Honor Award

GreenPlan Philadelphia

Wallace Roberts & Todd, Philadelphia
Client: City of Philadelphia

GreenPlan Philadelphia takes an innovative approach to open space planning that goes well beyond that of a typical open space plan. Many open space plans focus on specific elements, such as parks or streets, or on specific issues, such as recreation or circulation. Rather than emphasize one set of networks or issues, GreenPlan Philadelphia integrates a range of environmental, economic, and social factors to make the case for and maximize the benefits of City efforts.

The City of Philadelphia recognizes that the enhancement of its open space is critical to the city’s future. Thirteen City agencies collaborated with a team of consultants to develop GreenPlan Philadelphia, the city’s guide to achieving vibrant and sustainable urban places. The Plan will contribute to meeting the city’s contemporary challenges in a wide variety of ways and has already served as a major resource for other City plans: Greenworks Philadelphia (sustainability), Green2015 (park implementation), Philadelphia 2035 (comprehensive plan), and Green City, Clean Waters (stormwater management). The Plan reflects the input of thousands of Philadelphians who participated in a range of civic forums.

Green Elements and Places

The physical foundation of GreenPlan Philadelphia is made up of Green Elements and Places. Green Places are made up of elements that are the buildings blocks of the spaces that surround us outside.

Elements of Green Places include trees, stormwater management tools, meadows, trails and bikeways, wetlands, urban agriculture and community gardens, high performance surfaces, and renewable energy. While elements of green places provide a multitude of benefits on their own, the largest set of benefits can be achieved when multiple elements are combined into green places.

Green Places include parks and recreation spaces, green schoolyards, vacant land opportunities, waterfronts, green streets, green development, plazas and auxiliary spaces, and rail and utility corridor enhancements.

Targets and Recommendations
GreenPlan Philadelphia sets over 30 ambitious but attainable targets, with supporting recommendations for incorporating open space planning into the agenda for both private development and public works using the elements and places as an organizational framework. Targets include achieving at least 30% tree cover in every neighborhood; increasing park space to ten acres of parkland per thousand residents; greening 100 additional schoolyards through the Campus Parks program; creating a citywide network for 1,400 miles of green streets; and ensuring that there is a trail within a half mile of all residents.

Opportunities
In order to reach the plan’s targets and recommendations, Philadelphia will need to grow its open space network. GreenPlan Philadelphia identifies and maps a large number of opportunities to help achieve this.

Funding, Management and Operations, and Maintenance
GreenPlan Philadelphia also sets broad targets and select recommendations for funding, management, operations, and maintenance of open space. These recommendations are for both immediate use and consideration in the development of subsequent plans that focus in more detail on areas of concern.

Network of Benefits

The triad of environment, economy, and quality of life is the basis of GreenPlan Philadelphia’s network of benefits, developed specifically for Philadelphia to establish a common language for sustainable open space and to measure the City’s progress toward achieving a greener, more sustainable Philadelphia.

By including this network of benefits, GreenPlan Philadelphia provides the City a framework to clearly communicate goals, justify open space spending, objectively evaluate and prioritize open space projects, and report progress.

Environment
Trees and other vegetation trap carbon dioxide—a major cause of climate change—and airborne particulates, which ensures clean air. Wetlands intercept and manage stormwater from rain events, which reduces the burden on the sewer system, reduces runoff, recharges groundwater, and produces healthy watersheds. At the same time, trees, meadows, and wetlands provide robust habitat that serves as home for a variety of terrestrial, arboreal, aquatic, and avian species. Trees especially help ensure a hospitable climate by shading buildings and people in warm weather and breaking the wind in cold weather.

Economy
By shading buildings and breaking the wind, green infrastructure can help reduce electricity demand and promote efficient energy use. Local research has shown that proximity to trees and well-maintained open spaces can positively influence housing prices, creating more valuable properties. GreenPlan Philadelphia also recognizes that the city has quite a bit of vacant land, which presents an opportunity to become a more productive land use if used as temporary or permanent open spaces, or if redeveloped. By enhancing its open space network, which provides recreational amenities and leads to more valuable properties, Philadelphia can cultivate a competitive economy and become a city of choice for attracting businesses, residents, and events.

Quality of Life
Urban agriculture and community gardens make fresh, local produce available, offering an alternative to processed and fast foods. Parks, recreation centers, and trails that are appropriately sized and within walking distance provide convenient recreation access. The availability of places to recreate and exercise and the availability of fresh produce can make sure Philadelphia has healthy residents. Parks, recreation centers, schoolyards, and community gardens that are in good repair all help foster a sense of community, which leads to strong, safe neighborhoods.

Indicators
The network of benefits provides a framework to track and clearly communicate progress in achieving targets and recommendations. All indicators were selected based on available, measurable data to ensure progress can be tracked. Sample indicators include: for robust habitat, tracking acres of managed meadow from the current 318 acres to the target of 520 acres; for productive land use, tracking percentage of lots and structures not vacant from the current 90% to the target of 95%; and for fresh, local produce, tracking the number of urban agriculture businesses from the current 14 businesses to the target of 24 businesses.

Project Objectives
Also tied to the network of benefits is a set of objectives that help the City receive the most benefits from its investments. These objectives are organized into a checklist that encourages a strategic and transparent decision-making process in selecting the appropriate opportunities for investment. Sample objectives include determining if: for healthy watersheds, the project improves water quality through managing stormwater with green infrastructure techniques; for competitive economy, the project creates a major tourist destination, enhances the landscape of an existing tourist destination, or enhances tourism routes; and for convenient recreation access, at least 25% of the project site is within an area currently underserved by parks and recreation.

American Society of Landscape Architects