront stretch the Martin Luther King Plaza area, maintenance and programming. between 34th and Wharton Streets PHA turned over the land to the earlier this year. The waterfront former Department of Recreation Ray and Joan Kroc Corps was previously owned by DuPont for development and maintenance. Community Center and hosted a research facility that Funding for the project has come Completed earlier this year, the Kroc created vehicle coatings. SRDC is from public and private organiza- Community Center in Northwest the sponsor of the 3,300-foot-long by tions, including the Pennsylvania Philadelphia is an important addition 200-foot-wide bike and pedestrian Department of Conservation and to public open space in an area of greenway, which is currently under Natural Resources, the City of need. The entire facility is 12.4 acres construction. The final cost of the Philadelphia, Pew Charitable Trusts, and includes a large outdoor fitness project is about $2 million. and the William Penn Foundation. and recreation area. The community

78 the first 500 1

Where Are the First 100 Acres?

Name Intersection Acres Leader 5422–5465 Upland Way 54th Street and Upland Way 0.6 PPR 60 E. Willow Grove East Willow Grove Avenue 0.25 PPR and Winston Road Barnes on the Parkway 20th Street and 2 Barnes Ben Franklin Parkway Foundation 2 Drexel Park 32nd Street and Powelton Avenue 2.5 Drexel Grays Ferry Crescent Schuylkill River between 34th 10.5 SRDC Street and Grays Ferry Avenue Albert M. Greenfield School 23rd Street and Sansom Street 0.7 Greening Greenfield Committee Hawthorne Park 12th Street and Catharine Street 1 PPR, PHA, PWD Julian Abele Park 22nd Street and Montrose Street 0.33 RDA, PPR,

PHS 3 Karen Donnelly Park Moyamensing Avenue and 0.17 PPR Dickinson Street Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Wissahickon Avenue 12.4 Salvation Community Center and Hunting Park Avenue Army Lardner's Point Park Delaware River and Levick Street 4.5 PPR, DRCC Kensington Creative and North Front Street and 2.5 School Performing Arts High School Berks Street District Penn Park 30th Street and Walnut Street 24 Penn Washington Avenue Green South Columbus Boulevard 1 DRWC and Washington Avenue 4 Race Street Pier North Columbus Boulevard and 1 DRWC Race Street SugarHouse Casino Shackamaxon Street and 1.3 Sugar- Greenway the Delaware River House Upper Roxborough Reservoir Eva Street and Port Royal Avenue 35 PPR Walnut Hill Community 46th Street and Market Street 0.25 TEC-CDC Park and Farm52 Total Acres: 100

Kensington Creative and Walnut Hill Community Park farm is a great example of numerous Performing Arts High School and Farm community organizations (including The new Kensington CAPA is led by The Enterprise Center Community UC Green, PHS, and Walnut Hill Civic Youth United for Change. The new Development Corporation and Association) forming partnerships to LEED gold facility, located at Front and Walnut Hill residents are trans- create public green space.52 Berks Streets (at the Berks Market- forming a quarter-acre vacant lot Frankford El Station), will transform at 4610 Market Street, adjacent to an area of 2.5 acres into an inviting, the Market-Frankford Line, into a Park spaces of all kinds have been created since environmentally friendly green space new pocket park and urban garden. 2008 in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, including for students and residents. The SEPTA owns the property and signed 1 Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High publicly accessible schoolyard is an a long-term lease with TEC-CDC. School, 2 Karen Donnelly Park in South Philadel- example of the transforming of former The farm has been underway since phia, 3 Walnut Hill Community Park and Farm, industrial land into a new, productive spring 2010, while the pocket park and 4 Penn Park in University City, which is under use that benefits the community. is still in the planning phase. The construction and scheduled to open in Fall 2011.

Green2015 79 Transforming impervious Germantown Avenue and recreation centers and under- Allegheny Avenue, 0.8 acre used PPR sites in underserved 500 acres neighborhoods could add over Jasper Street and Buckius Street, 62 acres 62 acres of green space. 0.4 acre

Marshall Street and Susquehanna Avenue, 0.5 acre

Master Street and Willington Street, 0.5 acre

Natrona Street and Susquehanna Recreation Centers Avenue, 0.3 acre Pompey Street and Phillips Street, and Underused PPR Sites 0.9 acre

Transformation Guerin Recreation Center, Tacony Street, south of Dietz and The easiest land to transform is land 1600 Jackson Street, 1.78 acres Watson plant, 22.4 acres already managed by PPR. Because Harold Playground, Huntingdon Street a greening process for recreation and Kensington Avenue , 0.7 acre PPR-managed recreation centers centers requires physical improve- that are overwhelmingly impervious ments to existing capital facilities, Lower Mayfair Playground, Robbins in other areas within the combined allocations from the city’s capital and Hawthorne Streets, 5.62 acres sewer system budget can be made to help pay for Play lot, W. Venango and 11th Streets, construction costs. These would 10th and Lemon Playground, Lemon 0.82 acre be additions to future budgets and between 10th and 11th Streets, 0.37 acre would not take money away from Sayre Morris Recreation Center, 33rd and Wallace Playground, 33rd other initiatives. Because the land 59th and Spruce Streets, 8.57 acres and Wallace Streets, 0.8 acre is within city ownership, recreation Tolentine Community Center, centers are also “greened acre” 39th and Olive Playground, 39th and 1025 Mifflin Street, 0.72 acre opportunities for the Philadelphia Olive Streets, 1.47 acres Water Department and its Green City, Amos Playground, 16th and Berks Clean Waters initiative.53 Finally, the PPR-managed sites greater than Streets, 0.89 acre Department of Public Health is in one-quarter acre in size that are not the process of creating new fitness currently serving as public parks and Baker Playground, Landsdowne and programs and installing exercise that could be converted to green uses Conestoga Streets, 0.62 acre equipment in recreation centers city- 3rd Street and Bainbridge Street, Barry Playground, 18th and Bigler wide, making them another possible 1 acre (currently a parking lot) Streets, 3.5 acres partner in physical improvements or new programming. PPR is already 17th Street and Oxford Street, 0.4 acre Black Coyles and McBride discussing overlapping initiatives 29th Street and Clearfield Street, Playground, Hazzard and Collins with the city’s Department of Public 6.1 acres Streets, 0.87 acre Health and Water Department, a sign Burke Playground, Second and of PPR’s willingness to partner. 42nd Street and Cambridge Street, 0.7 acre Jackson Streets, 1.4 acres 54 opportunity sites 67th Street and Dorel Street, 0.3 acre Clayborn and Lewis Playground, Recreation centers that are greater Poplar and 38th Streets, 0.6 acre 86th Street and Luther Street, than 90 percent impervious surface 13.9 acres (in what appear to be Marie Dendy Recreation Center, and are located in areas without unbuilt meadows along the Lower 10th and Jefferson Streets, 0.75 acre half-mile access to green space Schuylkill) Deritis Playground, Frazier and Grays, Frankford Valley Playground, Buist Street and Robinson Street, 1 acre Church and Tacony Streets, 0.94 acre 0.4 acre Di Silvestro Playground, 15th and Morris, 1.6 acres

80 the first 500 Duckrey Playground, 16th and Rizzo Rink, Front and Washington Potential sites for future greening include 1 Tiptop Susquehanna Streets, 1.17 acres Streets, 2.3 acres Playground in Northern Liberties and 2 a parcel next to Panati Playground recently acquired by the city in Eighth and Diamond Playground, Schmidt Playground, Ontario and order to work with a local nonprofit that would help Eighth and Diamond Streets, 0.59 acre Howard Streets, 0.27 acre develop a master plan for the playground.

Fishtown Recreation Center, Stokley Playground, Elkhart and Montgomery Avenue and Moyer Thompson Streets, 0.67 acre 1 Streets, 1.34 acres Tiptop Playground, Front and Ford PAL Recreation Center, Mercy Richmond Streets, 0.63 acre between Sixth and Seventh Streets, 0.6 acre Towey Playground, 1832 Howard Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium, Street, 1.25 acres 16th between Hunting Park Avenue Trenton and Auburn Playground, and Staub Street, 6.5 acres Trenton Avenue and E. Auburn Street, Garden Court, 47th and Spruce 0.88 acre Streets, 0.49 acre Veterans Playground, Ninth and 2 Frank Glavin Playground, Westmoreland Cumberland Streets, 0.58 acre and Almond Streets, 0.52 acre Waterloo Playground, Cumberland Halert Playground, Boston and Coral and Waterloo Streets, 0.93 acre Streets, 0.43 acre Weccacoe Playground, Catharine and Heritage Park Playground, Clearfield Leithgow Streets, 0.73 acre and Sydenham Streets, 0.63 acre Wilmot Park, Hawthorne and Meadow Lindbergh Park, parcel south of 63rd Streets, 0.35 acre and Dicks Streets, 0.69 acre Winchester Playground, Sydenham Maguire Playground, Lehigh Avenue between York and Dauphin Streets, Spotlight and Mascher Street, 0.42 acre 0.53 acre Shissler Recreation Center Municipal Services Building, Fishtown, Philadelphia These recreation centers and play- 1401 JFK Boulevard, 2.33 acres grounds present opportunities for In June 2010, PPR launched the green Name unknown, Fernon Street be- greening and connections to larger PPR transformation of Shissler Recreation tween 23rd and Point Breeze, 0.25 acre facilities to better serve the community: Center in Fishtown. Through a partner- Name unknown, Preston and Aspen 48th and Woodland Playground, ship involving two City Council members, Streets, 1.53 acres near Kingsessing Recreation Center Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, New Kensington CDC, Mural Arts Program, Carmella Playground, Name unknown, Venango and the Philadelphia Water Department, near Gambrel Playground Marvine Streets, 0.82 acre and others, Shissler will receive a new Name unknown, Waterloo and Clayborn & Lewis Playground sports field, rain gardens, stormwater Westmoreland, 2 acres trenches, a new spray park, improved Clemente Recreation Center, fencing and sidewalks, and street Nelson Playground, 301 W. near Francisville Recreation Center trees along Blair Street. This is the Cumberland Street, 0.59 acre Miles Mack Playground signature green investment in a PPR project called “Shissler to the River,” Northern Liberties Recreation Center, Piccoli Playground, which also includes improvements to Third and Fairmount Avenue, 0.45 acre near Tacony Creek Park nearby Palmer Park, a new playing Panati Playground, 22nd and field and stormwater trenches at Hetzel Roosevelt Playground, Clearfield Streets, 1.03 acres Field, and streetscape improvements near Vogt Playground along Norris Street, Frankford Avenue, Reed Playground, Ontario and Dillman Rose Playground and Columbia Avenue. Improvements Streets, 0.3 acre are scheduled to be completed in Sturgis Playground, Spring 2011. near Olney Playground Green2015 81 Transforming public underused land in underserved neighborhoods could add 500 acres over 558 acres of green space. 558 acres

public underused land

Transformation Land owned and held by other would be a different application of When greening existing public land agencies (with the main ones be- nominal transfer. or facilities, acquisition costs are ing Redevelopment Authority and nominal. While the city is exploring Philadelphia Housing Authority) Other Cities the opportunity to create a single requires board approval and a City Rust Belt cities offer important les- vacant-land inventory and manage- Council vote. While both agencies sons in vacant-land management. ment process, until such a system often establish open spaces in their With state-enabled legislation, is created, ease of land transfer developments, these additional ap- Genesee County, Michigan, estab- for green space depends on which provals are likely to mean that the lished a single “land bank” to bring agency manages the property, as dif- project will take longer to implement. all public vacant land under county ferent missions, disposition policies, Further, nominal transfer of land to control. This action centralized va- and board compositions can affect date has occurred mainly for the pur- cant-land management, acquisition, the length of the acquisition process. pose of creating affordable housing, and disposition within one agency in- A transfer of land currently managed so transfer for the purpose of new stead of five or more agencies (which by the Department of Public Property, city parks would be a different appli- has caused coordination problems in and the Philadelphia Housing cation of nominal transfer. It should Philadelphia). However, critics of the Development Corporation (PHDC) be noted that most publicly owned Genesee County model point to the is relatively uncomplicated for PPR vacant parcels are small (less than lack of comprehensive land-use plan- because it is an interdepartmental one-quarter acre in size). So looking ning to guide decision making and transaction and therefore does not at the inventory of multiple city agen- to poor maintenance of the land they require approval by City Council. cies presents opportunities for the control. State Rep. John Taylor intro- While most vacant sites managed by city to assemble parcels managed by duced legislation in Harrisburg that, the Department of Public Property, different agencies into larger devel- if approved, would allow Philadelphia OHCD, and PHDC are too small to be opment parcels. A citywide strategy to create such a land bank. converted into new city parks, the for the use of its vacant land holdings Department of Public Property, which would allow for the quick assembly, In Detroit, greening initiatives on manages about 50 percent of publicly use, and disposition of such parcels. vacant lots range from large-scale owned vacant land in Philadelphia, commercial farming to neighborhood- is proactively seeking to dispose of With land owned by a state or federal based urban gardening. The Greening its vacant properties and has made agency, there are often acquisition of Detroit greens vacant lots, creates progress in updating its listings by costs. While both agencies often community gardens, plants and tends posting its full inventory online. The establish open space as part of its street trees (see spotlight), and trains Department of Public Property has developments, nominal transfer of community members to maintain the stated that it welcomes serious inqui- land involving these two agencies green space and foster other green ries from city agencies and members to date has occurred mainly for initiatives in their neighborhoods. of the public who wish to convert the purpose of creating affordable This is similar to the Philadelphia vacant parcels under its jurisdiction housing, so transfer for the purpose Green program at the Pennsylvania into productive uses for the city. of creating standalone city parks Horticultural Society. Detroit is also

82 the first 500 1

Spotlight Neighborhood Nursery Program Detroit, Michigan

Public underused sites for potential future greening include 1 Vacancies along North American Street, 2 North Front Street in Northern Liberties, 3 vacancies along the Amtrak Northeast Corridor in Strawberry Mansion, and 4 the Festival Pier site on the Central Delaware riverfront. home to the Detroit Garden Resource Program, which supports urban- 3 In the Neighborhood Nursery program, farming initiatives through training, the Greening of Detroit organization education, and focus groups on im- prepares the vacant lot, builds the proving coordination and turnout for earthen mounds used to contain fresh community events. soil, spreads mulch, and plants trees. The trees are grown for three to five Through the Pittsburgh Mayor’s years and are cared for by the Office of Neighborhood Initiatives, community and the group’s Green Pittsburgh has implemented various Corps before being transplanted programs to productively reuse city- into the community.56 This program owned vacant land. One such initia- 4 simultaneously creates productive tive is the Green Up program, which uses of vacant land and improves the converts city-owned vacant lots into city’s landscape. PPR has also taken community green spaces. That city’s responsibility for implementing the Mayor’s Office provides plants and Greenworks Philadelphia goal of signs for the Green Up lots, and the lo- planting 300,000 new trees by 2015, so cal Penn State Cooperative Extension implementing a program like Detroit’s provides soil testing and technical would help PPR reach that goal, as well assistance. Each Green Up site has a as greening vacant lots and providing community partner organization that a revenue-making opportunity for for- can coordinate volunteers or staff to spotlight profit nurseries. maintain ongoing maintenance and Using Vacant Lots care of each lot. Pittsburgh’s Climate to Grow Street Trees After a 2009 study by the Urban Action Plan also offers some interest- Land Institute commissioned by the ing ideas for vacant land reuse, in- Feasibility studies done through a Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia cluding ways to alter building demo- landscape-architecture studio at determined that the remedial costs lition so that the leftover lot is easier Penn State University concluded needed to prepare Logan Triangle for to convert into a productive use, as that vacant lots can yield anywhere conventional construction would far well as ways to use brownfields to between 350 and 1400 street trees exceed the economic return, the city now grow plants that produce feedstock per acre, depending on whether the feels that a green use such as an urban for biofuel, to reduce dependence on parcel is designed as a hybrid open tree farm might be more appropriate. foreign oil.55 space or a full tree farm. A private Indeed, as the City of Philadelphia is tree nursery would earn $75 per committed to planting 300,000 trees by tree in revenue from production and 2015, the Logan Triangle offers an ideal be a source of new green jobs in place for a temporary tree farm to help 57 Philadelphia. the city reach that goal.

Green2015 83 opportunity sites58 299 Byberry Road, 2.1 acres 6540 North 15th Street, 0.3 acre Managed by the Department 1670 Kinsey Street, 1.4 acres 3809 Frankford Avenue, 0.3 acre of Public Property 623 North 55th Street, 1.3 acres 4039 Warren Street, 0.3 acre Capital Facilities Public Property staff identified these 1001 Hellerman Street, 1.2 acres Other large vacant lands owned by as potential sites for greening: 11728 Gifford Avenue, 1 acre the City of Philadelphia: Medical Examiner’s Office, 139 East Clearfield Street, 0.8 acre University Avenue and Curie 2981 Comly Road, 51.4 acres Boulevard 332 East Tioga Street, 0.8 acre 400 Dearnley Street, 28 acres

Philadelphia Senior Center, 1508 South 49th Street, 0.8 acre 4975 Ashburner Street, 18.1 acres Broad Street and Lombard Street 319 South 56th Street, 0.8 acre 5302 Lindbergh Boulevard, 17.2 acres

In the following areas, a cluster of 2301 North 4th Street, 0.7 acre 701 Ramona Avenue, 13.6 acres public facilities exists in a neighborhood underserved by park space. 517 West Huntingdon Street, 0.7 acre 3800 Island Avenue, 12.6 acres Each area presents the city with an 5115 West Stiles Street, 0.7 acre 501 North Columbus Boulevard, 12 acres opportunity to green existing public land for public benefit. 6309 Cherokee Street, 0.6 acre 2600 Grant Avenue, 11.3 acres

59th Street and Lancaster Avenue 3130 North 2nd Street, 0.6 acre 8975 Ridge Avenue, 9 acres

65th Street and Haverford Avenue 3042 North 4th Street, 0.6 acre 416 West Rittenhouse Street, 7.2 acres 1024 West Lehigh Avenue, 0.6 acre Broad Street and Snyder Avenue 11635 Academy Road, 6.8 acres 201 East Indiana Avenue, 0.6 acre Germantown Avenue and Butler 4000 Whitaker Avenue, 6.7 acres Street 1751 North 4th Street, 0.5 acre 7500 Stenton Avenue, 5.8 acres Kensington Avenue and Castor 1611 Ruan Street, 0.5 acre Avenue 432 East Wister Street, 5.2 acres 2459 Kensington Avenue, 0.5 acre Second Street and Lehigh Avenue 623 West Lehigh Avenue, 2.75 acres 2600 Grant Avenue, 0.4 acre 1100 North Front Street, 2.3 acres PPR should examine these sites with 3101 North 8th Street, 0.4 acre the City Planning Commission to see 5150 Wayne Avenue, 0.5 acres which facilities might have redun- 926 East Locust Avenue, 0.4 acre dancies or opportunities to become 260 East Luzerne Street, 0.4 acre Managed by the Philadelphia Housing community green spaces. Development Corporation 3280 Morrell Avenue, 0.4 acre There are no parcels outside the half- The following properties are vacant 925 North 7th Street, 0.4 acre mile access to parks that are greater and outside a 10-minute walk of than one-quarter acre in size. How- existing green space: 3222 H Street, 0.3 acre ever, many vacant lots exist through- 9551 Academy Road, 56.9 acres 432 North Edgewood Street, 0.3 acre out the city that offer opportunities for adding park space in the city. 3117 South Columbus Boulevard, 4610 Hedge Street, 0.3 acre 26.3 acres 2914 North 2nd Street, 0.3 acre Owned by the Redevelopment Authority 3140 South 61st Street, 22.1 acres 4716 Baltimore Avenue, 0.3 acre 3116 South 82nd Street, 38.7 acres 9319 Bluegrass Road, 6 acres 2201 East Tioga Street, 0.3 acre 5450 Arch Street, 8.6 acres 330 Domino Lane, 5.2 acres 2216 North 9th Street, 0.3 acre 1233 North Hutchinson Street, 7 acres 5345 Baynton Street, 2.1 acres 2122 North Park Avenue, 0.3 acre 8400 Mario Lanza Boulevard, 5.8 acres

84 the first 500 3030 North 20th Street, 5.3 acres 10051 Sandmeyer Lane, 5.1 acres Letterly and Amber Streets, 0.33 acre

48 North Wiota Street, 5 acres 7411 Holstein Avenue, 5 acres Third and Berks Streets, 0.5 acre (currently in use as community garden) 3105 South 61st Street, 2 acres Handball court on Fifth Street 2775 Red Lion Road, 4.8 acres between York and Dauphin, 0.25 acre 4870 Jefferson Street, 2 acres 2937 South 61st Street, 4.5 acres 5801 Tacony Street, 1.3 acres Underused land within PennDOT’s 8100 Mario Lanza Boulevard, 4.1 acres jurisdiction 2612 Gregg Street, 1 acre 4917 Aspen Street, 3.8 acres 4110 and 4154 East Thompson Street 238 West Sedgley Avenue, 1 acre and 4050 Aramingo Avenue: 4.96 acres 2800 West Dauphin Street, 3.5 acres 6975 Norwitch Drive, 0.7 acre adjacent to I-95 that could help with 2933 South 61st Street, 3.4 acres public access along the Frankford Creek 1635 South 49th Street, 0.7 acre 5800 Eastwick Avenue, 2.3 acres PennDOT owns two parcels adjacent 2639 Gregg Street, 0.5 acre to the Frankford Creek along Adams 8601 Cheney Place, 2.3 acres Avenue and Deal Street, north of 2613 Gregg Street, 0.5 acre Kensington Avenue. These two parcels 3016 South 61st Street, 1.8 acres total 1.1 acres and offer a good oppor- Owned by the Philadelphia Parking 3223 South 61st Street, 1.5 acres tunity to extend public access to the Authority creek south of Juniata Park. 9201 Dewees Street, 1.2 acres North Delaware and Allegheny Gustine Lake, Ridge Avenue and City 2935 North 2nd Street, 0.6 acre Avenues, 7.2 acres: Adjacent to Avenue, 0.25 acre Pulaski Park, this impound lot presents Owned by the Philadelphia Housing a great opportunity to expand the Underused land within Commonwealth Authority small pier park on the Delaware River. of Pennsylvania ownership There are no parcels outside the half- Owned by the Philadelphia Gas Department of General Services, mile access to parks that are greater Commission 860 Byberry Road, 6.5 acres than one-quarter acre in size. How- ever, many vacant lots exist through- 2900 East Venango Street, 1.1 acres Department of General Services, out the city that offer opportunities Ruffner and Blaine Streets, 2.51 acres for adding park space in the city. Examples of multiagency assemblages Department of General Services, greater than one-quarter acre Owned by the Philadelphia Industrial Island and Glenmore Avenues, 1.48 acres The nonprofit Clean Air Council is Development Corporation or the leading the planning process to ex- Department of General Services, Shunk Philadelphia Authority for Industrial tend the Cobbs Creek Trail south to Street and Delaware Avenue, 0.86 acre Development the Heinz Tinicum Wildlife Refuge. Department of General Services, The following properties are vacant Most of the land along the creek south 11956 Stevens Road, 0.7 acre and outside a 10-minute walk of ex- of the park terminus at Woodland isting green space: Avenue is publicly owned, including Department of General Services, the following parcels. Aramingo Avenue and the Delaware 11450 Northeast Boulevard, 36 acres PPR owns a 26.2-acre parcel Expressway, 0.44 acre 11430 Northeast Boulevard, 28.7 acres at Cibotti Recreation Center that Underused land within federal 3025 Meetinghouse Road, 23.9 acres partially fronts the creek at ownership 77th Street and Elmwood Avenue. 5000 Summerdale Road, 14.3 acres 7071 Milnor Street, 21.3 acres The Redevelopment Authority owns 14515 McNulty Road, 13.3 acres the parcels along the creek from 75th 2900 South 20th Street, 13 acres to 78th Street, as well as 93.3 acres south of 84th Street along the creek. 10011 Sandmeyer Lane, 12.8 acres North American Street and 2021 Woodhaven Road, 12.6 acres Montgomery Avenue, 1.6 acres

Green2015 85 500 acres 426 acres

schoolyards

Transformation By greening sites, the School District and recreation. In response to the re- A strong partnership between the city of Philadelphia—the largest owner port, the L.A. City Council approved and the School District of Philadelphia of impervious surface in the city and the school district and the parks will allow green schoolyards to be after the City of Philadelphia—would department developed 15 pilot sites created and maintained. The city’s invest capital dollars now to save on to “transform schools in high-need school district is governed by the recurring water costs for decades to areas.”62 The L.A. City Council’s School Reform Commission (SRC), a come. In addition, state legislation support of the partnership created state-run commission consisting of indemnifies property owners from community, public, and agency buy- three state appointees and two city liability if the land is designated for in.63 Today, through this work, Los appointees. Preliminary meetings recreational use.59 Angeles can increase opportunities with the school district have offered for recreation in neighborhoods where promising signs that a partnership Other Cities Have Greened Their there is little open available land, and can be established. Schoolyards the school district—because it is Cities that have successfully revi- participating in joint projects with A successful citywide schoolyard talized schoolyards have done so the city—has access to funding that greening project has not yet been es- through partnerships and initiatives was once unavailable. People for tablished in Philadelphia. Individual backed by strong political leader- Parks was an essential component of schools have formed successful school- ship. Joint-use agreements—formal the city-school district partnership. yard greening partnerships with the agreements between separate gov- As a trusted local entity, People for school district; examples include ernmental entities that set forth the Parks ensures that the needs and McCloskey School with the Ogontz terms and conditions for shared use desires of communities and schools Avenue Revitalization Corporation and of public properties—have allowed are incorporated into the overall Greenfield School with the Greening for citywide schoolyard greening design plan.64 People for Parks, Greenfield Committee (see spotlight). initiatives that would not otherwise working with the city’s parks depart- Maintaining the improved school- have been possible.60 ment, developed a summer program yard can be a challenge. Research to teach neighborhood youth how indicates that, in the past, the School In 2008, People for Parks, a non- to maintain green spaces. In Los District of Philadelphia has required profit in Los Angeles, published the Angeles, public agencies and non- that the partner organization assume Community School Parks Report, profits are sharing their expertise. In general liability coverage in perpetu- which calculated that two-thirds of the process, they’re improving edu- ity for any green improvements made children and youth under the age of cation and expanding green space. on the schoolyard. 18 in Los Angeles did not live within walking distance of a park or play- In New York City, a combination of Greening schoolyards citywide will ground.61 The report called for the high-level administrative support enable the school district to offer Department of Recreation and Parks and community support was key students better recreation opportuni- and the Unified School District to to schoolyard greening. New York ties and bring down their stormwater establish a partnership focused on City’s mayor mandated that by 2030 management bills at the same time. improving children’s access to parks every New Yorker should live within a

86 the first 500 Transforming public schoolyards in underserved Spotlight neighborhoods could add over 426 acres of Greening Greenfield green space. Committee Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

10-minute walk of a park or play- and community development corpo- The Albert M. Greenfield School, a ground. In order to realize this goal, rations. Regarding site maintenance, Philadelphia public school located at the mayor committed $110 million the city supplies “baseline” mainte- 23rd and Sansom Streets, recently to build parks and playgrounds. The nance for schoolyards, such as trash completed the construction of its city and the nonprofit Trust for Public and graffiti removal, while the school environmentally friendly schoolyard. The Land (TPL) developed new ways to district and the community provide collaboration between the Albert M. form partnerships with 185 schools ongoing care, such as planting and Greenfield Home and School Association to transform asphalt lots into commu- maintaining gardens and flower (HSA), the school district, and the city nity play areas, yielding 200 acres of areas. In Boston, the schools have was essential to accomplish the project. new play space when complete. TPL made a concerted effort to involve The HSA is organized by involved facilitated key partnerships between students in maintenance through parents with experience in raising city agencies, the school district, and curriculum and community service. capital funds. It arranged for the local the community. TPL’s work reflects Some Boston schools have also estab- Community Design Collaborative to the understanding that every school- lished their own maintenance funds. organize four design workshops with yard-improvement project requires community members, parents, and the participation of the students and One interesting aspect of the students, which helped build support the community in a site-planning Boston Schoolyard Initiative was its for the project. The district provided staff exercise to foster investment, owner- approach to funding. In addition to assistance. As a nonprofit managing ship, and stewardship.65 the $16 million contributed by the the project, the HSA was released from mayor, the city established a sepa- many obligations, including district Boston’s successful schoolyard in- rate entity, the Boston Schoolyard procurement and construction-liability itiatives were spurred by a mayor Funders Collaborative (BSFC), to requirements. The Philadelphia Water who recognized an opportunity for oversee private-sector involvement Department worked with the HSA to improved schoolyards to transform in the schoolyard initiative. Since the create a design that captures 75 percent schools and communities. A cabinet- mid-1990s, BSFC has served as the of the stormwater on site. Notable level task force established a blue- managing entity for the schoolyard features of the Greenfield playground print for schoolyard revitalization, initiative, administering grants, include a native-plant rain garden, a outlining a process that would enable coordinating funding, and working permeable playing surface, planters schoolyards to function as both com- with city partners. Boston public with built-in seating, and shade trees. munity centers and outdoor class- schools have received over $4 million As a result of these collaborations, the rooms. The blueprint requires the through the BSFC.66 The BSFC Greening Greenfield Committee raised school and community to begin by can typically fund $1 for every $2 $365,000 to design and install the first developing a collaborative working that the city spends on schoolyard phase of construction on a multitasking group, which has led more than 60 initiatives.67 park. In April 2010, the Pennsylvania Boston schools to develop partner- Department of Environmental Protection ships with local health centers, announced an award for $200,000 for senior centers, community colleges, the continuing development of this churches, supermarkets, hospitals, environmentally friendly schoolyard.68

Green2015 87 Opportunity Sites for Pennypacker School, Washington George Pepper, 84th Street and schoolyards69 Lane and Thouron Avenue, 0.29 acre Lindbergh Boulevard, 24.84 acres Using our site-selection criteria for Rhawnhurst School, Castor Avenue George Washington, Bustleton new park space, the following school- and Hartel Avenue, 6.6 acres Avenue and Gorman Street, 24.52 acres yards are ideal candidates for several reasons: their geographic distribution Rowen School, 19th Street and Haines J. Hampton Moore, Longshore Avenue in neighborhoods that are not well Street, 2 acres and Summerdale Avenue, 3.66 acres served by park space, their participa- Sayre School, 58th Street and Walnut Lankenau, 201 Spring Lane, 27.89 acres tion in the School Wellness Council Street, 4 acres program with the Philadelphia Morrison, Third Street and Duncannon Department of Public Health, and Shawmont School, Eva Street and Avenue, 0.32 acre their large impervious-surface cover- Shawmont Avenue, 5.9 acres Northeast High, Cottman Avenue and age, which could be repurposed for Sheppard School, Howard Street and Algon Avenue, 28.9 acres stormwater drainage. Somerset Street, 0.3 acre Randolph Skills Center, Henry Avenue Barton School, Rosehill Street and South Philadelphia High School, and Roberts Avenue, 5.92 acres Wyoming Avenue, 3 acres Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, Roberto Clemente, Front Street and Beeber School, 59th Street and 2.5 acres Erie Avenue, 2.86 acres Malvern Avenue, 1.5 acres Southwark School, Ninth Street and Sheridan School, Ontario Street and Business and Technology High Mifflin Street, 1.2 acres G Street, 0.23 acre School, 13th Street and Green Street, University City High School/Drew 0.75 acre Swenson Arts and Technology Elementary, 38th Street and Warren Center, Roosevelt Boulevard and Red Central School, Ogontz Avenue and Street, 10.3 acres Lion Road, 8.21 acres Olney Avenue, 15.8 acres Grover Washington School, B Street Thomas Edison, Second and Luzerne Cramp School, Howard Street and and Olney Avenue, 3 acres Streets, 21.39 acres Tioga Street, 1.5 acres70 Willard School, Emerald and Orleans Thomas Shallcross, Byberry Road and Edmonds School, Sedgwick Street and Streets, 0.66 acre Woodhaven Road, 72.54 acres Thouron Avenue, 4.6 acres Ziegler School, Saul Street and Comly Walter Saul, Henry Avenue and Ellwood School, 13th Street and Oak Street, 1.2 acres Cinnaminson Street, 20.18 acres Lane Avenue, 1.6 acres The following schools are also in Girard School, 18th Street and neighborhoods not well-served by Passyunk Avenue, 1.2 acres park space and could be improved Hamilton School, 57th Street and to better serve students and the Spruce Street, 1.4 acres neighborhood:

Jones Annex, Memphis Street and AMY Northwest, Ardleigh and Upsal Ann Street, 0.16 acre Streets, 33.48 acres

Leeds School, Sedgwick Street and Anna Shaw, 54th Street and Mount Pleasant Avenue, 4.6 acres Warrington Avenue, 1.68 acres

McDaniel School, 23rd Street and Beeber-Wynnefield, 59th Street and McKean, 0.6 acre Malvern Avenue, 0.57 acre

Moore School, Tyson Avenue and Edward Bok, Ninth and Mifflin Summerdale Avenue, 3.66 acres Streets, 0.37 acre

Olney High School, Front Street and Ellwood Annex, 70th Avenue and Old Duncannon Avenue, 3.5 acres York Road, 0.38 acre

88 the first 500 1

Potential schoolyards for future greening projects include 1 William Harrity School in West Phila- delphia, 2 Kensington High School for Business, 3 Mitchell Weir Elementary School in Southwest Philadelphia, 4 Charles Drew Elementary School ain University City, and 5 George Nebinger School in Queen Village.

2 3

4 5

Green2015 89 500 acres

private underused land

Transformation forecloses on egregiously delinquent stipulations regarding open space. Because there are so many small, properties and then sells them to The zoning code is targeted for a vote privately owned vacancies in the interested buyers. However, the city in City Council in spring 2011, but ul- city, dense residential neighbor- government is often hard-pressed timately public officials and citizens hoods without fair and equal access to participate in these auctions, for will decide which requirements are to parks—such as Newbold and Point two reasons: it costs the Philadelphia included in the final version. The pro- Breeze—struggle to identify opportu- Law Department hundreds of dollars posed code includes these features: just to put one property through the nities for new green spaces in their • A minimum of 10 percent of every communities. Everyone agrees that foreclosure process, and Philadelphia multifamily, commercial, and in- Philadelphia’s current process for is one of the few cities in the country dustrial project larger than 10,000 vacant-land acquisition and enforce- where the city government has to be square feet shall be “common open ment is not working, but with the able to pay off all of the delinquency space”; new strategy being drafted by the fees and penalties on the lien to gain Office of the Managing Director and property ownership. But progress is • Open space is one of the “a la carte” Finance Director, Green2015 can be underway. The recent passage of Act options for density bonuses, in- a part of a solution. Philadelphia 135 at the state level, which allows creasing the opportunity for devel- Revenue Department data from sum- a municipality or nonprofit to assume opers to create green space in order mer 2010 shows that one in every five ownership of a building when the to receive extra floor-area ratio for properties in Philadelphia is in some owner refuses to act, will be helpful the development; at the neighborhood level, and the form of tax delinquency, with the • A mandatory waterfront setback of citywide vacant-land management most indebted property owing $4.4 at least 30 feet is proposed; million in back taxes. Some property strategy will provide policies on a owners have not paid their property citywide scale. • Standards for steep-slope and flood taxes in decades.71 As a result of lax protection would be applied to riv- enforcement, many tax-delinquent Numerous recently approved or ersheds and creeksheds citywide; landowners keep their parcels pending policies could enable the • A requirement is proposed that for blighted, awaiting a development creation of park space on private every tree removed during construc- opportunity. A recent amnesty pro- property without the lengthy vacant- tion, two must be planted; and gram that cut penalties and interest land acquisition process by using to encourage delinquent property foreclosure or eminent domain. These • Enhanced landscape standards owners to pay their debt generated new policies are tied to development would go beyond shrub buffers sur- about $60 million of the $583 million standards or enforcement guidelines rounding surface parking lots.73 owed to the city and school district.72 that could have a significant positive In addition to the proposed zoning Since claiming eminent domain is impact on the city’s landscape. regulations, other incentives to cre- generally not a viable option, the ate green space on private property primary way for the city to gain con- For instance, the City of Philadelphia’s include the previously discussed trol of private vacant land is via the proposed zoning code, in its cur- parcel-based stormwater billing Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, which rent draft form, contains numerous

90 the first 500 1,257 acres

Transforming private underused land in underserved neighborhoods could add over 1,257 acres of green space. In 2007, Jefferson University opened Sidney and Ethal Lubert Plaza, their new central campus green space. Jefferson replaced an above-ground parking structure with an underground garage and park, which features an integrated stormwater management system, public art, and seating. initiative underway by the Philadelphia stormwater rate; these changes add Water Department. As of July 2010, additional greened acres to help PWD landowners are charged fees based achieve their goal of 9,500 greened on the amount of impervious surface acres within the combined sewer on their property and the size of their drainage area. As the rates increase parcel. This shifts the primary finan- over the next three years, PWD has cial responsibility for stormwater the opportunity to develop partner- management from large water users ships and programs to create green to the sites that produce the most infrastructure on private properties, runoff in storm events. These rates which could be accessible to the pub- apply to all landowners in the city, in- lic. Even if the land remains in private cluding the City of Philadelphia and ownership, state law indemnifies the School District of Philadelphia. private property owners from liability PWD does not receive any more if the land is designated as having revenue from these bills than it did a recreational use.74 Recommended the same watershed, therefore still under the previous rate structure; programs and actions include these: reducing the pressure on the com- rather, landowners are being charged bined sewer system. Having a proj- on a different basis, with some paying • Develop standards for working with ect registry coordinated by a single more and some less depending on the landowners to create public green city agency facilitates the matching nature of their properties. With this spaces on their properties. In time, of these opportunities with projects shift, large commercial and industrial this stormwater management in- that the City of Philadelphia has landowners with impervious surfaces vestment may pay for itself due to determined to be high priority for such as parking lots are beginning the credit-based savings in water greening. This is similar to Portland, to see increases in their water bills. bills every year. Another alternative Oregon’s “One Percent for Green” By 2014, when the new rates are fully is a “land swap” through which the program, through which a devel- phased in, some landowners will see developer transfers the impervious oper who does not meet the city’s their rates increase by tenfold, with portion of the property at no cost green-street requirements must pay annual bills going into the six-figure to PWD and/or PPR, which then 1 percent of a project’s construction range. Coincidentally, many such converts the parcel to public green costs to a city fund used to cover property owners are located within space. This establishes a new park design and/or construction costs of neighborhoods in which residents do in a Philadelphia neighborhood with stormwater-management projects. not have green spaces within a half- no acquisition costs. mile walk of their homes. Other longer-term strategies to create • Create an “in lieu fee” program that new city parks using privately owned allows developers whose sites would PWD has already been contacted by vacant land include coordination with not make ideal “greened acres” to numerous landowners who want to the Philadelphia Revenue Department pay money into a fund that finances make changes to their properties to and the Department of Licenses and green infrastructure elsewhere in seek credits in order to reduce their Inspections (L&I). Each agency has

Green2015 91 Spotlight enforcement strategies that bode well Rail Corridors for coordinating actions in the future. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Also, the city’s Law Department, working with the Sheriff’s Office, has In addition to Lehigh, other corridors agreed to increase the number of tax- deserve mention for the short-term op- delinquent sheriff’s sales to 600 per portunities they provide. They are listed month, which should provide greater according to the names in use when opportunities to make abandoned they were active freight lines.76 properties more productive. With the site-selection criteria presented • 60th Street Branch along the Lower Schuylkill in Southwest Philadelphia, in this document (page 52), PPR owned by Conrail and soon to be could work with Revenue and L&I reactivated because of Philadelphia to determine which tax-delinquent, International Airport’s expansion plan unsafe properties would make ideal city parks. From there, the agencies • Fort Washington Branch in the could coordinate a landowner citation Cresheim Valley in Northwest process and elevate these parcels as Philadelphia, owned by SEPTA and high priority for future sheriff’s sale. adjacent to PECO right-of-way. Plans PPR could then acquire the parcels are already underway to use this at a nominal cost and convert the right-of-way for a trail extension from parcels to public green space. the Wissahickon.

• Bethlehem Branch through the Logan These and other discussions are cur- section of the city, ending at Fern Rock rently underway, as the mayor has Transportation Center, mostly owned directed the finance director and by SEPTA, with a permanent easement the managing director to coordinate back to Conrail over the property. a vacant-property strategy that will be comprehensive and accurate. The Rail corridors are a significant oppor- • Olney Branch through North Phila- working group includes PPR and vari- tunity for Philadelphia’s long-term green delphia, ending at Tacony Creek Park, ous other agencies mentioned in this network, as they offer continuous off-road owned by Conrail, abandonment document. The group expects to have connections across the city. There are status unknown 77 miles of vacated track in Philadelphia, draft policies for review soon. • Trenton Avenue Branch in Northeast with other stretches used intermittently.75 Philadelphia, owned by Conrail, The Lehigh Avenue Viaduct is an example Conservation easements—legally en- abandonment status unknown of an underused rail corridor that could forceable land-preservation agreements serve to connect the Delaware River with • Oxford Branch in Lower Northeast with private landowners that protect neighborhoods in North Philadelphia Philadelphia, owned by Conrail, lands as open space—should continue without fair and equal access to green abandonment status unknown to be pursued by PPR as a way to protect private land from development. space. Inactive except for one train that • Frankford Branch that runs parallel Benefits from conservation easements serves one rail customer, the Lehigh to the Frankford Creek in Northeast for the parcel owner include reduced Viaduct has 500 feet of non-rail right- Philadelphia, owned by Conrail, income and real-estate taxes, as well of-way at its widest point. The legal abandonment status unknown acquisition and abandonment process as limited liability. For the purposes • Land-assembly opportunity: 294 under- for railroads is very complicated; if the of conservation and public access, used parcels adjacent to the Amtrak corridor is not yet legally abandoned, land protection is still an important Northeast Corridor in Philadelphia, then the corridors can be acquired for mission for the city. Lands listed as at least 72 of which are publicly owned public use, but additional research must unprotected in the 2008 Western be conducted into titles and easement • Land-assembly opportunity: 64 under- Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Natural agreements, some of which were verbal used parcels adjacent to the 25th Heritage Inventory would be ideal and are not available in written form. For Street viaduct in South Philadelphia, sites for conservation easements, a more detailed description on how to including an RDA parcel with a com- if public access was not possible. convert rail right-of-way to green trails munity garden and a 3.8-acre vacant PPR already has conservation ease- in Philadelphia, see page 131. parcel owned by a church ments on private parcels abutting the

92 the first 500 Wissahickon and Poquessing Creeks, Port Richmond Rail Yards, Delaware • Friends Hospital, Roosevelt and the Natural Lands Trust helped to River from Cumberland Street to Boulevard and Langdon Street, protect the land around the Schuylkill Indiana Avenue, 200 acres 47 acres. Adding these 47 acres Center for Environmental Education, presents a unique opportunity to Former Dodge Steel site, Delaware 332 acres in total, earlier this year via extend the corridor of protected River and Unruh Street, 24 acres a conservation easement. land along Tacony Creek. These Former Pinnacle Casino site, lands could be added via easement Opportunity Sites77 Delaware River from Beach Street to if the hospital wanted to maintain Green2015 has identified sites under Schirra Drive, 50 acres ownership. private ownership for which discus- Parcel between Robbins and sions are already underway about the Other opportunity sites within private Deveraux Streets, 13 acres sites’ value as green space. These ownership either have already been sites range from formerly industrial Parcel south of Tacony Boat Launch, greened or provide value to existing riverfront parcels, which are needed 11 acres communities. Such sites include for wetlands to compensate for large- “Clean and Green” sites, community scale development elsewhere along Parcel at Princeton and New State gardens and urban farms, cemeteries, the river, to a series of smaller parks Road behind Tacony Boat Launch, unofficial parks, places of worship, that have already been constructed 10 acres and private and parochial schoolyards. but that are not yet fully accessible Parcel north of Bridge Street, Example sites are listed below. to the public. Delaware River and Bridge Street, 17 acres “Clean and Green” sites, a part of the Sites identified in discussions with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Philadelphia Industrial Development Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Vacant Land Stabilization Program, Corporation Commission boat launch property, are generally small (the average lot Delaware River and Walbach Street, size is 1600 square feet, about 1/30 Former National Heat and Power 12 acres of an acre) and privately owned. site, Schuylkill River and 49th Street, Assemblages of contiguous parcels 17 acres Property between South 58th Street in underserved neighborhoods could and South 61st Street along the be worth examining further as trans- 3801 South 58th Street, Schuylkill Schuylkill River, 17 acres River and 58th Street, 28 acres formation opportunities. Examples Parcel between 84th Street and include the following: Navy Yard, South Broad Street and Bartram Avenue, over 100 acres League Island Boulevard, 21.5 acres 3300 C Street, 2.7 acres (various parcels) Please note that many of the sites 3301 North Lawrence Street, 2.4 acres Former Philly Coke site, Delaware identified here appear in other parts 1100 West York Street, 1.6 acres River and Orthodox Street, 70 acres. of the document, where they are (currently functioning as Village of PIDC controls the riverfront side of listed as being ideal for new public Arts and Humanities art park) this site, which represents 11 acres of green space. potential future green space. 3230 C Street, 1.5 acres Institutional sites identified as Byberry meadow parcel, Carter Road green-space opportunities Parcels between 37th and 38th and Southampton Road, 30 acres Streets, Folsom Street to Mantua Temple University: Avenue, 1.3 acres Privately owned sites in Philadelphia • Temple University Quadrangle, Parcels between Ninth Street and identified by the Philadelphia International Berks Street and Liacorous Walk, Delhi Street, Susquehanna Avenue to Airport as wetland opportunities as a 1 acre Dauphin Street, 1.3 acres part of its $5.2 billion expansion plan • Tuttleman Field, 12th Street and Montgomery Avenue, .4 acre Former National Heat and Power site (see above) University of Pennsylvania:

3801 South 58th Street (see above) • Shoemaker Green, University of Pennsylvania: 33rd Street and Former Philly Coke site (see above) Smith Walk, 3.75 acres

Green2015 93 1

Community gardens and urban farms Woodlands Cemetery, 40th Street and are very important to Philadelphia’s Woodland Avenue, 51 acres network of informal green spaces. Chelten Hills Cemetery, Lowber Since many community gardens are Avenue and Washington Lane, relatively small in size (in 2009, 85 29.4 acres percent of the community gardens in Philadelphia were on lots of less Har Nebo Cemetery, Oxford Avenue than a quarter acre), PPR could focus and Summerdale Avenue, 24 acres on making support services such as William Penn Cemetery, Trevose Road soil-safety information available for and Bustleton Avenue, 18.7 acres gardeners, in partnership with the Department of Public Health. They Magnolia Cemetery, Levick Street and could also protect the large and pro- Jackson Street, 17.3 acres ductive farms whose operators are open to partnerships that would en- Fairhill Cemetery, Germantown courage public access.78 These are the Avenue and Cambria Street, 4.7 acres largest urban farms in Philadelphia: Mount Carmel Cemetery, Frankford Airport Garden, 8301 Bartram Avenue, Avenue and Cheltenham Avenue, 10 acres 4.6 acres

Benjamin Rush State Park, Other large cemeteries in Philadelphia 2700 Burling Avenue, 9 acres include Mount Moriah Cemetery (61st 2 Street and Kingsessing Avenue, 79 Manatawna Farm, 359 Spring Lane, acres) and North Cedar Hill Cemetery 5.3 acres (Frankford Avenue and Cheltenham Glenwood Green Acres, 1801 West Avenue, 57 acres). These are outside Glenwood Avenue, 2.8 acres the half-mile walk zone to parks.

Spring Gardens, 1800 Wallace Street, Other privately owned parcels of note 1.8 acres that could become parts of the park Railroad Garden, 2000 Martin Luther system include the following: King Drive, 1 acre Reading Viaduct, 11th and Callowhill Wissinoming Park and North Cedar Streets, 2 acres. This mile-long 4 Hill Cemetery, 5766 Frankford Avenue, stretch of old Reading Railroad track 1 acre officially ceased operations in 1984. In 2003, the Reading Viaduct Project The Water Department is assisting formed to promote their concept local cemeteries to attain Audubon of turning the viaduct into a linear Certification, which requires a public- park. Today, the viaduct is populated access and education component. with trees and grasses and continues The cemeteries applying for certifi- under the ownership of the Reading cation include these: International Inc., descendant of the Reading Railroad. The Philadelphia Northwood Cemetery, 15th Street and City Planning Commission notes the Haines Street, 75 acres viaduct as a proposed future open Greenmount Cemetery, Front Street space in the comprehensive plan. and Courtland Street, 73.6 acres Medical Mission Sisters, 8400 Pine Laurel Hill Cemetery, Ridge Avenue Road, 69 acres. This private parcel in and Hunting Park Avenue, 68.8 acres Northeast Philadelphia directly abuts Ivy Hill Cemetery, Lowber Avenue Pennypack Park and has dozens of and Easton Street, 61.3 acres forested acres that are too steep for

94 the first 500 development and would make logi- These sites serve the function of a cal additions to the large waterfront park but are often located on private park. It is also being discussed as a land categorized as vacant and not possible site for senior housing. protected as open space. Such unofficial parks include the series of open Origlio Beverage, 3000 Meetinghouse spaces created by the Village of Arts Road, 24 acres. PPR has discussed and Humanities along Germantown with Origlio the possibility of con- Avenue in North Philadelphia, sites verting some of this parcel into an such as Emerald Street Park in extension of Poquessing Creek Park. East Kensington and Ogden Park in Francisville, and art gardens such Ivy Ridge Trail, Umbria Street and as one created by the Semilla Arts Parker Avenue, 5 acres. Ivy Ridge Initiative at Fourth and Somerset Trail is a proposed rail-to-trail con- Streets. PPR could review appeals for version beginning at the head of the assistance on a case-by-case basis Manayunk Bridge in Philadelphia and in accordance with the site-selection extending seven-tenths of a mile to criteria outlined in this document the active regional-rail station at Ivy (page 52). Ridge. This unused SEPTA right-of- way is envisioned as a crucial link be- In addition to these spaces, a variety tween two active trails: the Cynwyd of sites owned and operated by pri- Heritage Trail in Lower Merion and vate and nonprofit institutions with the Schuylkill River Trail that begins 3 community-related missions offer op- again in Montgomery County and is portunities for new city parks. These paved to Valley Forge. include churches and other places of 4601 Market Street. There are cur- worship, community centers, private rently plans to convert the old schools, and parochial schools. There Provident Mutual site into the new are 1,143 acres devoted to places of police headquarters. As the parcel worship in Philadelphia and 540 acres 79 offers ample green space surrounding of private and parochial schools. If the building and is a site along the a park space exists on such a site, Mill Creek path, the city has a great it could be opened to the public as opportunity to open this green for a part of the city’s park system. If a public use. park does not yet exist on the sites, they become potential early-action Logan Triangle, Roosevelt Boulevard sites because they already serve as and Ninth Street, 47 acres. While community centers. various city agencies have ownership holdings in the Logan Triangle, multiple private owners still need to be compensated in order for the city There are many different types of private spaces to assume full control of this site. that should be considered for future greening Though the site’s environmental- projects, including 1 the old Reading Viaduct, remediation costs make it infeasible which could become a signature open-space for most forms of development, a destination in Philadelphia, 2 a formerly industrial combination of green space, public site along the Schuylkill River at 58th Street, which could be an extension of the Schuylkill River Trail art, and “green” development could and Bartram’s Garden, 3 The Woodlands, one of all make sense as future uses of this many cemeteries around the city already being large site. used as park spaces for joggers and ball players, and 4 Logan Triangle, a 47-acre site with mixed Many community organizations and ownership along Roosevelt Boulevard that could nonprofits have constructed unof- create a significant amount of new green space ficial parks in their neighborhoods. in an underserved neighborhood.

Green2015 95 The $5.2 billion expansion planned for the Philadelphia International Airport will trigger the construction of compensatory wetlands required by the Army Corps of Engineers. The recently approved environmental impact statement calls for 82 acres of wetland mitigation on the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. Given that riverfront land is largely private, meeting that requirement means that many wetlands will need to be newly constructed instead of using existing implementation costs public land.81 The airport has identified hundreds of privately held acres To add 500 acres of new city park space As noted elsewhere, to the extent as potential conversion sites, and in Philadelphia by 2015, we need to that new green space manages most are located on the Delaware and foster partnerships that will advance stormwater, the Philadelphia Water Schuylkill Rivers in Philadelphia; that public and private projects through- Department may have funds that can list is shown on page 93. The 49-acre out the city. Greening initiatives are help with design, construction, and Food Distribution Center and the underway across Philadelphia, de- maintenance costs through Green 239-acre Southport expansion will signed and implemented by a variety City, Clean Waters. This initiative also require hundreds of acres of new of government agencies, nonprofit will play an important role in the riverfront wetlands. groups, and private institutions. With implementation of Green2015 on a this growing momentum for green, number of fronts: Additionally, through its Get Healthy aligning existing city initiatives Philly grant, the Philadelphia and forming strategic partnerships • Most new green-space projects will Department of Public Health has seed will enable the city to reach the also need to incorporate design money for greening initiatives. It is Green2015 goal. elements that address stormwater currently working to identify schools overflow and flooding, so PWD that have both a Wellness Council Creating New Green Space and PPR will have the opportunity and the greatest “need for green” By focusing efforts on land already to work together through PWD’s according to Green2015 and is apply- in public ownership, such as rec- $1.6 billion capital initiative. The ing for a Pennsylvania Department of reation centers, schoolyards, and document Green City, Clean Waters Health grant that could bring in up to public vacant land, the costs of cre- estimates that it takes an average $330,000 for schoolyard greening. ating new green public space are of $250,000 to convert an acre of minimized, as acquisition costs are impervious surface to a “greened With a similar mission as the city’s low. While opportunities will arise to acre.”80 Department of Public Health, the create public green space on private Philadelphia Urban Food and Fitness • PWD’s stormwater-management re- land, these more costly acquisitions Alliance received $1.2 million from the quirements for any new development should be a part of a comprehensive, W.K. Kellogg Foundation to organize on a site larger than 15,000 square citywide strategy to build our green and facilitate projects over the next feet—along with the parcel-based infrastructure. three years to improve local food sys- stormwater charge to account for tems. Projects are already underway impervious surface—will likely aid For recreation centers, allocations with the school district and youth in the creation of new park spaces. from the city’s capital budget can groups to improve access to healthy For example, the School District be made to help pay for construc- foods and safe recreation spaces in of Philadelphia, the largest owner tion costs because the work involves our neighborhoods. of impervious surface in the city physical improvements to existing after the City of Philadelphia, could public facilities. These amounts SEPTA is in discussions with PPR invest capital dollars now in park would be additions to future budgets and PHS about greening rail sta- space to save on recurring water and would not take money away from tions, planting street trees along costs for decades to come. other initiatives.

96 the first 500 their perimeters, and creating friends system. For example, to aid in achiev- Corporation, are demonstrating the groups to help maintain the sites. ing the Greenworks Philadelphia economic and quality-of-life value of tree-planting goal, PPR has secured public green space through campus A detailed list of possible state and $2.5 million in the city capital budget and private development. Indeed, federal grants available for new city and $2.3 million from the state-ad- Penn’s and PIDC’s combined 166 parks can be found in Appendix C, ministered PENNVEST program and acres of potential green space, which under “Other Funding Sources,” has enlisted private partners, such Green2015 identifies in the “Private pages 133 to 134. as the University of Pennsylvania Underused Land” section of this and Independence Blue Cross. These chapter, would yield a significant There are a host of private funding private partners contribute funds and contribution toward the 500-acre goal. sources to call upon for green-space in-kind services by engaging their improvement projects. For example, employees in planting efforts on their Maintaining New Green Space the Home Depot Foundation recently properties. In addition, PPR worked Ongoing maintenance of open space awarded $1 million to Local Initiatives with the Fairmount Park Conservancy is of critical importance. Volunteer Support Corporation (LISC) and the to revitalize Hunting Park, which re- groups often spend most of their time Pennsylvania Horticultural Society ceived funding from KaBOOM!, Ryan with basic upkeep, such as removing for greening work in eastern North Howard Family Foundation, Citizens trash and graffiti, leaving little time Philadelphia and to the Fairmount Bank, and the Robert Wood Johnson for larger improvements to their parks. Park Conservancy to help fund im- Foundation, in addition to the Home Citizens we questioned told us that provements in Hunting Park.82 The Depot Foundation.85 their use of existing parks is often Philadelphia Eagles donates $100,000 negatively affected by the perceived every year to the School District of Private and nonprofit sectors play lack of safety or of regular mainte- Philadelphia for a capital project on important roles in creating green nance. PPR has made “clean, safe and a schoolyard, such as the installation space on private property as a way to ready to use” a priority and is commit- of new playground equipment; recent enhance market value and employee ted to achieving these standards for examples include Richard Wright quality of life. Of the first 100 acres existing as well as new park spaces. School in Strawberry Mansion and added to the city’s open-space PPR is also studying ways to improve Potter-Thomas School in Fairhill. system since 2008, 45.2 acres were upon current practices, including Philadelphia Electric Company accomplished without acquisition, new ways to generate maintenance (PECO) offers a Green Region Program construction, or maintenance costs revenue, ways to design parks that to help cities plan, protect, and im- to the City of Philadelphia. If the cur- are easier to maintain, and ways prove green space in the Philadelphia rent trend continues, more than 200 to create more multifunctional spaces. area.83 The Sustainable Communities acres would be financed through Initiative in West Philadelphia offers private sources. Institutions such Many of the inefficiencies that make up to $60,000 in grants each year for as the University of Pennsylvania existing PPR sites difficult to main- neighborhood-beautification projects. and a quasigovernmental agency, the tain can be addressed in the design The American Cities Foundation Philadelphia Industrial Development of new sites. Poor design often has already funded work related to green-space planning and economic Recent public space improvements in Philadelphia 84 development in West Philadelphia. 1 include 1 the installation of a KaBOOM! Playground Local apparel and footwear retailer in Walnut Hill and 2 the revitalization of the base- VILLA sponsors teen centers and ball fields at Hunting Park by a collection of cleanup projects with PPR. Smaller funders, including the Fairmount Park Conservancy, funding opportunities also exist, such Citizens Bank, and the Ryan Howard Family as the Pepsi Refresh Challenge, the Foundation. Awesome Foundation, and KaBOOM!

Playgrounds. These represent more 2 targeted startup funding; when added to other sources, they, too, could yield new project opportunities.

PPR has started to combine a variety of funding sources for projects in the

Green2015 97 results in inefficient maintenance practices to encourage people to This money will be used to fund practices. Examples from across the treat green spaces with care; and maintenance functions over the 20- country demonstrate how simple year implementation period and to • Protect and restore buffers in our design changes that incorporate establish mechanisms for ongoing large waterfront parks wherever sustainable-management practices maintenance after the program ends. possible. can make park spaces more viable This $100 million is a baseline num- and successful, as well as cheaper The Pennsylvania Department of ber that will increase; as Green City, to maintain. Parks that are well Conservation and Natural Resources Clean Waters leverages public as well maintained better serve their com- is one of the first state agencies as private dollars for green infrastruc- munities and inspire neighborhood to encourage and fund innovative ture, funding for maintenance will investment. solutions to park maintenance, with continue to rise. PWD is working with $10 million in grants to cities that community groups to determine the Here are some design ideas to implement more natural options that best approach for maintaining neigh- simplify maintenance86: minimize upkeep and are kinder to borhood green infrastructure such as

• Install irrigation cisterns linked to roof leaders; 1 • Replace concrete and asphalt with porous surfaces;

• Create rain gardens in lesser-used areas, planted with greensward, low-mow, or meadow;

• Strategically place shade trees adjacent to buildings and over thermal masses such as paved areas, parking lots, pools, and walls;

• Plant native trees or shrubs that produce food for wildlife;

• Make green waste into compost, which can improve the nutrient quality of the soil and help retain some of its moisture content; the land and wildlife while still • Plant sports fields with buffalo grass, allowing municipalities to provide which needs no mowing or water- places for sports, play, and other ing, as used in the new Kensington recreational activities.87 Andropogon Creative and Performing Arts High Associates conducted a study that ran School; concurrently with the development

• Remove invasive plants that are not of Green2015 to develop strategies Parks that are well native to Pennsylvania and could for how to adapt PPR facilities to maintained better serve potentially harm the environment make them more environmentally and people; functional and less expensive to their communities and maintain. PPR will be able to imple- • Identify opportunities to combine ment some of these practices on a inspire neighborhood complementary programming, such citywide scale in the future. as using farm and fields to manage investment. stormwater, installing cisterns over PWD has planned for over $100 mil- hard courts, etcetera; lion in operation and maintenance expenditures for green stormwater • Install educational signage and do outreach on sustainable-design infrastructure as a part of the overall cost of Green City, Clean Waters.88

98 the first 500 rain gardens, bioswales, street trees, to generate as much as 35 percent of Spotlight planters, porous pavement, and green their operating budgets from outside Brooklyn Bridge Park roofs. Another important step in ex- sources of revenue.89 For example, Brooklyn, New York panding maintenance capacity is to more than 40 partnerships operate use green stormwater infrastructure in support of parks in New York City, New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge Park, to stimulate the creation of green- spending $87 million annually on upon completion, will be a 65-acre park collar jobs to maintain green projects. upkeep.90 Park maintenance must re- along 1.2 miles of Brooklyn’s water- The green economy could create main a part of a city’s operating bud- front. The park contains promenades, full-time jobs and teach skill sets get, because it is critical that public planted areas, lawns, playgrounds, that strengthen our neighborhoods spaces not become overly privatized; ball courts and fields, a wave- environmentally, economically, and their mission, accountability, and fun- attenuation system, berms, and a socially. This will entail working with damental rights are important issues naturalized waterfront. All of these city government job-creation pro- to debate and defend. However, other elements will require ongoing grams and nonprofit organizations. revenue sources can complement maintenance. In 2008, the Brooklyn public-sector funding. The Friends of Bridge Park Development Corporation Another potential source of mainte- Rittenhouse Square recently commis- estimated that annual maintenance nance funds could be created from sioned a revenue-generation study, fees would run a minimum of the new stormwater charges. Penn and SEPTA sold the naming rights to $16,104,000 per year.97 While the city Future, a statewide environmental Pattison Station on the Broad Street funded the design and construction nonprofit, is working on a “green it Line to AT&T for $5 million; these ac- of the park, the city’s general fund forward” campaign to encourage tions have raised important questions cannot support park maintenance. those landowners who will save about the role of the private sector in Recognizing this, early in the design money with the new parcel-based public space. phase, the city and state reserved stormwater charges to donate some six sites (or approximately 9 percent of that savings toward creating or 1 Shoemaker Green, a 3.75-acre green space of the project area) for development, planned by the University of Pennsylvania, is an maintaining public green space including residential, hotel, and example of a park financed entirely by the private throughout our city. commercial structures. Rather than sector; it features sustainable-design practices paying taxes to the general fund, the that will make the site easier to maintain. It is important to identify sources of 2 Community members have been greening east- site owners will pay ground rent and funding in addition to the municipal ern North Philadelphia over the last year thanks payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) into budget to pay for the ongoing main- to a partnership with PHS, LISC and Asociación a fund solely for ongoing maintenance tenance of green space. Park sys- Puertorriqueños en Marcha that received funding of Brooklyn Bridge Park. While this tems in other cities have been able from the Home Depot Foundation. mixed-use financing option offers one approach to park maintenance and revenue generation, it is not immune 2 to criticism. Gradually, Brooklyn Bridge Park has opened to the public, and Brooklynites are beginning to better understand the various ways that public space and private space can coexist and mutually support each other. Slowly, the community is coming to see that without the financing structure that allows for ongoing maintenance, there would be no Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Green2015 99 1

PPR generates revenue from concession and special uses of open space and facilities, and this revenue could support approximately 10 percent of its operating budget.91 PPR, the Fairmount Park Conservancy, and the Parks and Recreation Commission are currently working on a study funded by the William Penn Foundation, the conservancy, and the commission that will provide strategies to streamline the process for creating new concessions and revenue-generation opportunities so that businesses can thrive in our park and add to the park experience while also generating rev- in exchange for naming rights or a project to design and construct enue to sustain the park’s beauty. This advertisement signage for a limited shade structures from the remaining study will be completed in early 2011. time. dome fabric for city parks. A similar project could occur in Philadelphia. • Allow citizens to contribute Potential ideas for revenue genera- In a similar project, sod from the RecycleBank rewards toward green tion include the following: site of a professional soccer game infrastructure across the city. in Detroit was removed from the • Establish a partnership with local This helps create incentives for Silverdome and used to improve a professional-sports teams to either businesses to trumpet their green public park in Southwest Detroit.94 create a fund or pay for grounds initiatives, thereby supporting the crews to help maintain recreational creation of green jobs connected to • Establish a Special Fund License facilities citywide, as PPR has al- stormwater management and public Plate through PennDOT so that ready done with the Ed Snider Youth space. citizens can choose to support Hockey Foundation to upgrade its PPR while buying their vehicle • Include an option on water bills ice-skating facilities. tags.95 State legislation underway to fund green spaces at schools, in Arizona would offer citizens the • Identify opportunities for increased in a program similar to Portland’s choice to pay $9 as a part of their concessions, dining, and local food GreenBucks. The Philadelphia Water vehicle-registration process to fund operations in public green spaces. Department or PECO could include state parks.96 Stephen Starr has the catering an option on citizens’ water bills and concession rights at Franklin allowing customers to contribute Other potential revenue sources are Square and the Horticulture Center $1, $3, or $5 per billing period to listed in Appendix C under “Other (estimated to yield $200,000 in help public schools maintain green Funding Sources,” on pages 133 to 134. annual revenue for PPR from the stormwater-management facilities Horticulture Center alone). This on school property.92 could help promote local economic- 1 Mayor Nutter, Commissioner DiBerardinis and • Ease the permitting process to al- development goals by encouraging others pose with members of the Phillies and Major low more and larger music festivals neighborhood food providers such as League Baseball for a partnership with MLB that will to occur within our parks, and the taquerias in South Philadelphia help transform Marian Anderson Recreation Center charge a fixed amount for the nec- to set up stands in parks. A portion of into an indoor training ground for Philadelphia’s first essary cleanup or allow a portion the proceeds could go toward park Urban Youth Academy. The project will also include of the proceeds to go toward park maintenance and operational needs. two state-of-the-art baseball fields that will be built maintenance. at FDR Park. 2 Community volunteers cut weeds and • Use proceeds from sales of produce an overgrown tree on a pocket park in the Graduate • Collect demolition materials and sell grown on PPR community-garden Hospital neighborhood. 3 Center City recently for reuse, as the People for Urban sites to fund park maintenance. received a grant from the William Penn Foundation Progress did with some of the roof to assume ownership of Chestnut Park. Plans include • Create an “Adopt a Park” program fabric from the demolished RCA a reworked lighting scheme, repair of the park’s 93 through which the partner agrees Dome in Indianapolis. The money fountain, and increased security and programming at to maintain or upgrade a facility raised from this sale will finance the site during the day.

100 the first 500 2

for Philadelphia to explore. Funded • Create job-training programs equally by both organizations, similar to PHS’s Community Land Partnership for Parks is a parks- Care or Roots to Re-entry, in which department program that helps teach residents are trained in maintain- volunteers how to become more ing green infrastructure such as established, obtain funding, and pro- rain gardens.99 Programs could vide other important functions that be created for youth through the the department can no longer accom- Philadelphia Youth Network or plish on its own. Such coordinated Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs effort in Philadelphia could take the Coalition, for the homeless popula- following actions: tion through Ready, Willing & Able, or on a neighborhood-specific basis • Implement the PHS model for creating friends groups in areas where through nonprofits such as the new public parks will be created. Village of Arts and Humanities. This effort would achieve the multiple Partners on the Ground • Use city funding to leverage outside benefits of providing jobs for at-risk While new revenue-generation mech- funding in a way that PPR does not populations, helping Philadelphia anisms could go a long way to help have the staff capacity to do. residents learn marketable skills, fund new city park space, maintain- and creating a local resource pool for • Increase the capacity of already maintaining public green spaces. ing those parks requires the involve- successful friends groups so that ment of hundreds of volunteers who they can fundraise for their parks. • Coordinate cleanup efforts through dedicate their time to local parks This creates a new sense of local larger organizations, such as the through friends groups. The roles control that is crucial to park suc- school district, the United Way Day played by these volunteers are vitally cess and safety. These groups could of Action, and YouthWorks. important. In 2007, volunteers worked establish endowments that support 220,891 hours in Philadelphia’s parks, maintenance, operations, or pro- • Permit friends groups to “adopt” a generating over $4.3 million in “sweat grams, thus augmenting the role connecting corridor or schoolyard. equity.”98 These groups substantially of the system-wide Fairmount Park • Learn how to coordinate robust vol- expand PPR’s maintenance capacity Conservancy. unteer programs through initiatives and will be just as critical in keep- such as Americorps and City Year. ing new parks safe and attractive. PHS has actively cultivated stewardship groups in recent years, and a strengthened connection between PHS and PPR could benefit the system. 3

To minimize disparities in park maintenance and care across Philadelphia, PPR and PHS could investigate funding for a joint program that coordinates volunteer efforts citywide and distributes resources according to need. A joint effort that teaches skills and provides support (rather than relying solely on formal agreements) would help ease pressure on PPR. Partnership for Parks, a collaboration between the City Parks Foundation and New York City Parks and Recreation, offers a model

Green2015 101 what we can “Beyond 2015” do today cover spread

Chapter 7

102 what we can do today “Beyond 2015” cover spread

Green2015 103 making it happen PPR must act collaboratively and efficiently to achieve the Licenses and Inspections, inviting local developers to a roundtable Green2015 goal to create 500 acres of new city parks by 2015. discussion with the city about potential opportunities on city-owned This goal can only be reached by bringing together government, land, and integrating parks into neighborhood residents, the nonprofit sector, and the private planning for future development. sector. The following chapter outlines some immediately • Meet with the upper management of all public agencies that own land to achievable action steps that can be taken by the Philadelphia discuss the free or low-cost transfer Parks and Recreation, as well as by local citizens interested in of publicly owned vacant land for the purpose of creating new city greening their communities. parks. immediately achievable steps to discuss the nominal transfer of Schoolyards for Philadelphia Parks and publicly owned vacant land for new • Align the policy initiatives of PPR, Recreation city parks. the School District of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Water Department, Recreation Centers System-Wide and the Philadelphia Department of • Establish an official partnership with • As a demonstration project to test Public Health. This will enable these the Philadelphia Water Department low-maintenance design ideas, groups to prepare a joint work plan focusing on the sustainable design, transform one or two standard for the construction, operations, construction, operation, and main- neighborhood recreation centers and maintenance of schoolyard- tenance of PPR’s site inventory in according to the recommendations greening projects citywide that order to meet the goals of Green made by Andropogon Associates on achieve the goals of Green2015, City, Clean Waters. Public open how to adapt existing facilities us- Green City, Clean Waters, and Get space, including streets adjacent ing sustainable-design practices. Healthy Philly. to parks, currently makes up ap- • Work with the school district to proximately 10 percent of the city’s Public Underused Land draft a series of demonstration sites impervious cover. • Continue to work with the Managing that address the issues of fair and Director’s and Finance Director’s • Work with the Mayor’s Office of equal access, healthy living, and Offices to devise a streamlined pro- Sustainability to create a database stormwater management. cess for identifying and converting with which to track the progress of publicly owned vacant land to public • Create or engage a new nonprofit parks projects and identify priority green space. Such strategies could organization to help implement the sites for green space. include coordinating enforcement schoolyard-greening process by • Meet with the upper management efforts through the city’s Revenue administering grants, coordinating of all public agencies that own land Department and Department of outside funding, and working with

104 what we can do today city and school-district partners on access on or adjacent to these cor- parks and to obtain funding for ex- ongoing maintenance. ridors will be considered as a part pansion and maintenance of exist- of the work plan. ing spaces. • At schools identified for future greening, organize school programs • Work with the Philadelphia Depart- • Bring existing neighborhood plans so that science teachers and stu- ment of Public Health to establish to PPR to identify parcels in your dents are involved in the planting a community-gardening and urban- neighborhood that would serve well and raising of the trees. If these agriculture Web portal that provides as park space, based on the criteria programs are successful, classes information on soil safety, basic gar- on page 52, and to suggest that could help grow trees in adjacent dening tutorials, and an inventory these parcels should be transformed green spaces as well. of available plots around the city. by 2015. Align these plans with the district plans of the Philadelphia • Work with the Neighborhood Private Underused Land City Planning Commission as they Gardens Association, the Natural • Work with the Philadelphia In- get underway. Lands Trust, and the Trust for Public dustrial Development Corporation Land to identify possible areas for • Identify vacant land where a to open its park spaces in the Navy implementing Green2015 that would nonprofit conservator could gain Yard to the public for longer hours, be most useful for PPR. control of the land and create a and identify other PIDC-owned future park under the Pennsylvania properties in the city where park Implementation Costs Abandoned and Blighted Property space can improve the quality of • Work with PHS on the possibility of Conservatorship Act, which became life in areas targeted for economic a coordinated stewardship-develop- law in February 2009 and states development. ment program with PPR. that neighborhood groups can now • Work with Philadelphia International petition the court to create green • Partner with citizens to identify op- Airport to ensure that public access space on vacant land that has been portunities where new green-space is granted on compensatory wetland abandoned and blighted property. improvements can be coupled with sites in Philadelphia. funding to upgrade existing facili- • Build on the work of the Community • Determine the amount and locations ties nearby. Design Collaborative School Greening of wetlands needed for other large- Committee to do outreach to prin- • Identify priority items from the Parks scale infrastructure projects, such cipals, parent-teacher groups, and and Recreation Commission’s revenue- as the new Food Distribution Center neighbors on the citywide school- enhancement study that can be and the Southport expansion. yard greening initiative. implemented in the short term. • Coordinate with the Philadelphia • At your next civic-association meet- • Work with the philanthropic com- Water Department and private ing, propose launching an initiative munity on raising funds for creating landowners who have expressed to support maintenance and eti- and maintaining new parks. interest in greening their parcels in quette in public space. This could order to reduce paved surfaces that include coordinating cleanups and raise their stormwater-management Citizens: what you can encouraging those who use the billing rates. do today park to participate. Such a project could be coordinated with the • Create a partnership with PPR • Create a “rail corridor watch Streets Department’s “Unlitter Us” that outlines the specific needs of list” with the Mayor’s Office of campaign. Transportation, the Law Department, friends groups and an agreement in and the Delaware Valley Regional principle to help craft a volunteer Planning Commission that identi- development group with PPR and fies rail corridors that could be PHS. converted to walking and biking • Encourage large landowners to trails. Establish an agreement say- dedicate a portion of their lands for ing that, as grants become available new park space. or capital projects arise that involve improvements to some of these • Work with state and local elected corridors, the potential for public officials to protect existing public

Green2015 105 Parks On the Near Horizon

What follows are preliminary lists of sites in different phases of feasibil- Name Intersection Leaders Acres ity. Some already have design plans Center City Greenway Between 15th and 20th City, CCD 0.25 underway that include green space, on Market and JFK most have tentative agreements in Dilworth Plaza 15th and Market Streets City, SEPTA, CCD 2 place for conversion to green space, Festival Pier North Delaware Avenue DRWC 7.5 and others were identified in discus- and Spring Garden Street sions with partners as ideal sites for Girard Avenue East Girard Avenue PennDOT 100 new green space because of site cri- 12.5 Interchange and Richmond Street teria and ownership status. Whatever Gustine Lake City Avenue PPR, PennDOT 0.25 their current differences, these are Interchange and Ridge Avenue all sites that would help PPR reach Lower Schuylkill: National Schuylkill River PIDC 5 its 2015 target. Here are details on Heat and Power and 49th Street several sites. Lower Schuylkill: Schuylkill River PIDC 3 3801 South 58th Street and 58th Street Nicetown Skate Park: This 2.5 acre Mill Creek Park 47th Street and PHA 1.7 site, which fronts onto Germantown Fairmount Avenue Avenue between the Wayne Junction Navy Yard South Broad Street and PIDC 21.5 train station and Nicetown CDC’s League Island Boulevard Nicetown Court Development, is cur- Nicetown Skate Park Germantown Avenue RDA 2.5 rently owned by the Redevelopment and Roberts Avenue Authority. In 2006, with help from the Panati Playground 22nd Street PPR 0.25 RDA, the City Planning Commission Addition and Clearfield Street created conceptual plans for a storm- Philly Coke Delaware River PIDC 11 water-management skate park. Since and Orthodox Street then, the project has established Washington Avenue Delaware River and DRWC 1.3 a series of partnerships in order to Green expansion Washington Avenue construct the park. PennDOT has Schmidt’s Park Germantown Avenue Tower 1 included the skate park in its rede- and Van Horn Street sign of the overpass, Nicetown CDC Shoemaker Green 33rd Street and Smith Walk Penn 3.75 is capable of maintaining the space, and Franklin’s Paine has the capacity Byberry Meadow Parcel Carter Road and PIDC 30 Southampton Road to engineer, build, and program the physical structure of the park. Temple University Berks Street and Temple 1 Quadrangle Liacorous Walk

Byberry Meadow Parcel: When this Tuttleman Field 12th Street and Temple 0.4 Montgomery Avenue section of Northeast Philadelphia was developed into housing, the developer Total Acres : 105

106 what we can do today Byberry Meadow Parcel

Nicetown Skate Park

Gustine Lake Interchange

Panati Playground Philly Coke Addition

Temple University Quadrangle Girard Avenue Tuttleman Field Interchange

Schmidt’s Park

Festival Pier Mill Creek Park Center City Greenway

Shoemaker Dilworth Green Plaza

Washington Avenue National Heat Green Expansion and Power PARKS ON THE NEAR HORIZON

3801 South Sites identified for greening (105 acres) 58th Street Size of dots on map indicates their relative acreage

Navy Yard Parks

Green2015 107 1 2

signed an agreement with the com- in the trail from Center City south Play lot, W. Venango and 11th Streets, monwealth that a 30-acre parcel on to the Grays Ferry Bridge, the path 0.82 acre Southampton Road adjacent to the of the trail on the west side of the Sayre Morris Recreation Center, 59th Poquessing Creek would be preserved river and its connection to Bartram’s and Spruce Streets, 8.57 acres as open space. However, this protec- Garden have yet to be finalized. On tion was conditional upon a city each side of Bartram’s is a potential Tolentine Community Center, 1025 agency serving as its conservator. If site: PIDC owns the former National Mifflin Street, 0.72 acre PPR agreed to become the conserva- Heat and Power site to the north, and tor of this parcel, now under the aus- PIDC has submitted a bid to purchase There are additional recreation center pices of the Philadelphia Industrial the 3801 South 58th Street site to the and playground sites throughout the Development Corporation, this would south. Knowing the value of high- city that are overwhelmingly paved add 30 acres of green space adjacent quality green space to economic de- for which opportunity currently ex- to the Poquessing Creek with no cost velopment, PIDC is talking to PPR to ists through state and local funding to acquire. establish an agreement to construct initiatives to leverage funding for a riverfront greenway on both sites, greening projects. These should also Mill Creek Park: PPR is currently in which would create at least eight new be short-term focus sites for PPR. discussion with the Philadelphia acres of park space and provide direct Sites include the following: Housing Authority, Councilwoman access to Bartram’s Gardens and the Eighth and Diamond Playground, Jannie Blackwell’s office, and the Lower Schuylkill, which would not Eighth and Diamond Streets, .59 acre Philadelphia Water Department about otherwise be possible. converting a 1.7-acre site at 47th Fishtown Recreation Center, Street and Fairmount Avenue into a Recreation Centers: PPR should focus Montgomery Avenue and Moyer new city park. The site is currently its initial efforts on recreation centers Streets, 1.34 acres owned by PHA and is shown as a that are greater than 90 percent im- green space in the master plan of the pervious and that lie in areas without Heritage Park Playground, Clearfield Lucien Blackwell Homes, recently half-mile access to green space. The and Sydenham Streets, 0.63 acre constructed across the street. A com- following centers meet these criteria. Marie Dendy Recreation Center, munity center would be constructed Frankford Valley Playground, Church 10th and Jefferson Streets, .75 acre further north on 47th Street, and im- and Tacony Streets, 0.94 acre provements to the existing Mill Creek Nelson Playground, Playground across the street would Guerin Recreation Center, 1600 301 W. Cumberland Street, 0.59 acre be made as well. Jackson Street, 1.78 acres Northern Liberties Recreation Harold Playground, Huntingdon Street Center, Third and Fairmount Avenue, Lower Schuylkill Connections: A part- and Kensington Avenue, 0.7 acre 0.45 acre nership between PPR and PIDC could add a full mile of riverfront access Lower Mayfair Playground, Robbins Panati Playground, 22nd and to the Schuylkill River Trail. While and Hawthorne Streets, 5.62 acres Clearfield, 1.03 acres funding is underway to fill the gaps

108 what we can do today 3

Some of the sites identified during the Green2015 process as sites that will likely be converted to green space by 2015 include 1 this 1.7-acre site at 47th and Aspen Streets, which would be converted by PPR and PHA as part of the Lucien Blackwell Homes development in Mill Creek; 2 the Nicetown Skate Park site, part of which runs under an elevated portion of Roosevelt Boulevard; and 3 the parade grounds at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, one of four park sites either already completed or underway at the Navy Yard that is not yet fully open to the public.

Schmidt Playground, Ontario and Ellwood School, 13th Street and Oak Southwark School, Ninth Street and Howard Streets, 0.27 acre Lane Avenue, 1.6 acres Mifflin Street, 1.2 acres

Towey Playground, 1832 Howard Girard School, 18th Street and University City High School/Drew Street, 1.25 acres Passyunk Avenue, 1.2 acres Elementary, 38th Street and Warren Street, 10.3 acres Veterans Playground, Ninth and Hamilton School, 57th Street and Cumberland Streets, 0.58 acre Spruce Street, 1.4 acres Grover Washington School, B Street and Olney Avenue, 3 acres Waterloo Playground, Cumberland Jones Annex, Memphis Street and and Waterloo Streets, 0.93 acre Ann Street, 0.16 acre Willard School, Emerald and Orleans Streets, 0.66 acre Leeds School, Sedgwick Street and Schoolyards: Using our site-selection Mount Pleasant Avenue, 4.6 acres Ziegler School, Saul Street and Comly criteria for public green space, Street, 1.2 acres Green2015 found the following McDaniel School, 23rd and McKean, schoolyards to be ideal candidates for 0.6 acre Greening all sites on the three lists greening because of their geographic above would yield 215 new acres of distribution, their participation in Moore School, Tyson Avenue and public green space for the city. Add the Wellness Council program with Summerdale Avenue, 3.66 acres these to the 100 acres already in the the Department of Public Health, and Olney High School, Front Street and green pipeline since 2008 and the city their impervious-surface coverage, Duncannon Avenue, 3.5 acres would have achieved over 60 percent which could be repurposed for storm- of the Greenworks Philadelphia goal water drainage. Pennypacker School, Washington Lane and Thouron Avenue, 0.29 acre of 500 acres through cooperation Barton School, Rosehill Street and between city agencies, the school Wyoming Avenue, 3 acres Rhawnhurst School, Castor Avenue district, and other public and private and Hartel Avenue, 6.6 acres landowners. Beeber School, 59th Street and Malvern Avenue, 1.5 acres Rowen School, 19th Street and Haines Street, 2 acres These sites are the initial recom- Business and Technology High mended sites that meet the criteria School, 13th Street and Green Street, Sayre School, 58th Street and Walnut of fair and equal access, environ- 0.75 acre Street, 4 acres mental performance, and public health. There are many more sites Shawmont School, Eva Street and Central School, Ogontz Avenue and within public ownership that meet Shawmont Avenue, 5.9 acres Olney Avenue, 15.8 acres site-selection criteria, and even Cramp School, Howard Street and Sheppard School, Howard Street and more within private ownership. PPR Tioga Street, 1.5 acres101 Somerset Street, 0.3 acre should explore all of these opportunities over the next four years, with South Philadelphia High School, Edmonds School, Sedgwick Street and the above lists serving as a guide Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, Thouron Avenue, 4.6 acres for the first round of opportunity. 2.5 acres

Green2015 109 Chapter 8

Beyond 2015

110 beyond 2015 Green2015 111 connecting to philadelphia2035 Philadelphia’s need for green transcends the purview of PPR or any single city agency. Park projects initiated today should help the city achieve broader long-term objectives, such as contribut- ing to citizen health, making our neighborhoods more livable, and helping relieve the overburdened combined sewer system. In order to make informed choices about green space today, new city park projects should fit into the long-term open-space strategies proposed in PHILADELPHIA2035: The Comprehensive Plan. When released in 2011, this will be the guiding planning- policy document in Philadelphia for the next 24 years. Today: The existing inventory of green spaces To supplement the targets outlined in the city’s forthcoming com- across Philadelphia paints the picture of a system that is inequitably distributed. prehensive plan, Green2015 puts forth a vision for Philadelphia’s future green-space network that will connect current actions with a long-term green vision that benefits all Philadelphians. Some long-term goals shown in this map include a new, connected green network along many of our underused rail and utility corridors; the map also reveals the land acquisitions needed to complete public access along our waterfront corridors. When viewed together with the map of current conditions in 2010 and an illustrative map of 500 new acres of park space in 2015, the map demonstrates how targeted investments in parks can significantly address issues of access and environmental performance while 2015: Recommendations from Green2015 are building toward a long-range vision of a greener city. used to create 500 new acres of open space in underserved neighborhoods and construct some important trail extensions.

112 beyond 2015 2035: Crucial cross-city linkages are developed using river frontage, rail rights-of-way, and wide roadways to create a trail network that links all neighborhoods to our waterfront parks, the largest assets in the park system.

Green2015 113 a vision for philadelphia’s green network

This Green2015 report shows that new parks on the scale of our large extent of the intervention and its reaching the goal of adding 500 acres waterfront parks is remote today, current context and condition. These of new public green space by 2015 is an interconnected series of walks, are the categories of connections as achievable through creative public- greenways, and trails from and along shown in the comprehensive plan and private partnerships. Given this fact, our rivers, creeks, streams, rail lines, recommended actions: we can set our sights higher for 2035. and streets can be added to make The comprehensive plan could call for large riverfront parks accessible to Rivers and Creeks all residents to be within a 10-minute residents and visitors from anywhere Complete all watershed parks and walk of a neighborhood park or green in the city. river trails to ensure continued public recreation center offering certain im- access for pedestrians and cyclists. portant uses and functions by 2035. To serve both the city’s Such a goal would prioritize parks historic streams that serve multiple purposes and long-term strategy for Create small-scale bicycle and pedes- provide residents with spaces that trian corridors following the courses offer a wide variety of benefits. The a green network and of historic streams. This series of creation of new city parks could also the goal of creating “creek walks” will connect multiple be a part of the long-term strategy for streets with coherent streetscape, bolstering the “service-based” and more open space in signage, and (where possible) a sepa- “transit-based” centers identified in rated bike path. the comprehensive plan as centers the short term, stronger for future growth. Streets and more connections Provide on-grade bicycle and pedes- To serve both the city’s long-term need to be built between trian routes to existing parks follow- strategy for a green network and the ing a street right of way, with varying goal of creating more open space in Philadelphia’s neighbor- levels of separation depending on the the short term, stronger and more width of the roadway. connections need to be built between hoods and existing Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and rail existing waterfront parks, with new waterfront parks, with Using existing rail corridors (some walks, trails, and greenways. These new walks, trails, and active, some vacated) to create connecting routes will serve as major, separated bicycle and pedes- new city parks and link residents to greenways. trian connections, with significant larger parks, such as East and West planting, to link citizens to existing Fairmount Park, Pennypack Park, and This map of Philadelphia’s future waterfront parks. Wissahickon Valley Park. Parks of green network shows different types this size are significant regional as- of trail connections, each with dif- The next section will review each com- sets. While the likelihood of creating ferent treatments depending on the ponent of the vision in more detail.

114 beyond 2015 A Vision for Philadelphia’s Green Network proposed trail connections

Rivers and Creeks Historic Streams Streets Rail

Green2015 115 rivers and creeks

Philadelphia and its rivers are forever linked. The stretches of East and West Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River and up through the Wissahickon Valley are our most prized green assets. Green2015’s long-range vision proposes to complete the riparian corridors for all remaining rivers and creeks, every one of which touches an underserved neighborhood. It is vital that we complete our riparian- watershed parks and trails. This work will ensure continued public access to and along our waterways, protect our natural resources and habitat, and maintain water quality for future generations.

116 beyond 2015 As we can see from the current ex- Rivers. Completing the creeks war- tension of the trail along the Lower rants equal attention, as so many of Schuylkill River and the planning and our smaller waterways are in a state implementation of new waterfront of neglect. The nonprofit Clean Air parks and trails along the North and Council has adopted the process Central Delaware River, both the pub- of completing Cobbs Creek Park. lic and private sectors in Philadelphia The Philadelphia Water Department recognize the social, environmental, has done extensive work along the and economic value of public access Tacony-Frankford Creek, and the to open space along our waterfronts. City Planning Commission is doing These efforts will complete our wa- detailed design analysis on how to terfront parks while adding a new, extend public access from Juniata 21st-century character of open space Golf Course to the Delaware River. to our public realm. The Poquessing Creek is a forgotten creek in many respects, although PPR The following large waterfront parks is working to implement further cor- are incomplete and offer important ridor protection and trail connections sites for future projects: along it.

• Lower Schuylkill River

• Delaware River

• Tacony-Frankford Creek

• Cobbs Creek

• Poquessing Creek 1 These riparian parks should include public-access trails and naturalized buffers to filter pollutants and manage flood events—an important step in mitigating the impact of climate change. Extensive work in planning and implementation has been done along the Schuylkill and Delaware

1 The Frankford, Cobbs, and Poquessing Creeks 2 are riparian parks that are incomplete and crowded by various forms of commercial and industrial development that turn their backs on the parks. As shown here, adjacent impervious surfaces often create an ecological burden on Philadelphia’s large parks. 2 This rendering of Poquessing Creek shows how improving public access points along these waterfront parks can increase visibility, make the parks more inviting, and filter stormwater before it reaches the creek.

Green2015 117 historic streams

The land upon which Philadelphia was built was once a dense web of marshland, creeks, streams, and tributaries leading to the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers. Most of these waterways were put underground in the 19th century—converted into stormwater and sewer conduits that served the expanding industrial city. Traces of these streams remain today, as their ghost routes follow sewer lines along low points in the city’s topography. This makes them ideal sites for rain gardens and for intercepting stormwater in the case of large storms. Names such as Mill Creek, Cohocksink Creek, Dock Creek, Aramingo Creek, and Wingohocking Creek still define portions of the city. link neighborhood parks and other too costly to remediate the site for The proposed long-term green net- green assets along the way. These construction; this makes the Logan work shows a series of creek walks— historic-stream connections would Triangle an ideal example of a site foot and bike routes that would provide a green link in key neighbor- linked to the historic-stream network follow historic stream beds that are hoods that lack access to green, most that could have parkland as one of its now underground in pipes but that notably the northern portion of West future uses.102 once crisscrossed Philadelphia. These Philadelphia and West Oak Lane. walks could connect with our large Making people more aware of stream waterfront parks (as they were once The creek walks can also link existing beds has educational benefits as well. tributaries and thus lead to the parks), parks and vacant parcels that could Interpretive signs could be installed and they offer routes through the city be turned into green spaces in the to guide users along the paths and that go pleasantly against the grid. future. One such parcel is the Logan to provide information on the impor- Walks would follow the existing street Triangle—47 acres of abandoned tance of the stream network to our network and be marked by special houses and streets north of Roosevelt sewer system and to water quality. signage, landscaping, and pavement. Boulevard in Logan. It includes the They would be recognizable through- old path of the Wingohocking Creek out the city as neighborhood-level in an area known for its sinking connections to larger cross-city trails homes. A recent Urban Land Institute and greenways, many of which would study determined that it would be

118 beyond 2015 These are the proposed creek walks: The old Wissinoming Creek, which connects residents of Northeast The old Mill Creek through West Philadelphia to the Delaware River and Philadelphia, which connects the Roosevelt Boulevard greenway; and eventually to West Fairmount Park, the Schuylkill River, and Lower Merion; The old Sandy Run, which connects residents of Northeast Philadelphia The old Thomas Run, which runs to the Pennypack and to proposed primarily along 55th Street and primary and secondary greenways. connects Cobbs Creek, the 58th Street greenway, and the proposed greenway 1 Most of the proposed historic creek walks would along West Market Street; run along residential streets, such as this one along the Mill Creek in West Philadelphia. 2 If The old Cohocksink Creek through implemented, these pathways would use street Northern Liberties and into North right of way, additional planters, and paving to Philadelphia and the Delaware River; give the street a unique identity as a connection that recognizes the historic creek flow and shows The old Wingohocking Creek, extend- residents that traveling along this street will link ing from Juniata Park to Washington them to a larger park space. Lane;

The old Rock Run, an old tributary of 1 the Frankford Creek in West Oak Lane;

The old Dock and Willow Creeks, connecting Franklin Square, Independence Mall, and other parks along the Delaware River (Dock Street follows the old path of the Dock Creek);

The old Little Tacony Creek, which connects residents of Northeast Philadelphia to the Delaware River and the Roosevelt Boulevard greenway;

Green2015 119 streets

Thirty-eight percent of Philadelphia’s surface area is comprised of streets; they are the primary way to move around the city, whether on foot or by bike or auto.103 Streets represent the finest-grain connections throughout our neighborhoods as well as the quickest routes out of town, and therefore they can become parts of the city’s long-term green network. While using roads does not allow for continuous, uninterrupted stretches of trails, streets do provide on-grade routes through communities to existing parks.

Green2015 identifies a series of streets with different levels of traffic demand, all of which have right- of-way that could be redesigned to West Market Street, connecting Delaware and Schuylkill River trails extend the city’s green network into Schuylkill Banks with Cobbs Creek; at the northern end of Center City; and through the city, linking us to our neighborhoods, to Fairmount Park, Spruce and Pine Streets, connecting 58th Street, connecting the Schuylkill to rivers, and to the region. These the Delaware River and the Schuylkill River and Cobbs Creek trails; streets include the following: River trails in Center City; Penrose Avenue and Bartram Avenue, Roosevelt Boulevard, connecting the Oregon Avenue, connecting the connecting FDR Park, the Schuylkill Far Northeast with Hunting Park; Delaware and Schuylkill River trails River Trail, and Heinz Wildlife in South Philadelphia; Refuge; Hunting Park Avenue, connecting Roosevelt Boulevard with East Fair- Pattison Avenue, connecting the Henry Avenue, connecting the mount Park; Delaware River and FDR Park; Wissahickon Creek with the Roosevelt Boulevard trail; Columbus Boulevard and Delaware Washington Avenue, connecting the Avenue, connecting trails along the Delaware and Schuylkill River trails North American Street, connecting North and Central Delaware River at the southern end of Center City; the Delaware River and Cohocksink with Oregon Avenue, Washington Creek trails to the North Philadelphia Avenue, and Spring Garden Street; Spring Garden Street, connecting the trail network; and

120 beyond 2015 1

Washington Lane, connecting to the 1 This rendering shows how the space under the Wissahickon Creek. 2 Market-Frankford El already being used by pedestrians in an unsafe manner can be improved and Conditions range widely across the protected through painted bike lanes, vegetation, street corridors. Some corridors and public art. This would create a direct con- are already being rethought via the nection from the Schuylkill River Trail to the Cobbs Creek Trail. 2 The long-term trail network would Philadelphia City Planning Com- include on-road and off-road connections to large mission’s Pedestrian and Bicycle waterfront parks using primary street corridors, Plan, which is currently underway. including Market Street in West Philadelphia.

Green2015 121 rail

The best opportunities for pedestrian and bicycle connections linking neighborhoods to the large waterfront parks are rail corridors. The original purpose of these corridors was to allow for the efficient movement of material, goods, and people. When pieces of the rail network that are currently in use are combined with vacated tracks, the composite framework would allow a Philadelphian from the furthest reaches of Northeast Philadelphia to reach the opposite corner of Southwest Philadelphia. From there, the greater Philadelphia region lies ahead.

Philadelphia has hundreds of miles of railroad track, 77 miles of which are underused or vacated. These could make ideal pedestrian and bicycle connections across the city. In fact, some rail corridors surround existing waterfront parks and therefore would not only increase access to these parks but would also expand the parks, serving as additional trails in areas where the existing park is land- locked and cannot expand further. Most of the corridors proposed in this document are vacated and therefore would not compete with active rail. Safety, security, and maintenance issues can be addressed for the corridors with active rail.

The design treatment needed to incorporate pedestrian and bicycle

122 beyond 2015 traffic into our rail corridors would Corridors that no longer have track: vary depending on the location Oxford, Olney, and Frankford branch- and type of existing rail lines, as a es in Lower Northeast Philadelphia. wide variety of conditions exist in Philadelphia, including these: For heavily used rail corridors such as Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and Heavily trafficked rail corridors along the 25th Street viaduct, converting which adjacent vacancies could be parcels adjacent to the right-of-way used for a trail: Amtrak’s Northeast into green, open space will be the corridor and CSX’s 25th Street via- key to establishing these connec- duct in South Philadelphia; tions. Along both corridors, there are numerous vacant parcels that Lightly trafficked rail corridors with could be converted into public open adjacent tracks not currently in use: space immediately. In many cases 1 While most of the rail connections proposed in Conrail’s Port Richmond branch adja- in Philadelphia, informal trails have this chapter run along vacated or underutilized cent to Lehigh Avenue; already developed; in fact, some with rights of way, using land along active rail lines like excess adjacent right-of-way are al- the Amtrak Northeast Corridor (pictured) as a trail link is also possible and can be done safely. Lightly trafficked freight rail corridors ready being used as parks by nearby 2 This rendering shows how this important without adjacent tracks: the Trenton residents, such as the Lehigh Avenue regional transit connection can be beautified and Line in Northeast Philadelphia, the viaduct in Port Richmond. enhanced by using adjacent right-of-way for a Belt Line along the Delaware River, walking and biking trail. The smattering of vacant the Swanson Street branch in South Additional details on the ownership properties along the corridor in North Philadelphia Philadelphia, and the 60th Street and implementation of rail-trails can can also be greened to create more generous branch along the Lower Schuylkill be found in Appendix C, “Railroads.” parks and public-access points. River in Southwest Philadelphia;

Vacated tracks no longer in use: Fort 1 Washington line along the Cresheim Creek, Conrail’s Trenton Avenue viaduct, the Bethlehem Branch in Logan, and former SEPTA rail beyond the Fox Chase station in Northeast Philadelphia; and

Green2015 123 looking ahead

Numerous issues arose during this Neighborhood Gardens Association are different than trusts dedicated to planning process that warrant further (NGA), the Natural Lands Trust (NLT), land conservation for green space. study and conversation. and the Trust for Public Land (TPL). WCRP is creating a land trust not NGA has the hyper-local mission of solely for green-space reasons, but Future of Land Trusts in protecting urban gardens from de- also to give community residents a Philadelphia velopment threats; it has 30 gardens stake in the future development of Partnerships between PPR and pri- totaling eight acres in its holdings. their neighborhood, whether for hous- vate land trusts have been discussed NLT has done extensive land-conser- ing, commercial, retail, or park-space as a way to help PPR implement vation work in the region but little uses. If PPR establishes partnerships its Green2015 goals. Private land work in Philadelphia. TPL has done with community land trusts, new city trusts could help by conducting the acquisition work all over the country, parks could be created in these areas. legal acquisition process, providing but its work in Philadelphia has been up-front funding for private acquisi- limited so far to an economic study tions, or even coordinating public conducted by its advocacy arm. dialogue about greening specific The city should not miss sites. An urban land trust could help The roles of all three of these trusts bring some of the more challenging could be strengthened in order to give the opportunity to secure lands into the park system within PPR the support it needs to create Philadelphia, such as rail corridors. new parks. NeighborSpace in Chicago long-term, dedicated Trust for Public Land was crucial to is an interesting model for NGA to ex- funding in order to successful schoolyard conversion ini- amine. NeighborSpace owns or leases tiatives in New York and Newark. In 61 gardens and receives funding from continue to create green the case of Atlanta and its develop- the Chicago Parks District and Cook ment of the trail-transit Belt Line, the County for maintenance. NLT is cur- infrastructure for years Trust for Public Land helped not only rently being funded by the William to come. acquire and temporarily hold the land Penn Foundation to explore opportu- for the city until the city eventually nities in Philadelphia for private-land transformed it into parks, but they acquisition for Green2015; the group also paid for the corridors up front is also facilitating the implementation Larger City Land Acquisition, while the city worked to pass the Tax of the Central Delaware Riverfront Management, and Disposition Allocation District that would cover Master Plan. The type of formal legal Strategy the costs. The help of such a group support that the group offers would Green2015 offers opportunities to could be beneficial during the long be beneficial to city agencies. convert vacant land to productive process of acquiring larger, privately use and to help reduce the costs of owned sites. Community land trusts such as blighted property to the city’s coffers. the one under development by the As noted previously, the Managing Philadelphia currently has three land Women’s Community Revitalization Director’s Office and Office of the trusts that have worked locally: the Project in eastern North Philadelphia Director of Finance are currently

124 beyond 2015 drafting a citywide vacant-land greening initiative that would have strategy with the help of a task force cross-neighborhood impact. Finally, that includes PPR, RDA, PHS, and there is room to expand the Fairmount L&I. The working group aims to draft Park Conservancy’s services in order policies that will allow for the fair, to help PPR. For instance, the con- transparent, and efficient disposition servancy could operate concessions of vacant property, the reduction of so that profits can go directly toward tax delinquency, and a reduction in park improvements. the long-term costs of maintaining vacant parcels. Future Revenue Generation The Green2015 proposals require The Fairmount Park minimal land acquisition and can Conservancy be achieved by aligning existing The Fairmount Park Conservancy, funding streams and partnerships. founded in 1998, is a fundraising arm This report also outlines additional for PPR. In comparison to other cit- funding sources available for public ies, the conservancy has fewer staff green-space projects. With this in members and serves a larger system. mind, the city should not miss the Worthy of note is the fact that many of opportunity to secure long-term, the best-funded parks in the country dedicated funding in order to con- have individual conservancies that tinue to create green infrastructure support a specific park. This is true for years to come. Investing in our of Prospect Park in Brooklyn and of city’s green future is important to our Forest Park in St. Louis. Prospect Park competitiveness and to the health and Forest Park are easy to visualize; of our neighborhoods and citizens. one can mentally picture the extent of For its PlaNYC initiative, New York the park. In contrast, Philadelphia’s City allocated nearly $270 million for conservancy supports a very large, green-space capital investments in unconnected system of parks and 2009; in contrast, in fiscal year 2010 recreation centers that is not easy in Philadelphia, just $16 million was to visualize, making fundraising financed in capital improvements to more of a challenge. An outgrowth of Fairmount Park.104 Green2015 could Green2015 could be the creation of serve as an impetus for a larger cam- subconservancies for specific parks paign to procure dedicated funding within the system; another option is sources beyond 2015, with the goal of a special conservancy campaign to further improving our city’s strength raise funds for a citywide project, and competitiveness and the quality such as a rail corridor or a creek- of life of its citizens.

Green2015 125 appendices

126 appendices Green2015 127 • Brenda Barrett, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

• Drew Becher, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

• Lisa Beyer, Philadelphia Water Department

• Karen Black, May 8 Consulting

• Lauren Bornfriend, Philadelphia Parks Alliance

• Stephen Buckley, Mayor’s Office of A. Transportation and Utilities • Stephanie Craighead, Philadelphia Acknowledgements Department of Parks and Recreation

• The Green2015 project team has many • Sarah Low, Philadelphia Department of Andrew Dobshinsky, Wallace Roberts and Todd, LLC people to thank for their assistance with Parks and Recreation data collection and for their participa- • • Mary Ellen McCarty, Philadelphia Water Mark Focht, Philadelphia Department of tion in this project. Department Parks and Recreation • Walker Allen, Delaware Valley Regional • John Herzins, Department of Public Property Planning Commission • Chris Mendel, Andropogon Associates • • Pete Hoskins, Commission on Parks and • Joni Baumgarten, Philadelphia Patrick Morgan, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department of Parks and Recreation Recreation • • Fred Kaulbach, Greening Greenfield • Lisa Beyer, Philadelphia Water Department Clint Randall, Philadelphia Department of Public Health Committee • John Carpenter, Redevelopment • Danielle DiLeo Kim, Philadelphia City Authority of the City of Philadelphia • Leonard Reuter, Philadelphia Law Department Planning Commission • Stephanie Craighead, Philadelphia • Giridhar Mallya, Philadelphia Department Department of Parks and Recreation • Brian Schuster, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society of Public Health • Andrew Dobshinsky, Wallace Roberts and • Barbara McCabe, Philadelphia Todd, LLC • Jon Sinker, Philadelphia Department of Public Health Department of Parks and Recreation • Francis Dougherty, School District of • Michael Nairn, Department of Urban Philadelphia • Lynsie Solomon, City of Philadelphia Department of Public Property Studies, University of Pennsylvania • Grant Ervin, Philadelphia Police • Howard Neukrug, Philadelphia Water Department • Andrew Stober, Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities Department • Spencer Finch, Pennsylvania • Andy Pitz, Natural Lands Trust Environmental Council • Sarah Clark Stuart, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia • Clint Randall, Philadelphia Department • Mark Focht, Philadelphia Department of of Public Health Parks and Recreation • Casey Thomas, Philadelphia Water Department • Maitreyi Roy, Pennsylvania Horticultural • William Goetz, CSX Corporation • Domenic Vitiello, Penn Planning Society • Bridget Greenwald, Managing • Laura Spina, Philadelphia City Planning Director’s Office • Marisa Waxman, Philadelphia Department of Revenue Commission • Joseph Gruber, Philadelphia Department • Andrew Stober, Mayor’s Office of of Licenses and Inspections Transportation and Utilities Green2015 would also like to thank those • Allison Karpyn, The Food Trust who participated in our four design work- • Pat Toy, Greening Greenfield Committee • Danielle DiLeo Kim, Philadelphia City shops in July 2010. • Peter Williamson, Natural Lands Trust Planning Commission • Laurie Actman, Viridity Energy • Sarah Wu, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability • Pauline Loughlin, Philadelphia City • Jose Alminana, Andropogon Associates Planning Commission

128 appendices • Marion Coker, Southeastern Pennsylvania • Brian Glass, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Transportation Authority Future

• Lisa Colby, Philadelphia Department of • William Goetz, CSX Corporation Public Health • Nancy Goldenberg, Commission on Parks • Byron Comati, Southeastern Pennsylvania and Recreation Transportation Authority • Bridget Greenwald, Managing Director’s • Stephanie Craighead, Philadelphia Office Department of Parks and Recreation • Elizabeth Grimaldi, Village of Arts and • Dilip da Cunha, Department of Landscape Humanities Architecture, University of Pennsylvania b. • Christina Yaron Grimes, Passyunk Square • Joanne Dahme, Philadelphia Water Civic Association Education Committee Department interview list • Morgan Grove, USDA Forest Service • Charles Davies, Pennsylvania Department • Anuj Gupta, Philadelphia Department of Philadelphia of Transportation Licenses and Inspections • Glen Abrams, Philadelphia Water • Justin DiBerardinis, Office of Department • Prema Katari Gupta, Philadelphia Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sanchez, Industrial Development Corporation • Lisa Armstrong, Greening Greenfield Seventh Councilmanic District Committee • Tomas Hanna, School District of • Andrew Dobshinsky, Wallace Roberts & Philadelphia • Rob Armstrong, Philadelphia Department Todd, LLC of Parks and Recreation • Peter Harnik, Trust for Public Land • Francis Dougherty, School District of • Marissa Barletta, Philadelphia Water Philadelphia • Patrick Henwood, School District of Department Philadelphia • Kevin Dow, Philadelphia Department of • Jennifer Barr, Philadelphia City Planning Commerce • John Herzins, City of Philadelphia Commission Department of Public Property • Phil Economou, Amtrak and Interstate • Nancy Bastian, Cecil Baker + Partners Land Management Corporation • David Hollenberg, Penn Facilities and Real Estate • Drew Becher, Pennsylvania Horticultural • Nan Feyler, Philadelphia Department of Society Public Health • Pete Hoskins, Commission on Parks and Recreation • Lisa Beyer, Philadelphia Water Department • Spencer Finch, Pennsylvania Environmental Council • Pat James, Pennsylvania Horticultural • Karen Black, May 8 Consulting Society • Brian Flanagan, Deputy Mayor’s Office • Blaine Bonham, Pennsylvania for Economic Development • Michael Johns, Philadelphia Housing Horticultural Society Authority • Mark Focht, Philadelphia Department of • Lauren Bornfriend, Philadelphia Parks Parks and Recreation • Jennifer Kates, Office of Councilwoman Alliance Maria Quiñones-Sanchez, Seventh • David Forde, Office of B. Reynolds Brown, Councilmanic District, City of • Dr. Charles Branas, Associate Professor of Councilwoman-at-Large Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia • Sarah Francis, Friends of Cynwyd Trail • Stephen Buckley, Mayor’s Office of • Lucy Kerman, Greater Philadelphia Transportation and Utilities • Nick Frontino, Economy League of Urban Affairs Coalition Greater Philadelphia • Fran Burns, Philadelphia Department of • Shawn Kilgallon, Pennsylvania Licenses and Inspections • Katherine Gajewski, Mayor’s Office of Horticultural Society Sustainability • Jeff Carpineta, East Kensington • Chris Kingsley, Ivy Ridge Trail Neighbors Association • John Gattuso, Liberty Property Trust • Christine Knapp, Citizens for • Betsy Casanas, Semilla Arts Initiative • Terry Gillen, Redevelopment Authority of Pennsylvania’s Future the City of Philadelphia • Ollie Cherniahivsky, Ollie Cherniahivsky • John Kromer, Fels Institute of & Associates • Eva Gladstein, Zoning Code Commission Government

Green2015 129 • Ryan Kuck, Preston’s Paradise • Jennifer Rodriguez, Asociación • Susan Wachter, Wharton School of Puertorriqueños en Marcha Business, University of Pennsylvania • Christopher Leswing, Planning Division, Lower Merion Township • Maitreyi Roy, Pennsylvania Horticultural • Marisa Waxman, Philadelphia Revenue Society Department • Nora Lichtash, Women's Community Revitalization Project • Sandy Salzman, New Kensington • Katrina Wilhelm, Fairmount Park Community Development Corporation Conservancy • Deenah Loeb, City Parks Association • Rick Sauer, Philadelphia Association of • Peter Williamson, Natural Lands Trust • Paul Lonie, Delaware River City Community Development Corporations Corporation • Laurence Wiseman, Center Line Strategy • Debby Schaaf, Philadelphia City Planning • Marangeli Majia-Rabell, Asociación • Debra Wolf Goldstein, Commission on Commission Puertorriqueños en Marcha Parks and Recreation • Diane Schrauth, William Penn Foundation • Anuradha Mathur, Department of • Diane-Louise Wormley, Health Promotion Landscape Architecture, University of • Greg Scruggs, Wharton School of Council Pennsylvania Business, University of Pennsylvania • Carolyn Wallis, Pennsylvania Department • Barbara McCabe, Philadelphia • Heidi Segall Levy, Community Design of Conservation and Natural Resources Department of Parks and Recreation Collaborative • Sarah Wu, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability • Shawn McCaney, William Penn • Lisa Segarra, Norris Square Civic • Kate Zaidan, Clean Air Council Foundation Association

• Maura McCarthy, Friends of the • Josh Sevin, Economy League of Greater Wissahickon Philadelphia Case Studies • Thomas Baxter, Friends of the Riverfront, • Deborah McColloch, Philadelphia Office • Lynsie Solomon, City of Philadelphia Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA) of Housing and Community Development Department of Public Property • Katherine Estes Billmeier, Railroad Park • Amy Miller, East Kensington Neighbors • Sara Solomon, Philadelphia Department Foundation (Birmingham, AL) Association of Public Health • Joseph Bornstein, Chicago Parks District • Beth Miller, Community Design • Steve Squibb, Pennsylvania Department Collaborative of Conversation and Natural Resources • John Bralich, Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Youngstown State • Robin Morgan, USDA Forest Service • Patrick Starr, Pennsylvania Environmental University Council • Molly Morrison, Natural Lands Trust • Michael Bricker, People for Urban • Andrew Stober, Mayor’s Office of • Gregory Moton, Exelon Corporation Progress (Indianapolis, IN) Transportation and Utilities • Terry Mushovic, Neighborhood Gardens • Jerome Chou, Design Trust for Public • Sarah Clark Stuart, Bicycle Coalition of Association Space (New York, NY) Greater Philadelphia • Michael Nairn, Department of Urban • Nette Compton, New York City Parks and • Joe Syrnick, Schuylkill River Development Studies, University of Pennsylvania Recreation Corporation • Howard Neukrug, Philadelphia Water • Andrew Hart, Keeping Indianapolis • Michael Szilagyi, Campbell Thomas & Co. Department Beautiful • Bob Thomas, Campbell Thomas & Co. • Barry Promos, Interstate Land • Cheryl Huber, New Yorkers for Parks Management Corporation • Sarah Thorp, Delaware River Waterfront • Peter Lagerway, Toole Design Group Corporation • Mark Radatti, Pennsylvania Department (Seattle, WA) of Transportation • Louise Turan, Bartram’s Garden • Michael Lange, Chicago Parks District • Michael Rains, USDA Forest Service • John Ungar, Ogontz Avenue Revitalization • Jonathan Lewis, City of Atlanta Office of Corporation • Clint Randall, Philadelphia Department of Planning Public Health • Rachel Vassar, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s • Richard Lloyd, Brooklyn Bridge Park Future • Leonard Reuter, Philadelphia Law Conservancy Department • Domenic Vitiello, PennPlanning

130 appendices • Dave Lowin, Brooklyn Bridge Park While these corridors hold great potential for remove all the steel tracks and ties in order Conservancy a green, connected network, rail companies to sell them.106 However, railbanking expe- are often focused on using and revitalizing dites the process dramatically and should be • Kirk Meyer, Green Schoolyard Network their tracks. They are also concerned about considered for corridors in Philadelphia that (Boston, MA) the cost to remediate the land if extensive have yet to be legally abandoned. Through • Maryann O’Malley, People for Urban construction was required in providing railbanking, the city could negotiate for a Progress (Indianapolis, IN) public access. Converting underutilized particular corridor, or a citywide agreement or vacated rail lines into greenways that could be reached with Conrail that would • Gregory Page, Saint Paul Riverfront link disparate parts of the city will require apply to multiple corridors. Corporation proactive and sustained efforts on the part of city government. Once city representatives reach an agree- • Keith Privett, Chicago Department of ment with the railroad company to go Transportation The Lehigh Avenue Viaduct is an example through the railbanking process, they must • Ellen Ryan, Brooklyn Bridge Park of an underutilized rail corridor that could go through the discontinuation-of-service Conservancy serve to connect the Delaware River with process with the Surface Transportation neighborhoods underserved by green Board, the federal body that must review • Dan Sentz, Pittsburgh Department of City space. Largely inactive except for one train and approve any proposed change to rail Planning that serves one rail customer, the Lehigh infrastructure. • Jim Sutherland, Eastern Market Viaduct can accommodate both pedes- Corporation (Detroit, MI) trian and rail access on the portion east of In Philadelphia, there are likely to be cases Kensington Avenue. The standard for recent in which the rail operator has already legally rail-trails around the country is that 30 feet abandoned the corridor through the Surface of separation must be provided between rail Transportation Board. When Conrail went and trail; at its thinnest point, the Lehigh into bankruptcy in the early 1980s, they Avenue viaduct provides a 100-foot-wide were given the authority to bypass the STB area of non-rail right-of-way. At its widest, it process and proceed to discontinuance. If provides 500 feet. In comparison, Penn Park the corridor has already been legally aban- will be built 30 feet away from the nation’s doned, then ownership generally reverts to c. highest-trafficked passenger-rail corridor adjacent landowners; if the corridor runs along the Schuylkill River. Either leasing through a residential neighborhood, this or vacating the Lehigh Avenue viaduct’s could mean hundreds of landowners with additional right-of-way would save the rail owner from extensions to their backyards. Most profes- maintenance and liability responsibilities, sionals contacted for this report agreed that implementation provide the railroad with compensation, trying to utilize a rail corridor after it has and allow the city to manage public access. been legally abandoned is unrealistic. research However, even if service was legally dis- Railroads: Opportunities Railroads: Transformation continued decades ago, rail companies Because railroad rights-of-way form linear, The acquisition process for rail corridors might still hold a common-law easement. cross-city connections with complicated is complicated. If the corridor is not yet This would work to the city’s advantage, ownership, utilizing them as ways to con- legally abandoned, then the corridors can because the corridor is “abandoned in fact,” nect Philadelphians with their parks will be acquired for public use through the as service will clearly no longer run there, require careful attention. Though they Pennsylvania Rails to Trails Act of 1991.105 but not legally abandoned. formed the transportation backbone of the This act streamlines the acquisition steps 19th-century industrial city, many rail cor- through a process called railbanking. In the The city’s most recent rail acquisition, ridors today are underutilized or have been case of railbanking, the title remains with the old Kensington and Tacony (K & T) vacated as the city’s industrial base has the rail company, so that company techni- line along the Delaware River, took place diminished and new forms of transporta- cally has the right to reclaim the corridor through what is known as a quickclaim tion have supplanted rail use. These linear for freight rail, even though the government deed. Conrail granted the property to the pathways would be significant additions to agency is paying the railroad for the right city without guaranteeing the validity of the green network; for example, converting to use the land. Negotiation with the rail the title. This means that a property owner the right-of-way from the Oxford, Frankford, operator is still necessary, which can be could dispute the deed. Such claims would and Bethlehem rail corridors to green (in time-consuming. In Atlanta, a legal aban- have to be settled in court, but in the case three vacated stretches in Lower Northeast donment process that began two years ago of the K & T trail, the city had funding to do 107 Philadelphia) would add 135 acres to the for 4.5-mile stretch of rail is still underway all the title research in advance. PPR cur- city’s park landscape. because Norfolk Southern wants first to rently has designs for the trail underway.

Green2015 131 Leasing options are also viable, if the rail- partnership in Philadelphia through the • The Olney branch that runs north-south road company is not interested in legally Office of Transportation and Utilities. Also in lower Northeast Philadelphia and ends abandoning the corridor. A lease would in Chicago, a trail was developed along a in the northern end of Tacony Creek Park allow the city to open the corridor to the utility easement based on an agreement • The Frankford line that runs parallel to public and also to do grading and landscap- with the telecom company Commonwealth the Frankford-Tacony Creek in Northeast ing for public use. By converting the land Edison, which has fiber-optic cable running Philly to the northeast of the creek itself to recreational use, the railroad company is underneath. Commonwealth Edison collects indemnified of liability, the trail will be built rent on the trail parcels by leasing them to • The Swanson line that begins on relatively quickly, and the railroad company the city; the city gets continuous land for a Swanson Street in South Philadelphia will avoid paying for the environmental relatively low cost. before hitting the Greenwich Rail Yards remediation needed for more intense con- and looping back toward FDR Park struction. With a lease or a sale, striking Railroads Spotlight: Dequindre any at-grade crossings from the corridor Cut, Detroit, Michigan • The Trenton Avenue line that runs northeast after the termination of Trenton (whether currently in use or only on the Due to their location in the tight grid of Avenue until it intersects with the books) is an essential part of the process. Philadelphia’s former industrial neighbor- Amtrak Northeast Corridor around the This is done through the Pennsylvania hoods, many of our underutilized rail cor- Frankford Creek Utilities Commission. ridors are below street grade. This may lead one to question their safety and security. • The Fort Washington rail connection that Railroads: Other Cities Detroit provides a model for this type of runs parallel to the Cresheim Valley in the Every city has a different approach to trans- trail. In May 2009, Detroit opened its first Wissahickon forming rail corridors for trail use. Atlanta’s mile of the Dequindre Cut. Twenty-five Belt Line is currently working to relocate the feet below grade, the cut was sold to a ca- • The SEPTA-owned rail beyond the lone property owner on a five-mile stretch of sino developer to build an expressway spur terminus of the Fox Chase Regional Rail freight rail so that the corridor can be used when gaming was planned for the Detroit line that extends into Pennypack Park for a biking trail and public transit. The riverfront. When the casinos changed loca- Railroad Park Foundation in Birmingham tion, they sold the Dequindre Cut to the Potential Land Adjacent to Active Corridors 110 agreed to maintain an adjacent Norfolk city for $1. Construction funding was • There are 294 underutilized parcels Southern property in order to gain access provided by the state DOT, the Department adjacent to the Northeast Corridor in 108 to one that is now included in the park. of Natural Resources Trust Fund, and a co- Philadelphia. These are some of those The best-known examples, such as the alition of foundations. A $2 million endow- properties of note: High Line in New York City, were acquired ment funded by three separate foundations »» 24 vacant lots owned by the through railbanking and through formal was formed for the maintenance of the cut, Department of Public Property, two legal-abandonment proceedings. which will be performed by the Detroit of which are over a half-acre Riverfront Conservancy. Streetlights and It is always important to do title research security cameras are scattered along the »» 22 vacant lots owned by the on anything that might resemble a rail cor- trail for safety purposes.111 The Dequindre Redevelopment Authority ridor. In Seattle, the city was able to secure Cut has safely operated in Detroit for more »» A 4.3-acre site owned by Amtrak that is a portion of the Burke-Gilman Trail because than a year. out of the right-of-way and vacant staff found records saying that the railroad company would have to assume financial Railroads: Opportunity Sites112 »» Eight additional vacant lots owned responsibility for any roads or public access Most green projects along rail corridors rep- by Amtrak and the National Railroad that needed to be rebuilt along the corridor. resent long-term opportunities; that is, the Passenger Corporation They used this as leverage to obtain cross- time it could take to complete them takes »» Six vacant lots owned by the Philadel- ing improvements and to purchase the land them beyond the target of 2015. However, 109 phia Housing Development Corporation that eventually became the trail. work can be done now to create access to some parts of the network in the short »» Five vacant lots owned by the Housing Chicago offers important lessons. The term. Authority Chicago Department of Transportation acquires land upon securing the rails-to- Potential Vacated Rail »» Five vacant lots and warehouses trails agreement, while the Parks District owned by the Philadelphia Industrial maintains the sites once they have been • The Bethlehem line that runs north-south Development Corporation and the opened. This is an interesting model, as the adjacent to the Logan Triangle until it Philadelphia Authority for Industrial local DOT not only has established relation- terminates in Fern Rock Transportation Development ship with rail operators, but also maintains Center »» One vacant lot owned by the School direct ties to state and federal funding • The Oxford line that branches off from District of Philadelphia for multimodal transportation initiatives. the Northeast Corridor and intersects Perhaps an opportunity exists for such a with the Tacony-Frankford Creek

132 appendices • There are 64 underutilized parcels planning, design, and development. in the TIGER I program to complete its adjacent to the 25th Street viaduct in Land-acquisition and construction grants bicycle network. South Philadelphia, including these range from $150,000 to $200,000. • Sustainable Communities Regional properties of note: • The Pennsylvania Department of Planning Grants are available through »» Surface parking at the beginning of the Environmental Protection has funded $6 the Office of Housing and Urban viaduct at 25th Street and Washington billion to date in projects implementing Development ($100 million). Avenue, owned by Conrail non-point source-pollution remediation • Community Challenge Planning Grants through Pennvest.113 »» A 3.8-acre vacant parcel owned by a are awarded through the U.S. Department church at the northwest corner of 25th • The U.S. Environmental Protection of Housing and Urban Development ($75 and Dickinson Streets Agency (EPA) is making available up to million). $10 million in grants to local governments »» A half-acre parcel on the northeast • The Choice Neighborhoods initia- to establish and carry out initiatives to corner of 25th and Tasker Streets that is tive awards grants through the U.S. reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Under owned by the Redevelopment Authority Department of Housing and Urban the Climate Showcase Communities and is currently used as a community Development ($65 million). program, EPA expects to award ap- garden proximately 25 cooperative agreements • The federal Safe Routes to School Even if discontinuous, these vacant lots ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. program offers funding for creating adjacent to rail corridors can be converted sidewalks within 3 miles of a school on • Commonwealth Rails-to-Trails grants to green now in order to show the influence publicly owned land, representing an provide 50 percent funding for the that green space can have on a community opportunity for trail-construction funding. planning, acquisition, or development of and to build support for a linear trail along rail-to-trail corridors. Eligible applicants • The United States Department of Justice Philadelphia’s most robust rail corridors. include municipalities and nonprofit Weed and Seed program offers funding Improvements could be made to Glenwood organizations established to preserve and for multiagency approaches to law Avenue and Sedgley Avenue, as well, to protect available underutilized railroad enforcement, crime prevention, and make these more hospitable connectors corridors for use as trails or future rail neighborhood restoration. for pedestrians and cars. A public-art service.114 project such as the 2009 Love Letter by the • Let's Move is the Obama administration’s Mural Arts Program along the El in West • The Pennsylvania Community primary initiative to address public- Philadelphia is fragmented but engaging; a Transportation Initiative offers funds health issues such as healthy food, better similar project on vacant lots could be im- through PennDOT ($24 million). nutritional information, and increased plemented in Brewerytown and Strawberry recreational opportunities for children, • PennDOT Recreational Trails Program Mansion to bring awareness to the opportu- including improved access to safe parks, awards grants to develop and maintain nities along the Amtrak corridor. playgrounds, and indoor and outdoor recreational trails and trail-related recreational facilities. facilities and to acquire easements Other Funding Sources and properties. Typical grant is about • The Land and Water Conservation Fund Other state and federal grants have been $150,000. uses receipts from offshore oil and gas and may continue to be available for public leases for park protection and creation. green-space projects. Here are some sources • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric to investigate. Administration awards grants of up to • One opportunity implemented elsewhere $3 million for land acquisition, research, • The Pennsylvania Department of that has not yet been explored in and educational activities related to Conservation and Natural Resources Philadelphia is the aggregating of public waterfront access through the (DCNR) is announcing another round of potential green-space sites within public- Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Sustainable Sites Initiative grants for housing projects in order to secure fund- Program and National and Estuarine sustainable approaches to park design, ing from HUD community block grants. Research Reserve System. construction, and maintenance. A wealth of land within PHA ownership could be converted to productive green • Congestion Mitigation Air Quality • DCNR’s Growing Greener II, a bond space, so this partnership opportunity Program grants are awarded to assist initiative to leverage investments in should be explored. areas that do not meet federal air-quality farmland preservation, conservation of standards. open space, watershed protection and These are some other ideas for generating revenue for ongoing park maintenance trail development, is up for renewal in • Transportation Investment Generating that have been discussed throughout the 2011. Economic Recovery (TIGER II) Grants Green2015 process: have $400 million to be awarded in • DCNR Keystone Community Grants urban communities later this year. The • Dedicating a portion of the incremental program makes grant money avail- Philadelphia region received $23 million increase in property value that is able to support greenway and park

Green2015 133 attributable to nearby parks to their • Requiring all new development projects minimum that can to meet basic stormwa- maintenance, perhaps through the that include parks to have mechanisms ter requirements and provide recreational Real Estate Transfer Tax. For example, in place for adjacent residents and amenities: the Maryland State Parks system is businesses to support the operation • The “Clean and Green” process managed supported by a 0.5 percent real-estate of the park. Such mechanisms could by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, transactions tax, and Radnor Township include creating a Business Improvement which includes cleaning, soil, fence, trees in Delaware County increased its District, creating land-lease payments, and grass seed costs between $10,890 real-estate transfer tax from 0.75 percent or instituting an annual fee for park and $13,075 per quarter-acre.119 to 1 percent and dedicated the additional maintenance that would be transferred revenues to open space.115 to PPR. • Cost estimates for constructing wetlands, 82 acres of which are required as part of • Implementing a 1 percent surcharge on • When designing new parks and facilities, the airport expansion plan and could be the water and sewer bills rendered to us- including revenue-generating amenities linked to adjacent waterfront parks, are ers in the city to go toward park improve- to directly supplement park-operation as low as $12,500 to $25,000 per quarter- ments. Since the typical homeowner’s costs, such as bike or boat rental and acre, depending on the organization.120 monthly bill is about $51, a 1 percent specialized, privately organized recre- surcharge would add 50 cents per month. ational activities. • Grays Ferry Crescent, Schuylkill River Given the substantial roles parks play in between 34th and Wharton Streets: managing water, protecting watersheds, an estimated $50,000 per quarter-acre controlling stormwater and runoff, and so Cost Estimates for asphalt trail, trail lighting, and on, it is possible to make the case that a Green2015 outlines a commitment to create landscaping.121 small surcharge is justified to offset the 500 new acres of park space for citizens • The Water Department estimates that it park system’s water-related expenses.116 and to do so affordably. A world-class city needs parks, but it also needs to live within costs an average of $62,500 per quarter- • Using goats and sheep instead of power its budget, especially in difficult economic acre to convert 1 acre of paved surface mowers and contracted landscapers. times. To get there, we intend at every op- into a “greened acre” that properly This is an innovative and sustainable portunity to align this initiative with similar manages stormwater runoff.122 approach to park maintenance that has efforts underway throughout the city gov- • Washington Avenue Green, Delaware been tested in cities such as New York, ernment and to partner with the nonprofit River and Washington Avenue: $142,500 Los Angeles, and San Diego. A recent and for-profit private sector, as well as many per quarter-acre for design of 3 acres and study features the potential cost benefits of the city’s leading institutions, to amelio- construction of 1-acre park and wetland as well, as it could represent a savings of rate the cost of the program. We estimate restoration.123 7 to 12 cents per square foot of land while that if current trends in park creation serving as a revenue opportunity, since continue, 200 acres of new park space will • Penn Treaty Park, Delaware River and droppings can be used as fertilizer and be created by the private sector at no ac- Columbia Avenue: an estimated $382,140 117 meat can be sold to local restaurants. quisition or construction cost to the City of per quarter-acre for extensive design and Philadelphia, which represents nearly half of construction improvements for the 7-acre • Creating more direct involvement of the Green2015 goal. Further, the remaining park.124 Business Improvement Districts in 300 acres can be created with no acquisition the maintenance of green spaces, as costs by repurposing land that is already has been done in the University City publicly owned. These might include public District’s work with Clark Park and recreation sites, particularly those that fea- Malcolm X Park and the Center City ture large paved surfaces where greening District’s recent acquisition of Chestnut would both support the goals of Green2015 Park. and improve management of stormwater • Creating a carbon-offset program that runoff according to the Water Department’s ties grants from carbon-emitting indus- Green City, Clean Waters program. Other tries to renewable energy, tree planting, sites could include public schoolyards and or other carbon-negative projects.118 An other underused public land. offset or a credit program could also be created for stormwater. Clearly, the cost of a project can vary according to the type of park space that is • Arranging food and beverage “exclusivity created. Some green spaces can be created agreements” in which a company pays at relatively low cost, while others carry a a fixed fee and a percentage of sales to higher price tag because of the size and a school for the exclusive right to sell its scale of the greening involved. Here is a product in the facilities. sampling of what is possible, based on a site area of one-quarter acre, established as the

134 appendices 10. Vitiello, Domenic, and Michael Nairn, 20. “Clean Environment Key to Economy, Community Gardening in Philadelphia: Philadelphians Tell Pollster; Mayoral 2008 Harvest Report, Penn Planning and Candidates’ Position on Environment Urban Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Very Important to Residents and Business October 2009. Owners,” Terry Madonna and Penn Future, 2006, http://www.pennfuture.org/media_ 11. Valerie Russ, “Group Taking the Lead pr_detail.aspx?MediaID=169&Archive=Y to Stamp out Blight in Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Inquirer (September 17, 21. Vacant Land Management in 2010), http://www.philly.com/dailynews/ Philadelphia: The Costs of the Current local/20100917_Group_taking_the_lead_to_ System and the Benefits of Reform, stamp_out_blight_in_Philadelphia.html Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia (November 2010). 12. Interview with Charles Branas, D. endnotes Cartographic Modeling Lab, University of 22. Jonah Lehrer, “How the City Hurts Pennsylvania (September 21, 2010). Your Brain . . . and What You Can 1. Green City, Clean Waters: The City Do About It,” Boston Globe (January of Philadelphia’s Program for Combined 13. 2010 City Park Facts, The Trust 2, 2009), http://www.boston.com/ Sewer Overflow Control, Philadelphia Water for Public Land Center for City Park bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/01/04/ Department (September 1, 2009). Excellence, 2010, http://www.tpl.org/con- how_the_city_hurts_your_brain/?page=1 tent_documents/CityParkFacts_2010.pdf 2. Measuring the Economic Value of a City 23. National Recreation and Park Park System, The Trust for Public Land 14. Green City, Clean Waters. Association, “Why Parks and Recreation Are Center for City Park Excellence, 2003, Essential Public Services,” www.nrpa.org http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_ 15. Kathleen L. Wolf, “Business District item_id=22879&folder_id=3208 Streetscapes, Trees and Consumer 24. City Parks Forum Briefing Papers, “How Response,” Journal of Forestry (December Cities Use Parks to . . . Improve Public 3. Green City, Clean Waters. 2005), http://www.naturewithin.info/ Health,” American Planning Association, CityBiz/BizTreesAll_JFor.pdf http://www.planning.org/cityparks/ 4. Ibid. briefingpapers/physicalactivity.htm 16. Susan Wachter, “The Determinants 5. The Water Department identifies its of Neighborhood Transformation in 25. Green City, Clean Waters. “priority” sites as those with a minimum Philadelphia, Identification and Analysis: drainage area of 9,000 square feet, made The New Kensington Pilot Study,” 26. Ibid. up from the impervious site cover and ad- The Wharton School, University of jacent streets, appropriate topography and Pennsylvania, 2005. 27. Ibid. site drainage, and adjacent infrastructure to be used for overlow. The site must be 17. Gillen and Baylson, “Valuing the 28. “The Fairmount Park System: For able to provide one-tenth of the drainage Conversion of Urban Green Space,” Current the Health and Enjoyment of Citizens,” area for stormwater-management purposes. Issues in Housing and Urban Economics, Fairmount Park Commission, http:// Smaller sites would be considered on a American Real Estate and Urban Economic fairmountpark.org/HistoryIntro.asp case-by-case basis. Association Mid-Year Meeting Program, Penn Institute for Urban Research and 29. Implementing Green Infrastructure: 6. Vacant land data courtesy of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (June Developing a Winning Strategy to City Planning Commission (September 16, 2010). Fund Philadelphia’s Ambitious Visions, 2010). Pennsylvania Environmental Council 18. Green City, Clean Waters. (October 2009). 8. How Much Does the City of Philadelphia Receive from Its Parks and Recreation 19. The Economic, Environmental, 30. Green City, Clean Waters. System?, Philadelphia Parks Alliance and Health, and Quality of Life Benefits of a The Trust for Public Land Center for City Fully Connected Waterfront Greenway in 31. Ibid. Park Excellence (June 2008). Philadelphia, Coalition for Philadelphia’s Riverfronts, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s 32. The Economic Value of Protected Open 9. Measuring the Economic Value of a City Future (October 27, 2010). Space in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Park System. GreenSpace Alliance and Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (November 2010).

Green2015 135 33. Miriam Hill, “Philadelphia Looks for 43. Data provided by Philadelphia Parks 53. In the context of Green City Clean Ways to Streamline Sales of Publicly and Recreation, September 2010. Waters, a “greened acre” is defined as Owned Properties,” Philadelphia Inquirer an acre of impervious cover connected (September 21, 2010), http://www.philly. 44. Data courtesy of Pennsylvania to a combined sewer in baseline year com/philly/news/20100921_Phila__looks_ Horticultural Society, September 2010. 2006 that is subsequently reconfigured to for_ways_to_streamline_sales_of_pub- utilize green stormwater infrastructure to licly_owned_properties.html 45. Community development corporation manage all or a portion of its stormwater and neighborhood organization data runoff. A “greened acre” is an expression 34. Greenworks Philadelphia, Philadelphia courtesy of the Philadelphia City Planning of the physical volume of stormwater that Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, April 2009. Commission, March 2010. JoAnn Greco, is managed onsite by green stormwater “TLC for a Unique Center City ‘Pocket infrastructure. One “greened acre” is 35. Park area measurements represent Park,’” PlanPhilly (July 14, 2010), http:// equivalent to 1 inch of managed stormwa- current park size, courtesy of Philadelphia planphilly.com/tlc-unique-center-city- ter from 1 acre of drainage area, or 27,158 Parks and Recreation, October 2010. pocket-park gallons of managed stormwater.

36. Using Philadelphia Parks and 46. The group Independent Sector esti- 54. All Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Recreation data, the current size of the mates the value of volunteer time at $19.51 opportunity sites listed were gathered system is 9,995 acres. per hour (http://www.independentsector. from a combination of datasets from org/); Measuring the Economic Value of a the Delaware Valley Regional Planning 37. Map data are from the following City Park System. Commission, Philadelphia Parks and sources: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Recreation, and Philadelphia City Planning Commission (DVRPC), Philadelphia Parks 47. Map data are from the following Commission. The extent of impervious and Recreation, GreenPlan Philadelphia, sources: Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, surface and location within the combined Philadelphia City Planning Commission, Delaware Valley Regional Planning sewer system was calculated using data and U.S. Census Bureau. Commission, GreenPlan Philadelphia, from the Philadelphia Water Department. Philadelphia Water Department, and User data was from 2009 and courtesy of 38. Map data are from the following Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. sources: Philadelphia Water Department, Penn State University, U.S. Geological 48. Green2015 used 90 percent as a 55. Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan, Survey, University of Vermont Spatial baseline standard because 10 percent of Pittsburgh Climate Initiative (June 2008), Analysis Lab, Philadelphia Parks and the site area is the Philadelphia Water http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/district8/ Recreation, and the City of Philadelphia Department’s basic metric for the mini- assets/08_pgh_climate_action_plan.pdf Department of Technology. mum amount of impervious surface needed to convert to pervious surface in order to 56. The Greening of Detroit, “Featured 39. Map data are from the following sourc- make it a “greened acre” that filters the Projects,” http://www.greeningofdetroit. es: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, first inch of stormwater. com/3_1_featured_projects.php (accessed Natural Lands Trust, Penn Planning, September 9, 2010). Delaware River Basin Commission, and 49. A 2007 study by Urban Partners found Federal Emergency Management Agency. that farming in Philadelphia can produce 57. Urban Arboretum: From Vacancy to $120,000 annually. Hybrid Landscape, Studio report from 40. Map data are from the following Landscape Architecture 414, Professors sources: Southeastern Pennsylvania 50. Brandon Gollotti, “The Growth of Drexel Timothy Baird and Matthew Langan, Transportation Authority, DVRPC, University,” PlanPhilly (April 8, 2009), Pennsylvania State University, Spring 2010. Philadelphia City Planning Commission, http://planphilly.com/node/8594 U.S. Census Bureau, and Wharton Business 58. All public underused opportunity Analyst. 51. Thomas Walsh, “North Philly’s sites listed were gathered from datasets Industrious Community Creation,” from the Philadelphia City Planning 41. Abandoned Railroad Inventory and PlanPhilly (February 5, 2010), http:// Commission and Water Department (dated Policy Plan, Delaware Valley Regional planphilly.com/going-green-big-way July 14, 2010) and from the Redevelopment Planning Commission (September 1997). Authority (dated March 10, 2010). State- 52. Community Design Collaborative, owned land data was courtesy of the 42. Map data are from the following “Green Region Grant for West Philly’s Pennsylvania Department of Transportation sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Philadelphia Enterprise Center CDC,” Community and the Department of General Services. Department of Public Health, Public Health Design Collaborative Blog (July 27, 2010), Data for the service-based centers was Management Corporation, Cartographic http://blog.cdesignc.org/green-region- courtesy of the Philadelphia City Planning Modeling Lab, and GreenPlan Philadelphia. grant-for-west-philly%E2%80%99s- Commission. enterprise-center-cdc/

136 appendices 59. Pennsylvania Recreational Use Statute, 72. Miriam Hill, “Philadelphia Tax Amnesty 80. Green City, Clean Waters. http://www.americanwhitewater.org/ Nets $60 Million,” Heard in the Hall (July 6, resources/repository/Pennsylvania_ 2010), http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/ 81. “Philadelphia International Airport Recreational_Use_Statute.htm heardinthehall/taxes.html Capacity Enhancement Program,” http:// www.phl-cep-eis.com/ 60. “What is a Joint-Use Agreement?” 73. “Philadelphia’s New Zoning Code: National Policy and Legal Analysis Network DRAFT Modules 2 and 3,” Zoning Code 82. Alan Jaffe, “PHS Receives Home Depot to Prevent Childhood Obesity, March 2009. Commission (July 14, 2010), http://www. Grant,” Pennsylvania Horticultural Society zoningmatters.org/ (November 20, 2009), http://www.penn- 61. Dolesh, Richard, “School of Thought,” sylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/aboutus/ Parks and Recreation, August 2009. 74. Pennsylvania Recreational Use Statute, homedepot2.html http://www.americanwhitewater.org/ 62. Ibid. resources/repository/Pennsylvania_ 83. “Green Region,” PECO: An Exelon Recreational_Use_Statute.htm Company, http://www.peco.com/pecores/ 63. Ibid. environment_and_community/environ- 75. Abandoned Railroad Inventory and ment/for_our_community/green_region/ 64. People for Parks, “Community-School Policy Plan, Delaware Valley Regional (accessed September 9, 2010). Parks,” http://www.peopleforparks.org/ Planning Commission (September 1997). community_school_parks.html (accessed 84. “Park West: Linking Communities with September 9, 2010). 76. All lists of railroad opportunity Green Space,” American Cities Foundation, sites were gathered from datasets pro- http://www.amcities.org/green-jobs-sus- 65. “School of Thought.” vided by the Philadelphia City Planning tainability/park-west-linking-communities- Commission, the Delaware Valley Regional with-green-space 66. Boston Schoolyard Initiative, “Funding Planning Commission, CSX Transportation, the Initiative” and “An Overview,” http:// and Pennsylvania Department of 85. “Revitalizing Hunting Park,” www.schoolyards.org/funding.htm and Conservation and Natural Resources. Fairmount Park Conservancy, http://www. http://www.schoolyards.org/overview.htm Ownership information was provided by fairmountparkconservancy.org/project/ (accessed September 9, 2010). the Philadelphia Department of Records. RevitalizingHuntingPark.php

67. Interview with Kirk Meyer, Green 77. Lists of private underused opportunity 86. Andropogon Associates; Creating Schoolyard Network (September 3, 2010). sites listed were gathered from a variety of Sustainable Community Parks: A Guide datasets. Airport compensatory-wetland to Improving Quality of Life by Protecting 68. Interview with Lisa Armstrong, sites were identified by the PHL Capacity Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Greenfield Greening Committee (April 22, Enhancement Program Environmental Department of Conservation and Natural 2010); Greening Greenfield Committee, Impact Statement from the Federal Resources, 2007. “Greening Greenfield,” http://www. Aviation Administration, released August greeninggreenfield.net/ 2010. “Clean and green” data was provided 87. Pennsylvania Township News, July by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 2010, http://www.psats.org/panews.html 69. All lists of schoolyard opportunity sites cemeteries were provided by GreenPlan were gathered from datasets provided by Philadelphia, and community gardens 88. Green City, Clean Waters. GreenPlan Philadelphia and the School were provided by Domenic Vitiello at District of Philadelphia. The extent of the University of Pennsylvania. Vacancy 89. GreenPlan Philadelphia, Wallace impervious surface and location within the data was provided by the Philadelphia Roberts and Todd, LLC. combined sewer system was calculated City Planning Commission and Water using data from the Philadelphia Water Department (dated July 14, 2010). 90. Supporting Our Parks: A Guide to Department. Data on the Wellness Council Alternative Revenue Strategies, New program was provided by the Philadelphia 78. Community Gardening in Philadelphia: Yorkers for Parks (June 2010). Department of Public Health. 2008 Harvest Report, Vitiello and Nairn; New York City Parks and Recreation’s 91. A Bridge to the Future: Fairmount 70. Teachers and community members al- GreenThumb program requires that the Park Strategic Plan Summary Report, Leon ready engaged in community gardening on 600-plus gardens it assists are open to the Younger and PROS for Fairmount Park site: http://philadelphiagreen.wordpress. public a minimum of 10 hours per week in Commissioner (June 2004). com/2010/08/04/school-competes-in-city- order to qualify for city resources. gardens-contest/ 92. Portland Bureau of Environmental 79. Data provided by the Philadelphia City Services, “GreenBucks,” http://www. 71. Data provided by Department of Planning Commission. portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=52708 Revenue, dated July 2010. (accessed September 9, 2010).

Green2015 137 93. “New Grass Roots: People for Urban 104. Supporting Our Parks. 116. Implementing Green Infrastructure; Progress,” Urbanophile: Passionate Jim Pickman, “Financing Options and about Cities (May 20, 2010), http://www. 105. Pennsylvania Statute 32 P.S. 5611, Recommendations,” memorandum for the urbanophile.com/2010/05/20/new-grass- Rails to Trails Act (March 18, 1991), http:// Parks Reform Task Force (September 1, roots-people-for-urban-progress/ www.rachelcarsontrails.org/property/ 2006). rtta/?searchterm=None 94. Press release, “Silverdome Sod to Live 117. Ariel Ben-Amos, Grazing William on in Southwest Detroit Soccer Field” 106. Interview with Jonathan Lewis, City Penn’s Greene Country Town: Using Goats (August 5, 2010), http://www.detnews.com/ of Atlanta Office of Planning (August 24, to Manage Philadelphia’s Vacant Land article/20100814/METRO02/8140376/1410/ 2010). (self-produced report, 2009). METRO01/Southwest-Detroit-park-gets- sod-from-soccer-game-at-Silverdome 107. Interview with Carolyn Wallis, 118. Implementing Green Infrastructure. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation 95. Pennsylvania Department of and Natural Resources (August 9, 2010). 119. Interview with Shawn Kilgallon, Transportation, “PennDOT Driver and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Vehicle Services: Special Fund Plates,” 108. Interview with Katherine Estes (September 3, 2010). http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/license_plates/ Billmeier, Railroad Park Foundation special_fund.shtml (accessed September (August 25, 2010). 120. Green City, Clean Waters. 9, 2010). 109. Interview with Peter Lagerway, Toole 121. Interview with Joe Syrnick, Schuylkill 96. David Harrison, “Register Your Car, Design (September 10, 2010). River Development Corporation (August 1, Save a State Park,” Stateline (March 24, 2010). 2010), http://www.stateline.org/live/details/ 110. Interview with Jim Sutherland, story?contentId=471391 Eastern Market Corporation (August 25, 122. Green City, Clean Waters. 2010). 97. Brooklyn Bridge Park Financial Plan 123. Interview with Sarah Thorp, Delaware Presentation, January 29, 2009, http:// 111. Kelli Kavanaugh, “Cut Loose from the River Waterfront Corporation (August 24, www.brooklynbridgeparknyc.org/about-us/ Car,” Metropolis Magazine (February 18, 2010). project-approvals-presentations (accessed 2009), http://www.metropolismag.com/ September9, 2010). story/20090218/cut-loose-from-the-car 124. Project estimates for Penn Treaty Park master plan, Becker & Frondorf. 98. Measuring the Economic Value of a 112. All lists of railroad opportunity City Park System. sites were gathered from datasets provided by the Philadelphia City Planning 99. Philadelphia Green, “Roots to Re-Entry Commission, the Delaware Valley Regional Revisited,” Philadelphia Green Blog Planning Commission, CSX Transportation, (September 8, 2010), http://philadel- and Pennsylvania Department of phiagreen.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/ Conservation and Natural Resources. roots-to-re-entry-revisited/ Vacancy data was provided by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission 100. Initial designs show 25 acres of space and Philadelphia Water Department (dated underneath the viaduct. PennDOT is July 14, 2010). committed to allowing active recreation on this land. We show half of the total acreage 113. Brian Johnson, “PENNVEST Nonpoint being protected for green space. Source Funding Program,” http://pacd.org/ webfresh/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ 101. Teachers and community members Johnson.pdf already engaged in community gardening on site: http://philadelphiagreen.word- 114. The Tidal Schuylkill River Master Plan, press.com/2010/08/04/school-competes-in- Schuylkill River Development Corporation, city-gardens-contest/. March 2003.

102. Logan Triangle, Urban Land Institute 115. Gary Gordon, Public Finance for Technical Assistance Program (September Open Space: A Guide for Pennsylvania’s 10, 2009). Municipalities, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources 103. Green City, Clean Waters. (2003).

138 appendices Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. (RWP) Conservancy. (RWP)

Page 38 Page 98 • “Park Carroll 2006 Summer 02,” “Parks • “Shoemaker-Aerial-E.” Photograph. Nicetown Sp06 06,” and “SIYP 024 Shoemaker Green Collection, courtesy of ppt.” Photographs. Philadelphia Green University of Pennsylvania Facilities and Collection, courtesy of Pennsylvania Real Estate. (RWP) Horticultural Society. (RWP) Page99 Page 39 • “Soil Prep Group Pic 2 05-2009 • “Parks Campbell Sq Summer06 007,” PREMIUM.” Photograph. Neighborhood “137-3743_INTERFACE_WATER3,” Greening Collection, courtesy of and “willard-st 028.” Photographs. Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha. e. image Philadelphia Green Collection, courtesy (RWP) of Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Page 100 (RWP) citations • “Major League Baseball_0123_edited-2.” Page 63 Photograph. Urban Youth Academy Photographs in this report were taken • “Germantown Ave Murals 2009 001.” Collection, courtesy of Philadelphia Parks by PennPraxis staff members Andrew Photograph. Handball Court Collection, and Recreation. (RWP) Goodman, Michael Miller, Harris Steinberg, courtesy of Asociación Puertorriqueños and Maria Tranguch, with the following en Marcha. (RWP) exceptions: Page 79 Page 7 • “CAPA01.” Photograph. Kensington • “Tom the Gardener.” Photograph. Creative and Performing Arts School Tony the Misfit. Available from Collection, courtesy of Philadelphia Water flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ Department. (RWP) tonythemisfit/3495664861/. Accessed 8 November 2010. • “WalnutHill01.” Photograph. Walnut Hill Community Park and Farm Collection, • “Caroll Park kids running” and courtesy of The Enterprise Center CDC. “carroll-park-cit-bank 064.” Photographs. (RWP) Philadelphia Green Collection, courtesy of Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. • “Penn Park Rendering.” Drawing. Penn (Reproduced with Permission.) Park Collection, courtesy of University of Pennsylvania Facilities and Real Estate. • “Penn Treaty Park Frisbee.” Photograph. (RWP) Penn Treaty Park Collection, courtesy of New Kensington Community Page 83 Development Corporation. (RWP) • Untitled. Photograph. Detroit Lions Plant trees with The Greening Collection, Page 24 courtesy of The Greening of Detroit. • “Skyline.” Photograph. monoglot. (RWP) Available from flickr: http://www.flickr. com/photos/monoglot/237312213/sizes/l/. Page 94 Accessed 8 November 2010. • “GrassHouses.” Photograph. Logan Triangle Collection, courtesy of Maria Page 25 Tranguch. (RWP) • “Tom the Gardener.” Photograph. Tony the Misfit. Available from Page 97 flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ • “IMG_3927.” Photograph. Walnut Hill tonythemisfit/3495664861/. Accessed 8 Community Playground Collection, November 2010. courtesy of Imanni Wilkes. (RWP)

• “Meadow.” Photograph. Fairmount Park • “Hunting Park Groundbreaking_9.8.10_1.” Collection, courtesy of Philadelphia Parks Photograph. Hunting Park and Recreation. (RWP) Groundbreaking Ceremony Collection, courtesy of the Fairmount Park • “Pennypack Panorama.” Photograph. Fairmount Park Collection, courtesy of

Green2015 139

PennPraxis Staff

Harris Steinberg Bridget Keegan Andrew Goodman Michael Miller Maria Tranguch

Consultant Team

Janet Benton, copy editor Karen Black, policy analysis Kevin Feeley, communications Andee Mazzocco, design

December 2010