The 2019 City Council elections are about to begin. Join 5th Square political action committee on January 23rd at 6:30 pm for our 2019 Organizing Committee kick-off meeting. The meeting will be in the back room at Adobe Cafe, where you may normally catch a Friday Karaoke jam! 

At this meeting, we'll be hosting a members-only briefing on the state of the 2019 City Council primaries, and a discussion about our candidate endorsement process, and how members can help support our endorsed slate. We'll be conducting an early straw poll (secret ballot style) at this meeting to get a sense of who our members are excited about heading into the May primary.

This meeting is for members only. Join today to become a member, or sign up for a membership at the meeting to attend and get involved in our endorsement process. Members will have a vote on 5th Square's 2019 endorsement recommendations, and will have access to our Slack channel to participate in our 2019 campaign work and issue advocacy planning.

As always, bring any friends who are interested in helping elect 2019 City Council members who support better public transit, safer streets for walking and biking, and greater affordability with abundant housing for all.

Protected bike lanes make streets safer for people walking, biking, & driving while encouraging active transportation.

Join the City's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (oTIS) in partnership with several neighborhood organizations in Northern Liberties on Tues., Jan. 29, to learn more & help us advocate for protected bike lanes on N. 2nd, N. 5th, & N. 6th Streets.

Project Extents:

• 2nd Street, Spring Garden to Race Streets
• 5th Street, Spring Garden to Market Streets
• 6th Street, Spring Garden to Market Streets

Join us for a discussion about innovative public financing strategies for funding the "Civic Commons" here in Philadelphia, with special guests Carol Coletta of the Kresge Foundation, Joshua Vincent of Urban Tools Consulting, Jamie Gauthier of Fairmount Park Conservancy, and Kevin Dow of The Rail Park.

Carol Coletta will be presenting the new 'Value Capture in the Commons' toolkit from the Reimagining the Civic Commons collaborative, with ideas for capturing the real estate value from investments in public spaces to sustain those same public spaces. (http://civiccommons.us/app/uploads/2018/11/Final_RCC_Value-Capture_Updated-Oct-2018_Pages.pdf)

We'll also hear from Joshua Vincent of Urban Tools Consulting (https://www.urbantoolsconsult.org/) about the history and practice of land value taxation and split-rate taxation in Pennsylvania cities, and Pennsylvania's uniquely favorable state law for land taxation and 'value capture' strategies.

We'll also be joined by public space practitioners Kevin Dow, Executive Director of The Rail Park, and Jen Mahar of Fairmount Park Conservancy, who will share their perspectives on the public space and funding landscape, and what we need to do to invest in a high-quality civic commons for all Philadelphians.

This event is FREE to attend. Light refreshments will be provided.