Tweetup this Wednesday

@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? Apr 22, 2009	What time? 8 - 12am

The Philadelphia Waterworks

The Philadelphia Waterworks is an impressive component of the city infrastructure that also has a lot of history. The system was the first municipal waterworks in the United States and for many years was primary provider of water for the entire City of Philadelphia.

In more recent years the Waterworks has become a tourist attraction and also has a restaurant at the location. For many years the system served as model for a successful waterworks operating in a major city, continues to be an architectural marvel. A visit to the waterworks is highly recommended, especially for a visit to the new interpretive center that has been opened and that provides a good understanding of the engineering and history behind the waterworks.

(Photo taken from www.binaryeconomics.net/)

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

Sustainability Rankings

How sustainable is Philadelphia when compared with other large cities? Read my blog to see more: http://agreenvision.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/compared-to-other-cities/

Fairmount Park

Having a large green space within an urban area that is open to the public is a huge asset for a city that is hoping to represent itself as a green urban complex. In Philadelphia, the existence of Fairmount Park is a great component of the greater city network that provides so many benefits for a city hoping to become the “greenest in America”.

(Picture taken from Philyskyline.com)

The park occupies a good portion, 10%, of the land in Philadelphia. Many other cities throughout the country have been following Philadelphia’s lead by staking out green spaces within their cities in an attempt to try to recreate what Philadelphia has done with the Fairmount Park System. Fairmount Park has served as a great example of how a large city can claim green spaces and enhance the ‘greenness’ of the urban complex as a whole.

Fairmount Park is a rich ecological space amongst the otherwise densely urbanized City of Philadelphia. Besides the ecological services that the park provides for the region, such as functioning as a ‘sink function’ by absorbing carbon dioxide and providing oxygen, it also presents expansive recreational opportunities for the residents of the city and beyond. The Schuylkill River that runs through the park is conducive to boating recreation (Boathouse Row), scenic walks, and biking (Schuylkill River Trail) for a couple of examples. Many other sporting recreational sites such as soccer fields, baseball fields, a Frisbee golf course, etc., support a wide range of different activities. Furthermore, two of the most scenic routes in the city, Kelly and Martin Luther King Drives, provide a beautiful escape from the dense grid pattern as they wind through the woods and along the river. It is these types of spaces that so strongly contribute to the green functionality of the city.

Clearly Fairmount Park is a strong factor contributing to Philadelphia’s status as a green city. This great park will continue to serve as an example of how large urban areas can balance their network with green spaces to improve the overall environmental conditions of the region.

Building Green Homes in Philly

It will ultimately be the citizens of Philadelphia themselves that make the change to go green. Significant change starts with the mentality of the individual. A collective group of individuals with a green mentality is that much better.
This is a shout out to Chad Ludeman and Nic Darling for carrying through with their goal of “creating environmentally friendly homes for the masses” (This story was recently covered by the Philadelphia Metro daily paper). They have recently been completed two “green homes” on formally vacant lots in the city and more are set to be going up. This is the type of action that the city needs. Two very good things are happening here for the city. First of all, building eco-friendly homes brings environmental benefits; and secondly, instead of continuing sprawl on the fringes of the metro region, the inner city’s space is being used more efficiently. Although it is debatable what the market for such “green” homes would look like on a larger scale, greater numbers of green homes and buildings in the city is a good start in the right direction towards becoming a green city.

Comcast Center (Green Engineering)

Considering the size and scale of Philadelphia, the city deserves some credit for being a reasonably green city. The city is dense and efficient (grid pattern), it has an expansive public transportation system (SEPTA), and boasts one of the biggest urban parks (Fairmount Park) in the world. There is of course large room for improvement. There are many practices that if acted upon could vastly propel Philly towards the top of the green list.

Recently there have been some progressive projects that have contributed to changing Philadelphia's image as a green city.




People don't generally associate building skyscrapers with going green; but the reality is that green engineering is actually quite important in the urban network. First of all, building up is better than building out (sprawl). And, because skyscrapers generate waste and release energy, building 'green' can reduce the environmental impact that skyscrapers have. In Philadelphia, the tallest green building in the country was completed last year, the Comcast Center. This project is a good example of how Philadelphia can build up its urban core while being eco-friendly.