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GreenPlan Philadelphia Our Guide to Achieving Vibrant and Sustainable Urban Places
tree-lined streets, planted sidewalks, and multi-modal boulevards where bikes, cars, and all forms of transportation combine to save energy, increase property values, and safely move Philadelphians from place to beautiful place. We envision parks, large and small, that serve to unite communities, foster pride, and ensure safety, while providing the means for active, healthy lifestyles.
Why GreenPlan Philadelphia? Too often, opportunities to create and maintain quality open space in the city have been squandered. Threatened by private development pressure and hindered by a lack of public funding, open space has not been a priority. GreenPlan Philadelphia reflects an evolving appreciation that naturally-functioning systems confer immense day-to-day value. The key lies in understanding how to take advantage of natural processes so the city can receive the multi-functional benefits they provide. After establishing the benefits open space provides, GreenPlan Philadelphia goes on to describe a framework for incorporating open space planning into the agenda for both private development and public works. GreenPlan Philadelphia’s purpose is to outline the connections between open space benefits and larger city goals in a way that helps the City to invest in the most effective infrastructure strategies. Even a modest investment can bring significant returns. GreenPlan Philadelphia is designed to inspire dreams of beautiful, functional places and to help them become reality. Among the biggest priorities are: ensuring public access to natural amenities like waterfronts, developing a strategy to make good use of vacant land, and rebalancing the distribution of open space resources. It offers an overarching plan to best take advantage of the opportunities open space presents to improve the quality of life for all Philadelphians.
Andrew Dobshinsky, WRT
A South Philadelphia oasis. FDR Park provides recreation space and ecological function amid parking lots and tank farms.