Thanks

Thanks to all who participated in the Earth day #greenphilly tweetup!
Stay Interested!

Urban Orchards

The lack of green spaces besides designated parts is an ongoing topic in urban planning for most major cities. This is no different in Philadelphia. To address this issue and give Philly some green clout, a local project is underway attempting to install more green spaces in the city in the form of urban orchards.

Learn About:

The Philadelphia Orchard Project

General Mission Statement: "To plant orchards in the city of Philadelphia that provide healthy food, green spaces and community food security".


Upcoming Events:

"We invite you to participate in this season’s POP events, working alongside volunteers from our community partners to plant orchards all over the city. Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are welcome. These events involve digging, planting, and spreading compost and mulch, so expect to get dirty. We can’t guarantee tools for all; if you bring your own, it is advisable to write your name on them. Snacks and beverages to share are also welcome. Planting events can generally be expected to last between 2 and 4 hours."

You can sign on the volunteer email list for up-to-date info on events and or learn more about the project in general at

http://www.phillyorchards.org/

Here is a helpful link that provides great general information about installing urban eco-orchards:

http://www.phillyorchards.org/pdf/urban_eco_orchards.pdf

Tweetup for Earthday

@itsrg and @greenphilly invite you to:

Philadelphia Earth Day Tweetup (#greenphilly) on Twitter.

Join Philadelphia Environmental researchers from Temple University and beyond in celebrating Earth Day.

http://twtvite.com/4aznab

Dates/Times/Place:

Where?
Philadelphia, PA

When?
April 22nd

What time?
8 - 12am

Interesting Plans

The Philadelphia Planning Commission has some great descriptions of current projects for the Philadelphia metro region on their websit. Some of these projects are quite good looking and worth glancing at to get an idea of what the city is trying to do with various parts of the city in order to become more green.

The website is: http://www.philaplanning.org/

Twitter Event for Earth Day

Our Environmental Studies Senior Seminar at Temple University has been organizing a Twitter event for Earth Day. If you follow greenphilly or other seminar students on Twitter.com you can learn about and join our tweetup at http://twtvite.com/4aznab
The event is aimed at bringing awareness to the Temple and Philadelphia communities and communities beyond about real events happening here in the city on Earth Day

Menus, Flyers and Coupons

One thing that I have never quite understood in my four years living here in Philadelphia is the use of littering as an advertising strategy. This is principally concerning the distribution of restaurant menus, grocery store coupons, and party flyers. I find it ridiculous that representatives for these groups consider it acceptable to stuff menus and flyers in people’s doors and on their stoops, or just throw them on the ground so that people will see gain awareness of their existence. The enormously huge percentage of these menus and flyers are almost immediately turned into street waste. Based on the huge amount of menus and flyers blowing around and accumulating in the corners of Philadelphia’s streets, this is obviously a common practice. There is no way that those are all menus that customers just don’t want. Clearly the businesses themselves are purposefully littering in order to increase awareness about their enterprise. Why can’t anything be done about this?! It’s not like the city doesn’t know who is doing this… they are advertising THEIR business. I hope that the city seriously looks into punishing these businesses for this unacceptable and irresponsible form of advertising.

Recycling in Philly

Philadelphia has recently started single-stream curbside recycling. This is a good start to improving a rather mediocre recycling system, which has been one of the city’s greater challenges to transforming into a greener city.

Although many argue that municipal recycling programs are uneconomic, the reality is that by recycling we will save in the long run. Philadelphia and other major urban centers need to be thinking more long term.
Many manufacturers are willing to damage the greater system in order to produce more cheaply. Turning “waste” into re-usable material does cost money and therefore creates the incentive for companies and individuals to simply throw waste away for free.

The bar needs to be raised higher. Costs need to be internalized through fines for poor resource management, and taxes should be implemented on primary use of resources as ways of justifying the neglect towards greater systems IN WHICH ‘economics’ operates.

People need to accept that giving more effort (or spending a little more in economic terms) in order to achieve a more quality outcome is the crucial point. Do we want to settle for a less quality world simply because we don’t feel like giving more effort or spending a little more to make it better?

Even in economic terms, there is more net loss in terms of ecological loss and in terms of fixing environmental damage from tossing all our waste into the environment than by trying to use less, and to re-use a greater percentage of what we do use.
Although there are signs that recycling awareness is increasing in Philadelphia, the beneficial aspects need to be more accessible for citizens and the process itself needs to become more user-friendly. Curbside recycling for the city is a great thing though; I just hope that it has a snow-ball effect.

The Waterfront

Philadelphia's waterfront could be used as a huge asset to the greenness of the city but currently the use of the waterfront is an obstacle to this actually happening.

Here's a good website from PennDesign that goes into some more detail concerning the challenge of re-claiming Philly's waterfront:

www.design.upenn.edu/new/cplan/waterfront

The Challenge of Improving Philadelphia's Transportation System

Transportation is a vital aspect concerning the functionality of any metropolitan region. The systems of transport that arise in major urban centers strongly contribute to the greater functionality of the region. Having a good system in place is key component to establishing a green city. In the City of Philadelphia, the transportation system is in fact rather reasonable. First of all, the City of Philadelphia should be credited for at least having one. Many major urban centers have surprisingly poor transport systems or simply lack one of any large scale completely.

Although Philadelphia generally speaking has an efficient system in place (SEPTA), there is certainly room for improvement. If the goal for Philadelphia is to be the “greenest city in America”, the transportation system needs some work. This is one of the larger obstacles on Philly’s course to becoming a truly green city.

The nature of the relationship between the city’s transportation system and the regional population is complex. SEPTA could certainly do a better job of keeping the stations, trains, buses, etc. in better condition. More of an effort it seems could also be dedicated to maintaining a more cleanly environment. As far as SEPTA is concerned, having the financial resources is to keep all of the facilities in much better condition poses a real challenge. At the same time, a higher ridership would provide more funds for the organization to actually invest in improvements. In this way it is kind of a ‘catch twenty two’.

As far as the transportation efficiency of the greater Philadelphia metropolitan region is concerned, extensions of the train system should be seriously considered in the effort to ‘go green’. More specifically, a metro line connecting the Schuylkill River valley with central Philadelphia is a conceptual project that could prove to really pay off as the urban community in general attempts to go greener. The Schuylkill River valley, including the I-76 stretch running along the river from the King of Prussia area is one of the most heavily traveled stretches in the region. Traffic is usually fairly congested, especially during the rush hours. A subway/el line would serve a huge population and alleviate traffic volume while providing ecological benefits such as reducing air pollution. Other extensions have been discussed as well. There are many in support of extending the Broad St. Subway to the south across the Delaware River in order to support several New Jersey cities.

These are a few ways the greater system could be improved. Hopefully decision makers will recognize the importance that a good transportation system has on the greenness of a city.

Greenphilly on Twitter

If interested, follow @greenphilly on Twitter to learn about the local environmental scene and get to know the eco-twittering community:

http://www.twitter.com/greenphilly

Considering Industrial Ecology

Philadelphia was the first real major city of the United States and has played a key role throughout the country’s history. The political and social importance of Philadelphia was unparalleled during the colonial era and the city was an epicenter for innovation and social development during this period and for many years following. Although the city’s level of importance has declined through time as the country became more diverse and started relying on a variety of interconnected regions contributing in different ways to the development of the nation, the city and its surrounding region continued to be of great importance. At the start of the industrial revolution, Philadelphia was a logical place to install facilities because of its access to water and because of its abundance of available labor. Philadelphia saw a huge population boom and the city openly adopted the new industrial characteristic that had become a prominent economic model.

The industrial era lasted for quite some time and the industrial infrastructure was tightly woven in the urban fabric of the United States and its major cities. Although this economic and social model brought large growth to the industrial cities and their surrounding regions, the remnants of this system are quite prevalent years after the great shift away from the ‘industrial city’. It is safe to say that Philadelphia has entered the post-industrial stage, the “fourth and final stage of the demographic transition model, in which both birth and death rates have fallen to a low level and remain stable there, and populations may even decline slightly (as is the case in this city, even with the entire metro region growing steadily)” (Withgott; Brennan 2007). One of the great challenges facing the City of Philadelphia and other major post-industrial cities is the ‘redevelopment’ of the declining industrial sectors and incorporating the existing structures and facilities into the urban network in a smart and sustainable way. It is for this reason that Philadelphia must consider its industrial ecology.



Although industrial activity in the city has been reduced dramatically, there is still industrial manufacturing taking place (oil refineries are actually rather numerous in South Philly) and regardless of current activity, there is still a large amount of solid ‘waste’ left over from the heavily industrial era. As opposed to the economic ‘straight-line’ industrial production process pattern, environmental systems follow a ‘cyclical’ pattern that involves natural recycling and re-use. Industrial ecology, which explains that economic systems are not separate from ecological systems, but are actually directly intertwined, and which “integrates principals from engineering, chemistry ecology, economic and other disciplines… seeks to redesign industrial systems in order to reduce resource inputs and minimize inefficiency” (Withgott; Breenan 2007). This is of great importance to any post-industrial city wishing to ‘green’ itself. Industrial ecology encourages the city and its industrial entities to function in a cyclical as opposed to a linear way. Philadelphia could certainly use consistent urban planning that considers the city’s industrial ecology and the best ways to transition out of the post-industrial era in a sustainable way.

Robert and Leslie Ayres propose four major strategies for “increasing the ecological efficiency of resource use and reducing wastes and pollution” that are quite useful for urban centers attempting to become green cities (Harris 2006):

1. Dematerialization: achieving the same economic goal using less material by increasing materials use efficiency.

2. Materials substitution: replacing a scarce, hazardous, or high-polluting material with a more environmentally benign substitute.

3. Repair, reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling (Refer to blog link concerning recycling in Philadelphia).

4. Waste mining: retrieving usable materials from urban, industrial, or agricultural waste streams.

(Ayres and Ayres, 1996, p. 13-14)

Philadelphia should certainly look into incorporating or expanding these practices within the city and the metro region in order to reduce wastes and improve efficiency. Transitioning into a cleaner future city and redesigning the industrial network of the city is a tough challenge, but must be addressed. Practices like these will help this post-industrial city transition into becoming a green city where the industrial system is no longer dominant.


Ayres, Robert U., Leslie W. Ayres. Industrial Ecology: Towards Closing the Materials Cycle. Cheltenham, U.K.: Elgar, 1996.

Harris, Jonathan. Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach. Houghton Mifflin Company; Boston: 2006.

Withgott, Jay; Brennan, Scott. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 2nd Ed. Pearson Education, Inc.; San Francisco: 2007.

Addressing Trash

Philadelphia is facing an environmental issue currently in that it cannot manage to reasonably clean up its trash. This may seem like old news to many people; however it seems the problem is getting worse after there had been signs of improvement in past months.

Upon returning from studying abroad in Chile for several months, I was actually quite impressed with what seemed to have been a good effort by the City of Philadelphia and its citizens to clean up its streets and public spaces. There really was a noticeable change in the landscape in the sense that the expected amounts of trash had been legitimately reduced. The trash problem in Philadelphia is obviously more of an issue in certain areas of the city than in others. But it was the city-wide lack of trash that was so impressing when I returned to Philadelphia after 8 months away. I must say that it is frustrating to see that the effort by the city to clean itself up seems to have been quickly forgotten.

Although the city and the country as a whole are doing what they can to deal with harsh economic conditions, there simply does not seem to be an excuse for having the trash problem manifest itself into what it has in recent months.




Clearly the city lacks the funds to sponsor consistent superb cleanup efforts. But residents from all parts of Philadelphia should be as quick to pick up their own trash and maintain their own areas as they are to call out the city’s flaws. There doesn’t seem to be too much care going into the process of disposing of trash, and this is something that changes on an individual level, not in some office in city hall (although ultimately the city needs the help of city hall to be successful long-term).





On trash day, so many visible signs strongly grab the attention of anyone walking down the sidewalk. It is frustrating to see that the system is not holding up to respectable standards.

People must become much more interested in the trash problem because it starts on a block by block level. Clearly also heavily responsible is the city for not managing a better collection process. Both sides clearly play a role in making the reality less than what it could be if more effort was given in planning and in practice. Residents generally are not thorough in bagging trash (and many times at even putting it in a trash receptacle), and the city services simply are not efficient or careful in their cleanup effort.



This is something that can change. It has been proven before that people can make a change beginning on a local level (last spring). The trash issue in Philadelphia is one of the basic yet practical challenges the city faces to becoming more realistically a ‘green city’. Fortunately this is an issue that can be physically addressed by everyone. To reach the goal of becoming a green city, people need to believe that they can personally make a change, and that it will set other change in motion.

The primary reason that Philadelphia had physically improved its trash situation in the spring of 2008 was the city-wide effort of residents and officials to get out in the streets and clean up themselves. This historic event was the first Annual Philly Spring Cleanup. It was a huge success. Keep America Beautiful declared the 2008 Philly Spring Cleanup as the “largest single-day, citywide clean-up on record in the United States”. It was claimed that “over 2.5 million pounds of trash and 48,000 pounds of recyclable materials were removed”, and that an estimated 71 commercial corridors and 3,500 blocks” were cleaned. This not only eliminated an enormous amount of trash, but it brought the city together; people could see what they had done together.

These are the types of activities that will help Philadelphia; but it is the mentality of these events that needs to be a daily reality for the citizens of the city. Again this spring, residents will have a chance to make a significant change. Mayor Nutter and the City of Philadelphia are sponsoring the 2nd Annual Philly Spring Cleanup. Their plan is to “again recruit thousands of Philadelphians to volunteer at clean-up sites; to raise awareness about litter prevention; and to instill neighborhood pride and civic responsibility in residents in an effort to keep our city clean each and every day”.
I encourage anyone who can to take part in this event. The event takes place Saturday, April 4th, from 9am to 2pm.

The Green City

Philadelphia and many other major cities have made the shift to becoming 'green cities'. There have been some good examples of cities that have been successful in implementing green practices and that have advanced the functionality of their urban/environmental practices. Portland, Vancouver, and Austin for example have in a variety of ways implemented practices that help make them 'greener' cities.

In order to address the challenge of becoming a truly green city, Philadelphia must establish the context and framework in which it will be working to establish this reality.

Specifically, Philadelphia’s challenges are those that counter the concepts that ultimately combine to make a city green. In my analysis of the principal obstacles to Philadelphia’s greenness, I will be working with concept of ‘green city’ as one that exemplifies several basic yet crucial ecological and economic principals underlying a ‘green city’. Urban sustainability, new urbanism, industrial ecology, and smart growth are interconnected concepts that I will be using as indicators for the base level of a city’s greenness. These concepts will surface throughout my examination of the environmental challenges that the City of Philadelphia currently faces.

Call to Philadelphians

Personally I believe that I have a responsibility to make an effort to reduce the intensity of this great issue at hand which is making Philadelphia a greater city by also making it greener. I further believe that everyone else in this world, sharing this world, have that same responsibility. Essentially, I am advocating the idea of the “Green Movement”, that which has become so popular in recent years. This spring at Temple University I will be exploring this Green Movement on a local level, here in the city of Philadelphia. Specifically I will be looking at what principal obstacles are in reality preventing Philadelphia from becoming a truly “green” city, so that these issues may be addressed and the city can take steps in the right direction to minimize these issues. Mayor Nutter has proclaimed that one of his goals is to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the nation. Although there are many challenges facing the prospect of a truly green city, I believe it is crucial that we as a community do not turn and run away from this greater challenge. It starts on a local level. It starts in the homes that drive this great city to begin with. Let us intensify and lift the Philly Greenness level.