⛄❄️🎁 PARTY ALL THE TIME!
Feeling urbanely festive? Put on your favorite sweater* and join us at 990 Spring Garden on Tuesday, December 20th from 7:00 to 9:00 PM for our Holiday Party! We'll be holding our Fourth Annual Urbanist Awards ceremony, featuring your favorite champions of urban policy! We'll also have plenty of food and drink, so bring a friend.
Come celebrate with other Philadelphia advocates at the urbanist holiday party of the season!
*Don't have a sweater for the occasion? We still have some of the awesome Miriam Singer sweatshirts in small, medium, and extra large left, now on sale for $20! Buy one today!
5th Square is also hosting our first-ever “No Cis Man’s Land” meetup at Frankford Hall this Wednesday, December 14th at 6:00 pm. Join us by the outdoor fire pit to meet and chat with the (many) non-cis male 5th Square members and friends! This event is open to all women/trans/femme/NB/GNC folks.
5TH SQUARE IN THE NEWS
A MORE PERFECT UNION
5th Square steering committee member Camille Boggan was featured in the Inquirer about her vision for the future of transit as it relates to Black women. This article is part of the Inquirer's new series called "A More Perfect Union", exploring the origin and legacy of institutional racism in the city. The series covers many topics of interest, like land use issues in West Philly and the state of public pools.
Boggan will also be part of a panel on Wednesday, December 14th at 4:30 p.m. for Inquirer LIVE: A More Perfect Union's "The Blueprint". Register for the event to see what kind of interesting conversation will unfold!
Art by Yannick Lowery
TIDBITS
FILM TROLLEYS IN MEDIA
If you are interested in filming or photographing trolleys, Councilwoman Joi of Media would like to help. This is a great way to get B-roll for your pro-transit video essays or music videos. You can contact Joi via Instagram or email.
WHEELCHAIR REPAIR
Do you own a wheelchair repair shop, or are interested in repairing wheelchairs? Fill out this questionnaire!
CITY BUDGET FOCUS GROUP
The city has a virtual focus group program for you to voice your opinion about the upcoming budget. The meetings are being held on the following dates:
- Tuesday, December 13 at 6 p.m.- 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 14 at 6 p.m.- 7 p.m.
The sessions have registration forms in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Portuguese.
You can help us make a walkable, transit-friendly city for everyone with your financial contributions. Become a 5th Square member today!
BUS REVOLUTION TALKS
It's the last call for Bus Revolution input! Here are the last two virtual events:
Kensington/River Wards Virtual Community Conversation
Tuesday, December 13 at 6:30 PM – register via Zoom
Delaware County On-Demand Transit Virtual Community Conversation
Wednesday, December 14 at 6:30 PM – register via Zoom
EVENTS
Urban Strategy in the Present Tense ft. Bruce Katz and Della Clark
Tuesday, December 13th at 4pm (via Zoom)
Urban Strategy in the Present Tense is a conversation series featuring notable urbanists discussing their frontline work in urban resilience, as well as sharing their insights about public policymaking, urban problem solving, and life in Philadelphia.
DVRPC Public Participation Task Force meeting
Tuesday, December 13th from 6:00pm - 7:30pm (hybrid)
This experience is designed by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission to highlight the role of public participation in the transportation planning process. Dinner will be served for all in-person attendees at 5:30pm. Register here.
The PPTF application period is open until December 26th! This is an opportunity to speak up for your community, share your experience as a resident and join a network of motivated change makers. Click here to apply.
School Streets: Testing Car-free Zones Around Schools
Wednesday, December 14th at 3 p.m.
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
190 N Independence Mall West, 8th Floor (Philadelphia Room)
The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals is presenting a webinar about the 'School Streets' program. School Streets are an innovative solution to reduce the vehicle congestion and traffic safety risks commonly seen around schools, and to encourage children, families and teachers to use active transportation. The results from these pilots are being used to develop recommendations for the planning, permitting and implementation of School Streets programs in municipal settings.
Webinar: Individual Wayfinding in the Context of Visual Impairment, Blindness, and Deafblindness
Thursday, December 15 at 1:00 PM ET (via Zoom)
In this presentation Amy Parker and Dr. Martin Swobodzinski will highlight past research on human indoor-outdoor wayfinding on an urban college campus. Focus in the presentation will be on the discussion of considerations for wayfinding technology, human subject research design, as well findings and lessons learned across the two projects.
Trolley Modernization Transit Talk!
Thursday, December 15 at 6:30 PM (via Zoom)
SEPTA’s modern trolley station designs are now ready for viewing! This past year, through online surveys and in-person events, SEPTA heard from you on trolley station design, color, and lighting as well as sustainable and environmentally-friendly design options. This station design will be implemented across the City of Philadelphia and Delaware County in the future to ensure an easy, accessible, and faster trolley ride. (Register here.)
Saturday & Sunday, December 17th and 18th from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Love Park (1501 JFK)
Can't seem to catch the Jolly Trolley? There's always Festibus for the rest of us! Check out this year's entrants for the Holiday Decorated Vehicle contest! The top winners are also on display at various events--check septa.org or the SEPTA Instagram for other dates and locations.
SURVEYS & EMAIL ACTIONS
-
Clark Park Master Plan - Friends of Clark Park are working on a new plan for future development.
- I-95 Girard Avenue Interchange - This survey is to collect feedback on the potential reconnection of Poplar Street between New Market and Front Streets under I-95. The survey will be open until December 16, 2022.
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Walter Rand Transportation Center Improvement Project - NJ Transit is looking for feedback, specifically for pedestrian access, food service, and general facility concerns. See NJTransit.com for more details.
- Borough of Conshohocken Shuttle Survey - Conshy is studying the feasibility of a shuttle for intra-borough travel.
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Point Breeze Avenue Redevelopment Plan Community Survey - The City of Philadelphia is preparing a strategic redevelopment plan for the Avenue’s commercial corridor, headed by the Department of Commerce with Kenyatta Johnson.
WHAT WE'RE READING
🏙️ HOUSING & LAND USE
PBS NewsHour / How suburban zoning rules are stifling development and causing rents to spike
Philadelphia Inquirer / Housing permitting cratered in 2022 after a surge last year. Here’s what happened.
Journal of Housing Economics / Demons of Density: Do Higher-Density Environments Put People at Greater Risk of Contagious Disease?
🌳 PUBLIC SPACE
Wall Street Journal / Philadelphia’s Center City Sees Resurgence in Housing, Economic Activity [read intro]
The Mercury News / Bye-bye parking requirements: San Jose becomes largest city to abolish minimum parking
Bloomberg / 10 Years Later, a Return Trip to ‘Walkable City’
Project for Public Spaces / Placemaking: What if We Built Our Cities Around Places
🚌 TRANSIT
GRANTS
Pennsylvania Environmental Council has announced their Regrant Program that provides one and two-year grants of $1,000 to $10,000 per year for projects that increase a sense of welcome, belonging, and safety among under-represented groups on the Circuit Trails, which includes trails like the Schuylkill River Trail, Cobbs Creek Trail, Heinz Refuge trails, Delaware River Trail, Camden Waterfront trails, D&R Trail, D&L Trail, among many other trails in area. Priority will be given to projects led by and engaging under-represented and marginalized groups; projects that promote equity and serve historically disinvested communities; and organizations with a budget of less than $500,000. Applications are due by Thursday, December 22 at 11:59pm. Any questions, please email Emilia Crotty with Pennsylvania Environmental Council at [email protected].
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
The Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee is looking for a secretary which is a volunteer position but comes with an annual $1500 stipend. They're looking for someone with bird knowledge and data skills. Email [email protected] for more info, or check the PA Birders Facebook group (private).
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
PHDC /
YIMBY Action / Development Manager
Philadelphia Energy Authority / Workforce Development Coordinator
SEPTA / Part-Time Transit Store Agent
Delaware Greenways / Trail Project Coordinator
Our Market Project / Project Manager; Social Media Manager
Pennsylvania Voice /
PA House Democratic Campaign Committee /
DVRPC / Senior Contracts Specialist
PhillyBOLT / Program Manager
Housing Initiative at Penn / Research Associate - Junior/Senior Housing Research Analyst
Campus Philly / Partnership Specialist
ACLU Pennsylvania /
City of Philadelphia /
BikePGH / Advocacy Manager
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