THE URBAN MEADOW
North Third Street is unique. A mostly residential corridor with active neighborhood groups, a successful community development corporation, and a potential appetite for additional housing, the corridor lacks public and private green space, and a buffer from adjacent industrial uses. The relative proximity of North Third Street to Temple University and several modes of public transportation make it a potential site for a variety of housing development - mixed income owner-occupied developments and rental housing units may be viable along the corridor and in the
CENTRAL PARK
adjacent neighborhood. The
Pennsylvania
Horticultural
Society
identified a synergy in the potential for new housing construction in this area and the Philadelphia Water Department’s desire to establish development models that innovatively comply with current stormwater regulations. Environmentally responsible “green” methods of managing stormwater could be a source of inspiration and even funding for a proposed North Third Street greenway and nearby development. Neighborhood open spaces, sidewalks, streets, and houses should be built so that they manage stormwater on site, potentially redirecting money that would otherwise be spent on underground infrastructure. The site for the study produced by SMP Architects, with Meliora Environmental Design, is bounded by Berks, Third, Norris, and Fourth Streets in North Philadelphia. Although the project does repsond to specific site conditions, it should be considered a
THE COMMONS
model, or better, a set of suggested concepts, for housing and open space development in an urban environment. Our proposals for this site are intended to imagine new urban development possibilities that consider stormwater management strategies as generative concepts. We envision housing, water, and open space working together.
NORTH THIRD STREET HOUSING AND STORMWATER STUDY
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