Public space includes everything from the sidewalk in front of your house, the road on which you drive to work, and the playground in which your child plays on the weekend. Each of these spaces was designed to achieve specific functions, and some succeed while others fail. Just like any other part of a city, many different factors explain the success of certain public spaces, and a lot of it is context-specific. For example, why does Rittenhouse Square always appear to be more lively than Washington Square, even though they are of a very similar size and layout? Why is Reading Terminal always busting at the seams with people when the Kimmel Center plaza remains empty at times when a show is not playing? Why are streetscape improvements such as widened sidewalks and street trees the key to unlocking the potential of some commercial corridors and not others? These questions and more are part of public space planning.
Restaurateur Stephen Starr says he's a wine guy but fine suds are on his mind. He plans to open an authentic German-Austrian hall across the street from Johnny Brenda's.
First District Councilman Frank DiCicco says his bill will start conversations about reinvigorating a "dead zone". SCRUB's Mary Tracy says wrapping buildings with ads is not the answer. She is worried about citywide consequences.
While thrilled to be one of only two national recipients for regional bicycle and pedestrian trail work, groups hoping to complete river trails in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are already pushing for further funding.
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No matter how many throw rugs and designer tchotchkes you buy, if you have a ratty couch, your living room will always look like a dump.
The same for holds true for Philly and its bus shelters. A transit shelter tagged with graffiti and bristling with ads will overshadow any other street amenity and be a magnet for crime. But that's the current state of most of the city's 250-some transit shelters, which are showing both their age and much contempt.
Jan. 20 / By Kiki Bolender and John Gibbons
AIA chairs want any redesign of Dilworth Plaza to value public participation, honor parts of original plan and embody generous design principles.
The exiting 109th Congress of the United States created the Nation’s “First National Water Trail” – more properly, the “John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.” And what a trail! – imagine the opportunities for recreation, historical interpretation, environmental education and efforts to restore a 200-mile long estuary – the largest in the world - that has been witness to some of the most profound history this nation enjoys.