April 28th marked the second Tactical Urbanism Salon. This time taking place in Philly! About 15 speakers presented their ideas, projects and dreams, including BetterBlocksPhilly. We even made some palette benches for the event! Stay tuned for more videos on Tactical Urbanism Salon Website.

Tactical Urbanism Salon Philly! : Katie Winkler – BetterBlocksPhilly from katie winkler on Vimeo.

For just a few weeks, a mural that was once hidden inside on the second floor of 1801 Christian Street became visible to the public, as the building was torn down to make room for new residences. The mural, painted by Shira Walinsky and Adam Carrigan, was an interactive map of Philadelphia. During a Design Philadelphia workshop hosted by Philly Works, viewers could use sticky notes to stamp symbols on, and then stick it to the wall, pointing out certain issues in their neighborhoods that they care about or want to see resolved.

When you think of buildings being torn down, it usually is accompanied by a feeling of negativity. The mural being suddenly revealed to the public created a positive buzz around the community and for passersby. It also received lots of attention from local Philly blogs. This gave us an idea… What if we were to do more murals inside vacant buildings? Creating a resurgence of activity in underutilized spaces. Perhaps we could even plan to do these murals spontaneously in places where we know buildings are coming down.

This reminds me of an organization in Brooklyn called No Longer Empty, a non-profit that creates site-specific public art exhibitions, always free and open to the public in underutilized communities and neighborhood spaces.

All of this information will hopefully be displayed soon here at http://www.betterblocksphilly.org. What you share with us will also be reflected upon during upcoming SOSNA meetings and taken into account for future project like this. Thank you all for your generous words and helpful feedback during the closing reception. We hope you all had a great experience with BetterBlocks this past week, that you learned something and got a chance to meet people and envision what could be a miraculous transormation from an already wonderful to an even better neighborhood.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/betterblocksphilly

Thanks to all who came out today to man shovels and drills as we cleared out our installations. Just so you know, all of our plants and trees are being returned to nurseries, and all of our sod and mulch and hay will be used in various lots around the city. There will be a mulch pile behind 1801 street for a little while, available for individuals to come take some if they would like any.

BetterBlocks Closing Reception & OPEN FORUM
6-9pm  |  1701 Christian St.

Join us in celebrating a long week of wonderful events and hard work. The OPEN FORUM will also be an opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas about what was successful and what wasn’t. We will touch on issues of parking, safety, traffic calming street beautification. What would you like to see happen in your city?

Speaker: Mark Keener from Brown & Keener Urban Design
“The Cost of Doing Nothing”

Mark Keener, Architect and Urban Planner has always had a strong commitment to public participation in planning and design. Brown & Keener is a multi-disciplinary urban design and planning firm, specialize in helping public agencies and civic organizations develop planning, design, and implementation strategies that are creative and get results. Examples are projects such as the  Mt. Airy Placemaking and Streetscape Improvement Plan, Design Guidelines for Ridge Avenue, Frankford Avenue Streetscape Improvements Concept Plan, Girard Avenue Public Art Master Plan, American Street Public Spaces for 4 Changing Places, The Wissahickon Gateway Plan, and the Smart Transportation Guidebook.

1701 Christian St.

Join us as we discuss concepts of sustainability and natural living and what it means for our generation.

Nic Esposito is a writer and urban farming activist from Philadelphia. He co-founded the urban farming organization Philly Rooted in 2010 and has since developed two community gardens, an urban farm, and a grower’s cooperative along with consulting on numerous projects in the Philadelphia area.

In 2011 he was appointed to Philadelphia’s Food Policy Council. He is also a professional story teller who performs throughout the Philadelphia region and founded Philly Corner Stories in 2009 to build community through the art of story telling. He participated in TEDx this past winter and this Spring he published his first novel, Seeds of Discent, based on his experiences in the urban farming movement. And his fiction and non fiction can be found in various Philadelphia publications. He lives and works from his homestead in Kensington, Philadelphia.

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