higher education : Development News

Late last month, Governor Tom Wolf confirmed a massive local green roof project that’s been five years in the making. Thanks to a partnership between Temple University and the Philadelphia Water Department, the stunning design be a reality when the school's new library opens for the fall semester in 2018.

"Temple has worked closely with the Water Department over the last five years to identify meaningful stormwater solutions that address North Philadelphia’s critical challenges with this issue," says Dozie Ibeh, associate vice president of Temple’s Project Delivery Group.

According to Temple, the new library will have one of the state’s largest green roofs (the only comparable one in the region is the PECO green roof at 23rd and Market Streets). 
 
The project will be made possible thanks to a $6,747,933 loan from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST). With a low interest rate of approximately one percent and a 20-year term, the university projects that the PENNVEST loan will save them $4 million. Those dollars will help Temple install the green roof, permeable paving, cisterns for rainwater and stormwater piping. The space will also include a 46,000-square-foot roof garden, planting beds, and a terrace and seating area outside the new library’s fourth-floor reading room.

The international design firm Snøhetta is behind the 225,000-square-foot new library, in partnership with the local office of Stantec. Philadelphia’s Roofmeadow consulted with Temple throughout the design process, and will help maintain the completed system, alongside Temple’s grounds superintendent, and faculty from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture.
 
The space will also provide important research opportunities for students and faculty.
 
Temple hopes to receive LEED gold certification when the new library is completed in 2018 as part of a wider sustainability plan on campus; LEED gold status is already on the books for the new Science Education and Research Center, which opened in 2014.
 
Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Source: Dozie Ibeh, Temple University 

"We’ve been taking from nature for 200-plus years at a rate that’s not sustainable," says Christopher Zelov, Philadelphia eco-activist, filmmaker and author. The founder of the Philadelphia EcoDistrict (the local chapter of a nationwide urban sustainable living movement based in Portland, Oregon), Zelov has spent the last six months teaming with University of the Arts Associate Professor Tony Guido and a group of seven undergrads on The Philadelphia EcoDistrict Oasis.

According to Zelov, the ultimate goal is "building a regenerative culture." That means not just "technologies that give back more than they take" (green roofs, cisterns, aquaponic gardens and solar arrays), but also building a social culture that supports these technologies.

For the past semester, UArts industrial design students have been collaborating with the Spring Garden Community Development Corporation to fashion portable working prototypes of their EcoDistrict Oasis concepts as a case study for future development here in Philadelphia.

On May 5, after an extensive research and engagement process, students presented their prototypes at a community barbecue at The Spring Gardens Community Garden. Their concepts included a small-scale aquaponic garden for the kitchen wall, modular ramps that easily make buildings accessible to all, sustainable composting pails, super-insulation, modular green surfaces, and more.

Green surfaces aid stormwater management while also mitigating a cycle of urban heat that leads to more pollution. Aquaponics offer an accessible closed-loop water-saving system for growing veggies. Composting pails made for city kitchens reduce waste and nourish gardens. Super-insulation uses a variety of techniques to vastly reduce a building’s energy usage, effectively sealing everything from electrical outlets to windows, and using specially fabricated walls filled with cellulose -- rather than fiberglass -- to keep temperatures comfortable without extra heating or cooling.

"What we’re trying to do is bring it into the community" and make it a regular practice, explains Zelov. He’s one of the filmmakers behind Ecological Design: Inventing the Future and City21: Multiple Perspectives on Urban Futures, and their companion books. He’s working on another film, this one about the UArts EcoDistrict project titled EcoDistricts Emerging.

Guido, who’s been teaching in UArts’ Industrial Design department for 21 years, says the program takes pride in "doing great work and doing it with conscience." He hopes the prototypes will get future public showcases, perhaps during 2016's PARK(ing) Day.

Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Sources: Christopher Zelov, Philadelphia EcoDistrict; Tony Guido and Guiseppe Sciumbata, University of the Arts

The University City Science Center has embarked on a major expansion that, over the next 10 to 15 years, will add 10 new buildings, remap West Philadelphia and create what Science Center President Stephen S. Tang calls a "community of ingenuity where bright minds can flourish and thrive."
 
The recently announced uCity Square will be a vast mixed-use development featuring residential, lab and office buildings, maker space, retail offerings and green space. The so-called "Innovation District," surrounded by universities, research institutions, hospitals and a concentration of highly skilled workers, will be a magnet for thinkers and doers.
 
Dignitaries including Mayor Michael Nutter gathered last week on the roof of a Market Street parking garage overlooking what was once University City High School. The now-cleared, 14-acre site is at the heart of uCity Square, which will ultimately range roughly from Ludlow Street (just south of Market) north to Lancaster and Powelton Avenues and from 34th to 38th streets.
 
A partnership between the Science Center and Wexford Science + Technology, the megadevelopment will add 10 new buildings totaling four million square feet to the Science Center’s existing 17 buildings, bringing the campus to a total of 6.5 million square feet. The parking garage where the announcement was made, 3665 Market, will be replaced with a new lab and low-rise residential building.
 
The new project will also redraw the map of University City by reintroducing the original street grid. Notably, the long missing-in-action 37th Street will be reinstated from Market to Lancaster and several east-west streets will also be brought back. The idea is to provide easy pedestrian access between communities such as Powelton Village and Mantua to the Science Center and University of Pennsylvania, and from Drexel University to the east. On a larger scale, the new complex will also leverage the continuing westward movement of the city’s commercial heart beyond Center City.
 
"Today, uCity Square is home to the Science Center, our programs, and our vast ecosystem of scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators," enthuses Tang. "Tomorrow, uCity Square will be a true mixed-use community comprised of office and lab space for companies of all sizes, while adding more amenities and services for residents and neighbors to the mix, such as shopping, dining and housing. It will also be a linchpin that connects the neighborhoods to our north and west to the rest of University City."

Writer: Elise Vider
Source: University City Science Center

 

This month, Temple University cut the ribbon on its renovated Center City campus, just west of the revamped Dilworth Park.

According to Temple Center City Campus Director William Parshall, the upgrades -- which include a Barnes and Noble-run bookstore and café open to the public at 1515 Market Street -- had been in the works for about four years; construction on the $2.75 million project didn’t begin until 2014.

The work was three-pronged: a re-done entrance to the main lobby, significant renovations to the Fox School of Business space on the sixth floor and the new bookstore/café.

The Fox renovations are in line with a bigger trend in higher education.

"They created a new type of classroom called a collaborative learning studio," explains Parshall. Two existing classrooms were combined into "one giant classroom" -- the furniture is all on wheels, from the chairs and desks to white-boards.

"It gives faculty a great deal more flexibility in how they teach," he continues. A class as large as 70 can be arranged in a traditional lecture format, but can also break easily into smaller groups.

In addition, the upgrades included converting office space into additional student breakout rooms with LCD desktops and projectors, and an enhanced MBA student lounge.

"We have always been limited in our ability to provide food on-site, and it’s been very popular," says Parshall of the new café. It had a soft opening on March 2 during spring break, and business is now in full swing.

"The timing worked out really well," he adds, referencing the transformation of Dilworth Park. "A lot of our undergraduate students take the Broad Street Subway," and the new City Hall entrances are now much more inviting. More extensive City Hall station renovations are in the pipeline at SEPTA.

Temple’s next big Center City goal is working with the owner of 2 Penn Center and SEPTA on improving the plaza between the two buildings. Currently home to little more than some bike-racks and "one big slab of concrete," the area is very dark at night.

"One of the things that we would really like to see happen is some friendly lighting…something that would illuminate the plaza," says Parshall, making everyone feel more comfortable overnight. 

Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Source: William Parshall, Temple University
 

Drexel University's new Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation has launched an ambitious cross-continental educational partnership that imagines a new future for the Lehigh Viaduct in North Philadelphia. They are also tackling a neglected power station (built in the 1920s) and a largely vacant 300,000-square-foot building that covers almost 1,000 feet of waterfront.

The Lehigh Viaduct and these nearby buildings are the perfect focus for an intensive planning project, says Harris Steinberg, executive director of the Lindy Institute and a professor of architecture and interiors at Drexel's Westphal College. The largely abandoned sites have "a lot of connections with work that’s being done in this country as well as around the world, particularly in Europe, around repurposing former industrial infrastructure," he explains.

Steinberg, formerly of the University of Pennsylvania, has a lot of experience in this area. For the last fifteen years, he has worked with groups like PennPraxis on addressing the waterfront, including 2006-2007's Civic Vision for the Central Delaware public planning process, which engaged over 4,000 people in 13 months. That project included the power station and viaduct the Lindy Institute is focusing on now.

The planning process occurred right before Mayor Michael Nutter came into office, and his administration used that work to create a master plan in partnership with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation.

The Lehigh Viaduct is a raised embankment connector that runs into the heart of North Philadelphia, from the Port Richmond rail yards to the Girard Avenue interchange at I-95. This overgrown industrial remnant is off-limits to the public. While the Conrail-owned track -- which currently has just one active rail line left -- is not likely to see significant redevelopment right away, Steinberg still insists it’s "a longer-term possibility" to compile a publicly accessible plan for the future.

That will be done via tours, charrettes and workshops, including “Creative Transformations: Lessons from Transatlantic Cities,” a free public discussion that took place at Moore College of Art on February 26. It featured a panel of local and international experts, and was hosted by Drexel, the William Penn Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Fifteen students and two faculty members from Germany's TU Dortmund University recently arrived to collaborate with a group of urban design students from Drexel.

"Can it become an amenity as opposed to just an element that divides Port Richmond and Kensington?" asks Steinberg. He hopes the workshop events, running in late February and early March, will give "some more ideas on potential reuse with some economic viability to it. The high-level question we’re asking is how do you repurpose these industrial assets which are not easy to transform, but could have an incredible catalytic impact on the regeneration of those neighborhoods?" 

Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Source: Harris Steinberg, Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University
 

University of Pennsylvania architect David Hollenberg says the new Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics, slated to open in 2018 at 36th and Walnut Streets, is going to be "a very handsome treatment of a very handsome building."

Penn just announced its official approval of the new facility’s design after a year of working with Toronto-based architecture firm KPMB. The old nine-story West Philadelphia Title and Trust Company building at 133 S. 36th Street (built in the mid-1920s) will join with a brand-new addition to its north for a space totaling about 100,000 square feet. The new center will house Penn’s Political Science and Economics Departments, as well as six relocated academic and research centers.

"To a lot of folks, this is an important survivor of the West Philly commercial landscape," says Hollenberg of efforts to retain the original building’s look. "We’re very interested in preserving that remnant."

But it’s just the exterior of the building that Penn is holding on to.

"Most of the interior is going to be gutted; it’s really about the façade," explains Hollenberg.

The north-side addition isn’t just a new wing, either. It will be roughly the same size as the existing building, with a main entrance on 36th Street where the new and old structures meet. According to a statement from Penn, "the addition’s exterior palette of silver metal, frosted and clear glass is also designed to complement the historic limestone façade."

The six-story addition will be "an equal partner to a very distinguished historic building," Hollenberg predicts. And he says this is typical of the Penn architectural style, which instead of aiming for a single look across campus, strives to respect the unique aspects of existing buildings "that are the best of their time."

The architect points out that the building is also significant because of major shifts in Penn’s undergraduate population, most of which has been concentrated south of Walnut Street until now.

"This is the first building that will take a significant undergraduate academic function across Walnut Street," he says, noting that political science and economics are two of Penn’s most popular undergraduate majors. The daily traffic from those students will
"have a significant impact on that northern side of the campus."

The $77.6 million project is scheduled to break ground this December and be completed by spring of 2018. Hollenberg says the new facilities will be ready to welcome students and faculty for the fall semester of 2018.

Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Source: David Hollenberg, University of Pennsylvania
 

When Temple University architect Margaret Carney first toured the campus, something struck her as unusual.

"I was surprised to see how little open space there was," she recalls. "When you think about a campus, the open space that is the core and heart of the campus is generally the most memorable spot."

That’s why she calls a large proposed green space at Temple, part of the university’s Visualize Temple plan, "a real game-changer for Temple and really for North Philadelphia."

The quad is proposed for the city block between 12th and 13th Streets, and Norris and Berks Streets (Polett Walk on the Temple campus); it will be close to the size of Rittenhouse and Washington Square Parks.

While Temple doesn’t have plans to expand beyond its footprint, the opportunity for this new green space is an exciting one for the university and the local community. Temple has the challenges of a city campus, explains Carney. Instead of an overarching master plan that would be easier to enact in a less populous zone, Temple has had "more organic growth as city blocks became available."

Though the space hasn’t been formally designed yet, Carney can already point to a multitude of possible uses, from walking, biking, picnicking and lawn sports to festivals, farmers' markets and commencement itself (the finished green could hold as many as 10,000 spectators).

The area is also an essential part of the overall campus landscape plan that will soon go public -- that plan has a special focus on stormwater management thanks to partnerships with the Philadelphia Water Department and Temple researchers.

So, in addition to being a social and recreational gathering space, the new quad will be engineered as "a workhorse in terms of stormwater management," explains Carney, with the capacity to help manage runoff from nearby sidewalks and buildings for impact beyond the lawn.

Of course, the whole thing is still years away. There are currently two science buildings on the proposed site -- outdated biology and chemistry labs from the 1960s. Before stormwater engineering and landscaping plans can be completed (which will take about a year), those science buildings need to be demolished. They will be replaced with a new interdisciplinary facility in another location, which could be built by 2019 if fundraising, design and construction proceed according to plan.  

That means the new park could be open by late 2020 or early 2021.

Five or six years might seem like a long time, but in the life of a university, it’s right around the corner. Carney hopes the park will be a major boost for the experience of students, faculty, staff and neighbors alike.

"There’s a lot of excitement about this space," she insists.

Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Source: Margaret Carney, Temple University 

The University of Pennsylvania's South Bank campus, a 23-acre swath of development at 34th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue (purchased by Penn in 2010), is getting a new name: "Pennovation Works."

According to Penn Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, President Amy Gutmann coined the "Pennovation" moniker, looking toward the opening of the Pennovation Center, a 52,000-square-foot three-story building, slated for renovation and re-opening in 2016.

The Pennovation Works complex will include a mix of previously existing and new buildings housing the Bio Garden of the Penn School of Arts & Sciences, UPSTART’s Novapeutics, the Philadelphia Free Library archives, KMel Robotics and much more.

On October 31, Gutmann and other Penn executives welcomed a crowd of 800 people (two-thirds of them Penn staff, faculty, and students) for a ceremonial groundbreaking and day-long seminar of tours and sessions to celebrate a wide variety of scientific, academic and commercial innovation at Penn.

The Pennovation Center concept, which includes a variety of cross-discipline co-working and research spaces, got its start within the last two years based on a need for incubator space, particularly incubators with affordable lab space.

"One of the really neat things about this project is the architects actually are entrepreneurs," says Carnaroli. "So they learned themselves that you need a space where you learn how to do your five-minute elevator pitch…they’re thinking very holistically."

That means the finished Pennovation Center, from its workshop garage spaces -- hosting prototyping gear such as 3-D printers -- to its third-floor robotics lab isn’t "just a space to do the work. It’s also about networking."

A major part of the Center’s mission will be facilitating not only research, but its application and commercialization. That means offering low-cost lab space with no restrictions on types of use and unusually broad opportunities for corporate partnerships, since the property wasn’t financed with any tax-exempt capital.

“You’re always looking for a hybrid of ideas,” says Carnaroli, explaining why it's important to house diverse thinkers -- such as life-sciences faculty alongside robotics researchers -- in freewheeling co-working spaces. He hopes this will foster "that breakthrough that no-one’s seeing until that impromptu conversation at the coffee machine." 

The Center will open in multiple phases, including a new home for Penn's GRASP engineering lab next summer, with full completion of the new complex planned for spring 2016.

Given the adjacent Schuylkill River’s place in the heart of Philly’s manufacturing history, the Pennovation Center’s location is a symbol of the shift from the industrial economy to a "much more intellectual and modern economy," muses Carnaroli. "It’s very symbolic the way this property is about to be transformed."

Author: Alaina Mabaso
Source: Craig Carnaroli, The University of Pennsylvania

On Wednesday, October 15, University City District (UCD) will present its annual State of University City report to a select group of representatives from neighborhood institutions, real estate development groups, small business owners and residents.

In over 70 pages worth of eye-catching charts, graphs and text, the report tells the story of a vibrant and growing submarket that continues to attract a steady stream of educated individuals, innovative startups, creative entrepreneurs and civic-minded businesses.

Some highlights of this year’s report include an explosion of multi-family residential development, an unprecedented 96 percent office occupancy rate, a growing interest in transportation and transit, investment by the University of Pennsylvania in both research facilities and community placemaking destinations, and significant growth in Drexel’s innovation neighborhood near 30th Street Station.

The report also expands on the development plans for the 40th Street Trolley Portal, including the success of UCD fundraising efforts to create a pedestrian-friendly park there.

To create the document, policy and research manager Seth Budick compiles vast amounts of data from UCD’s institutional and business partners, alongside its own in-depth studies and analysis of pedestrian counts, retail occupancy and public space usage.

"What we’re really seeing is a flocking of people and businesses who recognize the value of being close to the density of innovation that’s going on in University City," he explains.

As in previous years, printed reports will be distributed to institutional partners, real estate professionals, local organizations, government representatives and residents, who, according to UCD's Lori Brennan, "use [it] as a recruitment tool for filling office vacancies, and attracting retailers and restaurateurs to open up spaces [in University City]."

The report will be available online on October 16.

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Sources: Seth Budick and Lori Klein Brennan, University City District
 

On September 12, the 51-year-old University City Science Center celebrated the latest addition to its ever-expanding West Philadelphia campus, now home to more than two million square feet of lab and office space.
 
Known as 3737 Science Center and located at 3737 Market Street, the 13-story glass tower was developed jointly by the Science Center and Wexford Science & Technology. The $115 million building is already at 82 percent capacity.
 
Indeed, interest in the space from potential life-science and healthcare tenants was so consistently strong throughout construction that an extra two floors (over the originally-planned 11) were added to the plan.
 
Spark Therapeutics, a gene therapy startup, is occupying the building's top floor. With Penn Medicine as the anchor tenant, other residents include the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine and, in the tower's ground-floor retail space, the Corner Bakery Cafe, which is expected to open by the end of this year.
 
3737 Science Center is the campus' 16th building. At nearby 3601 Market Street, the Science Center is currently constructing a 20-story, $110 million residential tower, which broke ground last year. That high-rise, according to President and CEO Stephen Tang, is part of the campus' current philosophy "to be a place to live, work and play," he says. "Not just work, which is quite frankly what we've been doing for most of our 51-year history."  
 
"We're trying to become a world-class innovation center across University City and not just across the Science Center's campus," he adds. "We really want to be a vibrant center. And that includes attracting smart, creative and innovative people to our campus to live, as well as to work."

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Stephen Tang, University City Science Center

The University City Science Center has partnered with Flying Kite to showcase innovation in Greater Philadelphia.

Following two years of fundraising, brainstorming and community meetings, Drexel University is celebrating the grand opening of its Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships. On June 12, the school cut the ribbon on the 1.3 acre site.
 
The genesis of the three-building complex -- located at 35th and Spring Garden Streets -- was a $10 million donation from Dana and David Dornsife, an active philanthropist couple. (Dana is a Drexel alum.)

According to Lucy Kerman, the school's vice provost of university and community partnership, university extension centers -- in which the collective expertise of a school is used to solve problems and otherwise assist the local community -- have a rich history dating back to the late-19th century. The Dornsife Center has the potential to become "a place where every single college and school [at Drexel] could be engaged with the community in shared problemsolving," she says.
 
Programming has already begun. Drexel’s law school students, for example, have been fulfilling their pro bono requirements by offering free legal services at the Dornsife Center. And, as Kerman points out, "We've got folks in English who could be running a writers house. We have folks in engineering who might do weatherization. We have a wonderful set of health sciences programs, and we could be doing screenings."
 
In the meantime, a community advisory council that was formed prior to the site’s renovation is continuing to meet monthly; its input will play a role in the programs and services offered in the future.
 
"[At Drexel], there are lots of different kinds of expertise," explains Kerman. "Working together with community partners, we feel that we have an opportunity to do something really special."

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Lucy Kerman, Drexel University
 

Last week, the University of Pennsylvania made public its plans to construct a research park on 23 acres of land formerly owned by DuPont in the Lower Schuylkill section of Grays Ferry. The parcel is now being referred to as "the South Bank."
 
Flying Kite has reported extensively on the long-range development plans for the Lower Schuylkill River, but no announcement has generated as much public chatter and excitement as the recent one from Penn; it is just one small ingredient in a much larger campus development recipe known as Penn Connects 2.0, a so-called master plan "which has added nearly 3 million square feet of space to Penn’s campus since 2006," according to a release.   
 
One of the highlights of the South Bank will be a business incubator and accelerator called the Pennovation Center. (Current tenants will remain onsite after renovations begin.) That complex will feature lab space and a collaborative technology-transfer ecosystem that Penn hopes will eventually infuse the entire South Bank campus.  
 
According to Penn's Executive Director of Real Estate Ed Datz, the campus will be available to a wide range of users, from startups that grow out of university research to those without any previous university affiliation. The master plan, designed by Philadelphia-based firm WRT, creates a framework with initial development focused on light industrial and flex-use buildings. 

"The one consistent is the opportunity to let young, upstart companies have space -- at a reasonable rate -- to gather, to share ideas, and to advance their particular discipline," says Datz.

While an exact construction timeline hadn't been revealed, the multi-phase renovation work at the South Bank site may begin as early as this fall.


Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Ed Datz, University of Pennsylvania

In a classic case of necessity as mother of invention, Temple Fox School of Business student Ofo Ezeugwu has developed a website for renters to rate landlords. He observed that students living in Philadelphia were often vulnerable in the rental process. 

"I hatched the idea in February 2012 when I was running for Temple's VP of External Affairs," says Ezeugwu. "Many of my dealings had to do with students' relations with off-campus entities and opportunities. I thought it would be great if students could rate their landlords the same way they rate their professors on RateMyProfessor.com."

WhoseYourLandlord.com launched in October 2012 with fellow Temple student Nik Korablin as web developer. The startup's unusually spelled name regularly raises questions, but Ezeugwu explains that the choice of homonym is intentional — the possessive form of the word 'who' signifies a return of ownership to tenants.

Since its launch, the website has grown to include users in multiple schools across different states. A "fall tour" of East Coast colleges promoted the site and encouraged users to rate landlords in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., North Virginia and New York. Students can also rate on-campus housing such as dorms and residential halls.

Next steps include launching a mobile app in early 2014, and incorporating a way for landlords to respond to comments users leave on their profiles. The growing company also plans to hire in the new year.

Writer: Nicole Woods
Ofo Ezeugwu, Whose Your Landlord

The stretch of North 5th Street that runs through Olney is brimming with over 200 businesses and situated in the heart of one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods. For business owners there, it's imperative to stand out in the crowd. Now, help is on the way -- during the month of May, the North Fifth Street Revitalization Project (N5SRP) is partnering with Drexel's Design and Merchandising Program to completely revamp storefront windows.
 
Since its inception in 2005, N5SRP has been dedicated to improving the physical environment and increasing economic activity along North 5th Street. The Drexel partnership -- now in its second iteration -- is an exciting tool, offering fresh ideas to help beautify the corridor and directly assist merchants in the process.
 
One of the college’s longest-running community engagement programs, the visual merchandising studio has provided students the opportunity to design window displays for more than a decade.

"In the recent past, similar projects took place in Old City and Northern Liberties," explains Philip Green, interim director of N5SRP. "It's exciting to once again bring the project up north."   

Olney's initiative will officially kick-off on May 14 with a background presentation to the participating Drexel students on the corridor and businesses. "From there, student groups are responsible for contacting their assigned businesses and setting up a meeting to discuss the window concepts," explains Green.
 
The four participating businesses -- T-House (a t-shirt shop), 5th Street Furniture Outlet, Advanced Family Dentistry and Gibson School of Music and Arts -- are a varied bunch. "We're very excited to see what the students come up with," says Green. "We're hopeful the ideas are as diverse as the businesses participating."

After the students have developed sketches and identified the materials necessary to make their designs a reality, installation will begin on May 28. Students, businesses owners, N5SRP staff and community members will then meet on-site to give a final critique.

Source:  Philip Green, Interim Director, North Fifth Street Revitalization Project
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Philadelphia’s urban complexities can sometimes seem overwhelming, but thanks to the efforts at Temple’s Urban Apps and Maps Studios, grappling with these complicated issues might soon be possible in the palm of your hand. 
 
Over the next three summers, high school and college-age students will take part in a six-week program to learn digital design and business skills, with a dozen of them working year-round to develop apps and maps that solve challenges of urban communities.   
 
A central goal of the program is connecting the students with underserved North Philadelphia communities, engaging them with the design challenges. According to Michele Masucci, professor and chair of Geography and Urban Studies at Temple University, it was this community outreach component of the project that caught the eye of the Knight Foundation—they are providing a $635,000 grant. "The issues to be solved come from community input," explains Masucci. "Knight thought this was fantastic and wanted to get involved."
 
Thanks to the Knight grant—as well as the initial U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration grant that jumpstarted the program last year—the Urban Apps and Maps Studio is fully funded for at least the next three years. Masucci believes the benefits of the program will guarantee funding for years to come. "The youth of this country are one of the largest digital consumer groups," she says. "This program brings them to the table to also be digital innovators."
 
The program also broadens students' educational and professional horizons by connecting them with Temple’s vast resources. In an unprecedented model of collaboration, faculty from Temple’s Fox School of Business, College of Science and Technology, College of Engineering and Tyler School of Art have lent their expertise to the Studio’s efforts to create, implement and eventually sell the apps and maps.   
 
A number of apps and maps have already been created. These include an app for urban farming, an urban health warriors game app that helps increase health awareness and a game to educate youth about personal finance.

Over the next few years, expect even more innovative solutions to emerge from the Studio. Accoring to Masucci, the University will continue to work with the Philadelphia School District and the Philadelphia Youth Network to identify and recruit students from North Philadelphia to take part in the Studio. Over the coming years, they are aiming to expand the program to other parts of Philadelphia as well.

Source: Michele Masucci, professor and chair of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple
Writer: Greg Meckstroth