🍻 MORE MEETUPS!

We have lots of things going on these days, like launching a blog, working on marketing, and keeping track of SEPTA changes. The City Council candidates are coming in each week as we gear up for election season. It's a great time to get together and talk shop with your fellow urbanists.

The September meetup is this Thursday, September 29, 6:00pm at Pennsport Beer Boutique in South Philly. Pennsport Beer Boutique has a nice patio and classic hoagies. The venue is accessible via bus routes 25, 29, 64, and 57. Kids welcome!

At this meeting, we are honored to welcome:

• Nikil Saval, Senator for the 1st district in the Pennsylvania State Senate.
• Elizabeth Fiedler, Representative for the 184th district of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
• Appearances by Terrill Haigler, Michael Galván, and other City Council candidates

If you can't make this one, we have another meetup at the Mural City Cellars Wine Garden in Fishtown, scheduled for October 13 at 6:00pm! This is an outdoor, family-friendly event where we will provide updates on our recent campaigns. We will also be discussing mobility, safe streets, and access to transit specific to Fishtown and the Riverwards neighborhoods. There will be beverages available for purchase at this event, and nearby takeout and delivery food options are permitted. Mural City Cellas is accessible via the El (Berks Station) and bus routes 5 and 25.

At this upcoming meeting, we are honored to welcome Maria Quinones-Sanchez, former 7th District Councilmember and candidate for Mayor.

🎥 DOUBLE (TRANSIT) FEATURE!

The short film "La Guagua 47" had a sold-out debut at the Kimmel Center on September 15th. This colorful musical is about the 47 bus and its proximity to the Latino community, serving as a lifeline to songwriter Alba Martínez in her youth. It is a beautiful showcase of the connections of each diverse neighborhood that come together via transit. For those unaware, the 47 connects North and South Philly, weaving between Puerto Rican, Carribean, Central and South American, and Mexican neighborhoods. Hispanic (Latine or Latinx) Heritage Month is from September 15th to October 15th this year and Billy Penn has a rundown of events. La Guagua 47 will also have a celebration event of artists that live along the 47. If only the 47 had a lane to itself...

WATCH: La Guagua 47

5th Square member Alex Davis released a great video essay on the new Wawa Station entitled "Why You Can't Walk to America's Newest Train Station". It's a fast-paced and fun dive into the history of Middletown Township's failed foray into transit oriented development. He also shows current local transit oriented development examples as a way Middletown could have successfully integrated Wawa Station into the area. This can give us insight on what to do to encourage TOD around new developments, like the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway.

WATCH: Why You Can't Walk to America's Newest Train Station

📝 ICYMI: OUR NEW BLOG

Many of the publications that once covered city meetings on land use, housing, and transportation more regularly no longer have the capacity to do it, or are no longer publishing. Critical information about city government decision-making about these issues is going unreported. That is why we have been working on developing a new standalone publication for city planning news, spearheaded by 5th Square member Brandon Tubby, that will publish original reporting on the city government meetings and current events that impact the issues we all care about. Presenting...

Aspirationally, once the new publication is up and running, we are interested in paying freelance writers and reporters to write about the main city government meetings every month that impact housing and transportation issues, like the Planning Commission, City Council's Rules Committee, the Historical Commission, the Land Bank, the SEPTA Board, and more. Donations made through the button below go to our reporting fund.

If you are interested in writing about these meetings as a freelancer, or you are interested in sponsoring this project in some capacity, or you would like to be involved in some other way, reply to this email or message us on Twitter or Slack.

Here's a few of our starting articles:

• Kensington transit-oriented development rejected variance at recommendation of councilmember
• Introducing our journalists: Nick Russo
• Historic Commission greenlights 10-stories on 22nd and Walnut

🔒 JUST FOR MEMBERS

There are also three policy specific meetings for members only, over Zoom:

• October 3rd: Transit
• October 11th: Safe Streets / Public Space
• October 18th: Housing / Land Use

Members will learn about our current platform, work on the questionnaire we send to candidates, and help us with our endorsements. This is a critical election and we need everyone to make sure that we get the right people in office. Not a member yet? Just click one of the buttons below to sign up.

Sara Little Turnbull Fellowship - The Fellowship is a paid, 2-3 month, part-time or full time fall fellowship (on-site) for an early career woman or non-binary person of color who is curious, driven and passionate about design and design education. The fellow will be a part of Tiny WPA’s team, working as an in-house designer and contributing to the organization’s community-engaged design-build projects. We welcome applications from high school students, currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, and recent graduates with a 2-year or 4-year degree from a public, private, or community college or university. The compensation range is $15-25 per hour. Applications are due on October 2, 2022 by 11:59 pm.

Feet First Philly Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant - Feet First Philly is partnering with the Department of Public Health to provide funding for mini-grants of $500 to $2000 to create public space enhancements and safety improvements where they are needed the most. Residents and community groups in low income communities and communities of color are strongly encouraged to apply. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, October 11th at 11:59PM.

Wednesday Night Rides is looking for volunteers to help plan routes, assist with the rides, or any other input. If you enjoyed past rides, this is a good way to get involved.

BCGP’s 2022 Bicycle Counts - Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is looking for volunteers interested in helping us with this process between September 6 and October 28. Bike counts happen on weekday mornings and evening from 7:30 – 9:00 AM and from 4:30 – 6:00 PM, weather permitting. Sign up today!