🚮 LITTER FREE STREETS AT LAST...?
The City is holding virtual meetings via Zoom about the upcoming Mechanical Cleaning Pilot Program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. The street cleanings will be starting on April 4th in 14 different neighborhoods: North Central, Frankford, Germantown, Kensington, Logan, Nicetown, Paschall, Point Breeze, Port Richmond, South Philly (Lower Moyamensing), Southwest, Strawberry Mansion, West Fairhill, and West Philly.
Zoom ID: 836 7765 6475
Passcode: 127032
Phone dial-in number: 267-831-0333
Tuesday, March 15, at noon
Tuesday, March 15, at 3 p.m.
Wednesday, March 16, at 6 p.m.
Thursday, March 17, at 10 a.m.
Thursday, March 17 at 6 p.m.
📖 BOOK EVENT: FIXER-UPPER
Reminder: we have a guest talk by Brookings Metro Senior Fellow Dr. Jenny Schuetz at Woodland Presbyterian Church near 42nd and Baltimore Ave.
Thursday, March 17th at 6:30pm
Fixer Upper: How to Repair America's Broken Housing Systems is the first book assessing how the broad set of local, state, and national housing policies affect people and communities.
Light refreshments (pizza, beer, and seltzer) will be served. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Note: Attendees must present evidence of full vaccination to be admitted.
🚇 SEPTA VIRTUAL BOARD MEETING
SEPTA is holding its monthly board meeting on March 24nd at 3 PM via WebEx.
Are you are frustrated by the locked gates in Center City? We can loop you in with talking points and how to can tell your story to the Board of Directors. RSVP with us and we will follow up with instructions on how to register and help with your testimony.
✅🚲🏙️ 2022 ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS COMING SOON!
With your help, we're working on picking candidates to endorse based on their questionnaires and your feedback. We will be releasing those soon, so look out for our endorsement email. Thank you to everyone that came to the meet & greet last Thursday. It was great to have everyone together and we're glad that you spoke to the candidates about issues important to a better Philly.
We still need your help come election season. Your insights and financial contributions will help hone candidates to advocate for a more sustainable, walkable, and bicycle-friendly Philadelphia!
Become a 5th Square member TODAY
SURVEYS & EMAIL ACTIONS
Tthe Carousel House Design Workshop has a follow-up survey to make sure all community members have a chance to learn about the project and voice their priorities. Let them know what you think about the new facility! The survey will close on Friday, March 18, 2022.
NPR is looking for millennials experiencing buyers' remorse and what they think about homeownership for an upcoming story on All Things Considered.
Clean Air Council has a campaign to increase funding for sidewalks in the city. If you've encountered some sketchy sidewalks while strolling around your neighborhood, this is a good chance for you to encourage the Streets Department to repair the sidewalks.
WHAT WE'RE READING
🏙️ HOUSING & LAND USE
Philadelphia Magazine / The Philly Suburbs and Neighborhoods Where You Can Walk Just About Everywhere
Philadelphia Tribune / Five families buy affordable homes in Point Breeze (program led by the Women's Community Revitalization Project)
Philadelphia Inquirer / The Philly region has gained high-income homeowners and lost those with middle and low incomes
WHYY / City Council attempt to block sale of rental townhomes will land in federal court
WHYY / Essay: What Philadelphians need to know about tangled titles and how to prevent them
🌳 PUBLIC SPACE
Philadelphia Inquirer / Sidewalks are a matter of life or death | Opinion
EVENTS
City Hearing on regulations of Streeteries
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 12:00 p.m.
The Philadelphia Department of Streets and Department of Licenses and Inspections will be hosting a public hearing on to take public comments on the streeteries memorandum. This hearing will be conducted virtually via Zoom. Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hJkRzKYZT0WZCZxZ8JprkA
Phone dial-in number: +1 267 831 0333
Webinar ID: 878 4336 1287
Passcode: 777388
Webinar: Why Open Data Matters for Cycling: Visualizing a Cycling City
Tuesday, March 22nd, 9:00 AM EST
Good data is essential for cities and the people who live in them. OpenStreetMap is a valuable open source data tool with numerous applications from serving as base maps for visualizations, to supporting routing and navigation, to enabling spatial analysis for planning. OpenStreetMap can help cities, practitioners, and advocates visualize how dedicated cycle lanes, slow streets, bicycle parking, bikeshare stations, and other supportive infrastructure come together to form a cycle network. The first in a two-part Cycling Cities series, this webinar will feature panelists from ITDP, Trufi Association, and the Brazilian Cyclists Network (UCB) sharing how they have used OpenStreetMap to improve cities’ understanding of existing conditions for cycling, and encourage action. Registration is required. Free.
DAG Monthly Event: To the Future! Rail Park Feasibility Study Results and Next Steps
Thursday, March 24, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM EST
The Rail Park is a vision for a three mile linear park and multi-use pathway connecting 10+ Philadelphia neighborhoods and 50 city blocks along the site of former Reading and Pennsylvania Railroad lines. Friends of the Rail Park commissioned a cost estimate and feasibility study in 2021 to determine a viable next phase of the Rail Park, and better understand how the Rail Park can contribute to comprehensive community development. Friends of the Rail Park’s Executive Director, Rebecca Cordes Chan, will share the preliminary results of this work and the path forward. Registration is required. Free.
Spread the Word USA Book Tour: Black Champions In Cycling
Wed, Mar 30, 2022, 6:00 PM
The Tricycle Cafe & Bicycle Shop
1 Station Avenue
Conshohocken, PA 19428
Desire Discrimination Determination – Black Champions in Cycling is set to make a groundbreaking contribution of knowledge so desperately needed in international cycle racing. Taking on issues regarding access, diversity, inclusion, representation and anti-racism in policy and practice. This book will provide much needed insight and become a seminal reference point for cycling organisations, journalists, commentators, thought leaders and policymakers. Tickets are $20, register online.
GRANT & FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
🚨 DEADLINE TONIGHT! HOT•BED art installation open call - In partnership with Drexel University and The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Philadelphia. They are seeking 8-10 artists or artist teams to develop art installations to raise awareness of plastic pollution and its impact on the watershed. They will be displayed in prominent commercial lobbies across the city during the summer of 2022. Call for Submissions closes March 15, 2022 at 11:59 PM.
🚨 DEADLINE TOMORROW! Learn how to create the change you want to see in your community. The Citizens Planning Institute (CPI) teaches Philadelphians about city planning, zoning and the development process. Classes for the spring 2022 virtual course are Wednesdays 6:00 – 8:00 PM, April 6 – May 25. The course is $25 (scholarships available). Applications will be accepted through March 16. Apply online at https://citizensplanninginstitute.org or email [email protected] for a print application. Citizens Planning Institute is a program of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. (Let 5th Square know if you apply.)
2022 AARP Community Challenge - The AARP Community Challenge provides small grants to fund quick-action projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages. This year, applications will be accepted for projects to improve public spaces, housing, transportation and civic engagement; support diversity, equity and inclusion; build engagement for programs under new federal laws; and pursue innovative ideas that support people age 50 or older. Deadline: Tuesday, March 22
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources is now accepting applications for the 2022 round of Community Conservation Partnership Program grants. Applications accepted until April 6. More information: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Communities/Grants/Pages/default.aspx
Parks & Rec is now accepting applications for PlayStreets supervisors! This volunteer-led summer meal program is a great way to bring healthy food and safe recreation to children on your block. To apply to be a PlayStreet, call (215) 685-2719 or (215) 685-2720 or email [email protected].
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
NYC-to-PHL Ride 2022 Riders and Volunteers Wanted!
The East Coast Greenway Alliance is looking for riders and volunteers for the 2022 NYC-to-PHL Ride. The ride takes place May 14-15. Register, fundraise, and ride from New York City through the Garden State to Philadelphia in support of completing the East Coast Greenway, including many critical segments of the Circuit Trails! For more information on the ride and registration, check out www.greenway.org/nyctophilly
Not interested in fundraising but still want to support the ride? One-day volunteers are especially needed for the campsite in Princeton and the closing ceremony in Philadelphia. Additionally, volunteers can also join the Ride Crew for the full two days, which is a great way to meet home-grown users of the Greenway and Circuit Trails as well as visitors to the area. To learn more and register to be a part of the volunteer crew, click here www.greenway.org/ridevols. For any questions, please reach out to Jesse Pasackow at [email protected].
Feet First Philly / Steering Committee Member
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
5th Square is Philadelphia's urbanist political action committee.
We're an all-volunteer grassroots organization advocating for safe and affordable transportation, abundant housing, and more and better public spaces. You’re receiving this email if you signed up via our website, attended one of our events, or supported one of our advocacy campaigns.
Support our advocacy with a recurring monthly contribution of $5.