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.