In our pilot phase, we’ll launch local news websites that will focus on East Falls, Manayunk, Roxborough, Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Germantown and West Oak Lane. We hope to have the websites up this fall.

We’re looking for reporters, photographers and videographers to help cover the neighborhoods. Also, we’re seeking writers with strong viewpoints for columns. Many of these positions will be paid.

We’ve already hosted three neighborhood meetings to recruit community correspondents and hear about ideas for topics we should cover. Some stories undoubtedly will be of regional interest and therefore also will air on 91FM.

This effort is being led by Chris Satullo, who heads WHYY’s overall news programming. He was the editorial page editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Also, Dave Davies from Philadelphia Daily News is part of the WHYY news team.

This project, which is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, will be called NewsWorks. We came up with that name because our site will focus on solution-based reporting. For example, instead of merely reporting on an abandoned property’s existence, we’ll adopt the story and provide our readers with updates on local efforts to get it cleaned up or sold.

Each neighbor knows of issues that could be solved quickly if information about it was shared. NewsWorks will be an outlet for setting community change in motion.

NewsWorks also will provide public discussion forums that will be available around the clock. They will be monitored by WHYY staff to create a place where we can respectfully exchange ideas.

None of this can happen without your participation. In order for this to work, we’re going to need free-lance writers, photographers, videographers and more. We also need your feedback on the types of issues we can bring to the fore.

The final meeting is:

Wednesday, May 12
6:30 p.m - 9:00 p.m.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church
8000 Willow Grove Ave., Chestnut Hill
Parking at: church lot across Willow Grove Ave.

RSVP by emailing Linda Breitstein
ppce@gse.upenn.edu
wk 215-898-1112

PS: If you go, you can register to win a brand new Apple IPAD. We’ll hold a drawing after all four meetings have been completed. Everyone who takes our survey at a meeting will be registered automatically to win.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is calling for two new taxes to prevent city services from being cut. The mayor presented his budget outline to city council this morning. (3/4/10) In it, he’s asking council to approve a two-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks and a $300 yearly trash fee that combined would to raise about $185 million dollars annually. Nutter emphasized during his budget address that there will be no layoffs for police and fire, and that all of the city’s libraries, rec centers and pools will be open in the new budget year.

Click on the image to watch the full budget address 52 mins

Transcript of his speech

Budget doc for newbies

Budget doc for wonks

We’d love to know what you think of the soda tax and trash fee.

Is the tax on sugary drink too regressive?

Should citizens pay more for trash pick up?

Should we just reduce city services every time tax revenues decline?

Links:

Mayor’s budget website

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is scheduled to present his 2010-2011 budget to council on Thursday, March 4, 2010.While local newspapers are already reporting that he’ll likely propose soda and trash taxes, don’t expect him to propose any across the board tax hikes. Speaking to Marty Moss-Coane on Tuesday, Mayor Nutter said his hands are tied when it comes to raising the city’s major taxes.

He needs to reduce city spending by $150 million in this budget. City revenues are depressed as the regional economy, officially out of a recession, remains flat.

Neighborhood leaders met to suggest ways to improve Phila's zoning code process

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Update 2/18/02 @ 5:00 p.m. FINAL REPORT released.

Common Ground for Building Our City report

Common Ground Principles

PRINCIPLE 1 Every neighborhood should have a similar, widely known way to convene civic groups and concerned individuals for input into project review.

PRINCIPLE 2 All projects of a certain level of impact, whether as-of-right or requiring variances, would benefit from public input.

PRINCIPLE 3 When assessing a project’s impact, go beyond size to look at how a project impacts or fits into its surroundings.

PRINCIPLE 4 Issues of design and aesthetics should be reviewed, but on a basis separate from the parameters of zoning.

PRINCIPLE 5 Early and effective notification about project proposals helps improve outcomes both for the neighborhood and the developer.

PRINCIPLE 6 The project review process should be more transparent and predictable, in ways that inform, invite and engage constructive participation.

PRINCIPLE 7 Clear review time lines should be set as part of a predictable public input process. This would reduce uncertainty and cost for the developer while ensuring the community gets sufficient time to assess, discuss and comment.

PRINCIPLE 8 The role of City Council members in zoning and project review should be made explicit and transparent.

****************************************************************

update: 2/1/10 11:58 a.m.

Developers and Neighbors meet

The third and final meeting by the Phila AIA and PPCE was held Wednesday Jan 27 and brought developers and neighborhood activists face-to-face. The goal was to recommend ways to improve public input during Philadelphia’s zoning process. One memorable line from the night was this one from a developer. “Just one person with a beef has the ability to harpoon a project that could turn a struggling neighborhood around.” You can see that the two sides have a lot to discuss.  During the meeting neighborhood leaders and developers discussed zoning changing in small working groups. Each group was asked to list their concerns and suggestions for improvements. Here are a summaries of those discussions.

Chris Satullo commentary on the zoning workshops

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Conclusions

PlanPhilly has full coverage of the meeting.

*****************************************************************

By Alan Tu

Few in Philadelphia will remember that in May 2007 voters were asked whether the city’s zoning code should be rewritten. Here’s the question that was put on the ballot.

Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation, appointment, powers and duties of an independent Zoning Code Commission which would recommend amendments to the Philadelphia Zoning Code to make the Code consistent and easy to understand, and to enhance and improve Philadelphia’s city planning process while encouraging development and protecting the character of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods?

The ballot measure was approved by 80 percent of voters. The last time zoning laws were updated here was in 1960. Imagine how much our neighborhoods have changed. Much of Northern Liberties is still zone as industrial even though it’s become an attractive spot for condos and lofts for Philly’s young urban workers. The goal of this process is to make it easy to understand, preserve the character of the neighborhoods and promote positive development to benefits everyone.

Fast forward 2 1/2 years and you’ll be happy to know that that process is well underway. A Zoning Code Commission was created to drag Philly’s development process into the 21st Century. In October of last year, the Commission held a series of public meetings to help residents understand how zoning currently works, and to present some of the recommendations already being considered. A summary of those meetings were released in Nov. (pdf)

This month, the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), along with the Penn Project for Civic Engagement (PPCE) independent of the Zoning Code Commission, are holding a series of three meetings focusing on how to improve public input on new projects planned for their neighborhoods. Full disclosure: WHYY is the media partner for this series of meetings on public input. Chris Satullo, who is Executive Director, News and Civic Dialogue at WHYY, is helping moderate some of these discussions.

The first meeting on January 19 was held to get the perspective of developers. One thing that came out of that meeting was that developers say they are willing to work with neighbors but find it frustrating because they can reach an agreement with one civic association only to later face opposition from local group. Who speaks for a neighborhood? Who has standing? Here are some summaries from that discussion.

Moderator reports from the developers discussion

Group 1

Group2

Group 3 (addition notes)

Group 4

News Coverage

Plan Philly

Fix It Philly

Neighborhood civic groups met to discuss Phila's zoning overhaul. This was the 2nd of 3 meetings held by A.I.A Phila.

This past Saturday, nearly 75 people representing neighborhood civic groups gathered in North Philadelphia to offer their suggestions on establishing clearer channels for how the public can raise concerns about local development. The actual discussions were led by trained moderators from the Penn Project for Civic Engagement (PPCE) led by Professor Harris Sokoloff. The idea was to break the participants into smaller groups of 10 people and try to get people to focus the ideal vision of what their communities would look like, and offer changes to the public input process under the city’s zoning laws. The moderators wrote down key points in discussion for a report that the Zoning Code Commission will consider. I will post the moderator reports here as they come in. Also, the final meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 27. It will bring the developers and the neighborhood leaders together to see if they can reach any consensus on how to improve the zoning code process, as it relates to public input.

Moderator reports from the neighborhood groups discussions

Group 1 (additional notes)

Group 2 (additional notes)

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

Group 6

Group 7

Group 8

News coverage

Fix it Philly

Plan Philly

WHYY News

******************************************************

Radio Times program 1/27/10 on Phila’s zoning rewrite.

This show looks at proposed changes in Philadelphia’s zoning code, and what role various stakeholders — neighbors, developers, government and more — will have in the process. Joining guest host CHRIS SATULLO, WHYY’s Director of News and Civic Dialogue, was ALAN GREENBERGER, Philadelphia’s Acting Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission; SAM SHERMAN, immediate past president of the Building Industry Association of Greater Philadelphia; and PENELOPE GILES of the Francisville Neighborhood Development Corp.

PlanPhilly synopsis of the show

*****************************************************

Websites

Zoning Code Commission

AIA Philly

Penn Project for Civic Engagement

Plan Philly

Fix It Philly

Related stories

Zoning Code Commission poised for heavy start to 2010/PlanPhilly 1/13/10

Hole in Philadelphia zoning board filled - eventually/Philadelphia Inquirer 1/11/10

New zoning code nearing end of first major hurdle/PlanPhilly 12/9/09

ZCC begins arduous task of fine-tuning draft/PlanPhilly 11/18/09

ZCC debates zoning recommendations for public input/FixItPhilly 10/14/09

Clarke proposes changes to Zoning Board/Phiadelphia Inquirer 9/18/09

__________________________________________________

During the 2nd meeting with the neighborhood groups, WHYY was on hand to record 2-minute video testimonials. Shown below are neighborhood civic leaders sharing their experiences in trying to influence a project using the city’s current zoning process.

Eric Werner with Blue Bell Hill Civic Association

Nicole Young is a resident of West Philadelphia

Larry Freedman with Northern Liberties Neighbors Association

Karen Brown with Southwark Civic Association

Gwendolyn Avstein

Al Alston with the African-American Business and Residents Association in Brewerytown

Adam Lang with Sharswood Community Civic Association in Brewerytown

So much has happened since Michael Nutter was sworn in as Mayor of Philadelphia two years ago. Even for his supporters, it’s probably hard to remember the euphoria of that day. Finally, we thought, here’s a man who knew how city government worked but was also fed up with its inefficient ways.

In his inauguration speech (pdf), he laid an ambitious agenda. He promised to get a handle on violent crime. For homicide in particular, he called for a reduction of between 30 and 50 percent.

So, how’s he doing on that? Well, if he reduced 2007’s 392 homicide rate by 30 percent, then we could expect about 275 homicides a year.

In 2008, there were 333 reported murders. That’s a 15 percent drop. Not bad.

In 2009, that number was 305. That’s a 22 percent drop from the 2007 figures. Pretty good.

I’d say we’re on track with that goal.

Mayor Nutter got an earful from angry residents after he announced major budget cuts in late 2008

Other goals, however, will be a lot harder to quantify. Those are things like doubling the number of students who finish college in Philadelphia. Sure, there will be statistics we could look too, but, up or down, who’s to say this mayor could take the credit, or blame. Let’s put goals like these go in the “Hope” bucket.

Then there is the recession. Without it, would Philadelphia be gun-free utopia for bicycling paradise intellectuals? Maybe not, but it would be equally wrong to measure the mayor’s performance with a pre-recession yard stick.

If Mayor Nutter decides to run for re-election in 2011, will he deserve four more years?

While it may be be too early to make that call, what if the election were held today. Would you vote for him?

To give you an idea of how other people rate the mayor so far, here are some of the mid-term report cards we’ve gathered so far.

Congressman Bob Brady

Fmr Phila. Managing Director Phil Goldsmith

Northern Liberties Neighbors Association President Matt Ruben

Fmr Phila. Education Secretary Debra Kahn

Penn Future Outreach Director Christine Knapp

Artblog co-founders Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof

What do you think? Would you re-elect Mayor Nutter if the election were held today?

Brady is also Chair of the Democratic Committee in Philadelphia. Oh, one other thing. He ran against Michael Nutter in the 2007 Democratic Mayoral Primary. Brady lost and instead became “Mayor of Capitol Hill” a title you get when you ascend to chairman of the Committee on House Administration in Washington D.C. He oversees a $3 billion budget that among other things get to decide things that really matter to a politician staffing size and parking assignments.

But both Brady and Nutter have helped keep Philadelphia afloat during a recession that made federal dollars akin to a lifeline. So here’s Bob Brady’s assessment of Michael Nutter’s first two years as Mayor of Philadelphia.

Bob Brady

By Congressman Bob Brady

It is too easy to be an arm chair quarterback as Mayor Nutter navigates the city through very, very difficult economic times. The Mayor’s job is a front line challenge and there is no passing of the buck, so all of the hard pressed issues are on display for everyone to view. That being said I think the mayor has done a good job in keeping the city on course. Crime is down, there is renewed attention being paid to our public schools, the city population is apparently increasing and in spite of the recession new projects are breaking ground.

What is important to remember and what I have assured the Mayor of is
that we are in this thing together. This is our city and I am committed
to do all I can to help the Mayor make the city grow and prosper.

However as Mayor Nutter says and all of us know, there is so much more
that has to be done to insure the safety of all Philadelphians, increase
employment and job training programs and make the city a place where
people want to raise and educate their families. Too many in
Philadelphia are being ground down by the loss of jobs and the lack of
opportunity, but these are issues that cities all across America are
facing. And, with the leadership of Mayor Nutter and the leadership of
President Obama, who clearly understands the plight of our cities, we
are positioned to move Philadelphia forward.

Q&A with Phil Goldmsith

WHYY: The Nutter administration. Two years in – Two years to go. Half Empty / Half Full?

Goldsmith: I think the next four or five months will tell where the glass stands. I think he got off to a late start and the world sort of changed on him. I think he’s now starting to pick things up a bit. So I’ll probably answer a little differently today than I would have four or five months ago when I thought they weren’t making as much progress as they should. I think how he goes through the next budget cycle and we still have the union negotiations out there are two big things that have to be resolved.

Do you like how Michael Nutter is handling the union contract negotiations?

Goldsmith: I don’t see what’s being done. It’s very difficult to know what’s being done because it’s done behind the scenes, which is understandable. I thought the FOP deal was a very rich deal, which will hurt the city in the foreseeable future and I think the benefits are a long way for fruition. One of the other things that make this FOP award so costly aside from the pay increase is the ruling that will allow police officers to live outside the city because the ripple effect is that will apply to all of the other city workers.

A lot is said of how big the city’s population is. It is really not how big the city is population wise it. It is the composition of the population and here when you lose your middle class that is a significant drain from the city. So it is the type of people that are leaving or that have the ability to leave also, which is the critical thing. Here you are talking about people with middle class incomes.

You have said, that even considering the current recession past Philadelphia Mayor’s have overcome similar challenges and accomplished more in their first two years than Michael Nutter. Is that accurate? Do you believe that?

Goldsmith: Yeah, I do believe that. Let’s go back to the FOP contract. In 1980 (a year) I’m familiar with because I was deputy mayor under Bill Green. He had a terrible financial situation. Not as bad as this one. But a significant one. This contract coming under much more difficult financial circumstances is a much richer contract than in 1980.

But I think if you look at some of the tangible stuff that’s been done under prior mayors in the first two years there seems to have been more tangible progress. Now that’s not to say that this administration and the mayor won’t accomplish a lot in his four years or eight years whatever the case may be. But I think when you look at what others have done up front I think it’s striking that it’s been much more significant.

I think this administration has been into analysis and the actual decisions seemed to have not resulted in much tangible stuff.

Go back to the Green (mayoral) administration he had to layoff police and firemen and we had the contract negotiations, significant issues with the (Philadelphia) school district that were taken on deadly force policies that he implemented..

Go to the Wilson Goode (mayoral) administration where he changed the height limitations that really changed the skyline that we have today. Governor Rendell who came in (as mayor) with the city tottering going after big time union savings and go to (mayor) John Street who got two stadiums built, negotiation union contracts, started the N.T.I. (Neighborhood Transformation Initiative) those are all things that were done in the first two years and I’m not sure I see that type of stuff that’s been done in Mayor Nutter’s first two years.

He’s done some things very well but I don’t see anything of that magnitude and I still have an issue of what’s this administration’s agenda. What does it really stand for? It’s clear if you look at Rendell it was getting the city back fiscally strong and focusing on economic development. I think the last administration (Mayor John Street) was about neighborhood rejuvenation. I’m not sure what this administration’s signature cornerstone is about.

You are President and Board Chairman of CeaseFire PA, on gun violence in Philadelphia. Is Michael Nutter and his Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey making the city safer?

Goldsmith: I think they are doing the right thing. That’s one of the things I credit the mayor for. I think he has been an excellent champion on the gun issue. I think they made progress. One of the things we have to caution about is the cycles that go on with homicide. Right now it’s dipping and hopefully that’s a trend that will continue but I think he’s been a great advocate on the gun issue. I think that by his own admission we have a long way to go to make the city safe and as the (Philadelphia) Inquirer series showed recently that the criminal justice system, which really isn’t a system, has an awful lot of failures in it. That’s going to require concerted leadership by the mayor and the district attorney (Seth Williams) to really seen if we can’t make some progress of creating a system out of a system of a bunch is disparate organizations that everyone wants to do it their own way. The only one that’s winning is the criminal.

]]> http://whyy.org/blogs/itsourcity/2010/01/11/other-phila-mayors-have-accomplished-more-in-two-years/feed/ http://whyy.org/blogs/itsourcity/2010/01/07/nutter-did-well-given-an-impossible-budget-situation/ http://whyy.org/blogs/itsourcity/2010/01/07/nutter-did-well-given-an-impossible-budget-situation/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:57:05 +0000 Guest Commentator http://whyy.org/blogs/itsourcity/?p=14093 WHYY is running short essays this month on what people think of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s first two years in office. One of the challenges in doing this is how to factor in The Great Recession. On January 7, 2008, few people knew that the housing market would collapse, banks would become toxic sites, and tax revenues to states and cities would shrink. WHYY’s Susan Phillip’s talked with Matt Ruben, a longtime community organizer who in 2007 ran for City Council. In their conversation he shared with us his thoughts on Nutter’s performance during this recession.

By Matt Ruben president of the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association. (NLNA)

I think he has done in many respects as well as anyone can do given the impossible budget situation that he found dumped in his lap soon after he came into office. I think the administration has taken great strides in certain areas, environmental areas, recycling, planning. I think that there is a sense that the city government is operating in a pretty fair minded way. In some respects a more open way than it did before. I do think that there have been some missed opportunities to rally and mobilize and enlist the support of some of the constituencies that elected him. I think the administration at times has been very open, but at times retreated to think about issues in isolation and has incurred negative feelings from the public as a result.

WHYY News profile of Nutter’s first 2 years

Mayor Nutter poses for the city's 2008 Back to School campaign

In January 7, 2008 Michael Nutter was sworn in as Philadelphia’s mayor. During his inauguration speech he made many bold promises. One of the major ones was on improving education. Here’s what he said:

If our young people are ever going to have the opportunity to begin college, let alone earn a degree, then they must graduate from high school and we must commit ourselves to lowering the 45% dropout rate that plagues our city day after day after day and that we must seek to cut in half over the next five to seven years.

But a mayor is not in a position to launch major school reforms. But what a city leader can do is set goals, provide support and turn the heat up on school administrators see certain issues as major priorities. Also, Philadelphia’s mayor gets to appoint two of the School Reform Commission’s five member board. The Governor gets to choose the other three. We reached out to DEBRA A. KAHN to assess Mayor Nutter’s handling of education issues in his first two years. Kahn served as Education Secretary under Philadelphia Mayor John Street.

Here is a Q& A with Debra Kahn who now is Executive Director of Delaware Valley Grantmakers.

WHYY: Overall, how do you think the Nutter administration on education has done in the first couple of years?

Well the Mayor from the get-go set some very ambitious and important goals about halving the dropout rate and doubling the percentage of our city residents who have college degrees. These are what might be called big hairy goals. And they’re important ones but they also take a lot of time to accomplish. I know there’s been a lot of infrastructure put in place.  It takes a while to see progress come to fruition. But there are indicators along the way. I think the city needs to keep an eye on the ball in addition to those.

WHYY: Such as?

I think there are a few key issues. One is the finances of the school district, which always an issue, an ever-present issue. The fact is that the school district right now needs money and its needed money
for a long time for good reasons. One is to really produce the quality education that our students need and deserve. And we’ve proven over time, that as performances continue to improve, that these investments in our schools really do make a difference. We also have to have a stable financial situation. And the school district and the city have been very fortunate with (Pennsylvania) Governor Rendell who has made, in working with the legislator, has made education a major, major, major priority. So there have been very, very  substantial increases that have been needed. I think we have to keep an eye on that and plan and prepare for when they say perhaps the level of increases may not be coming. I mean there’s been big change thanks to advocacy in the community and across the state. So we’ve made some dramatic changes, but I think the financial picture is always something that bears watching and there’s a direct impact certainly on the city as well.

WHYY: How would someone know if an improvement was the result of a city administration or the mayor?

That can be difficult. There are evaluations that are done on certain programs. But it is true. It’s never any one thing. It’s very much a collaborative effort. But we can track performance. I mean we can
track the progress of our students from their test scores, love them or hate them. But that is a fact of life right now in how the performance of our students is measured. I for one don’t think the tests are the be all and the end all. I do think that they’re important. And it is a way, across the board, of being able to tell
whether our students end up with what are really basic and important skills. Literacy and numeracy. And that is an important way of tracking, but you do always have to have a plan and then you have to
be flexible in terms of really evaluating and taking a look at what we think works and use your best judgment.

WHYY: School violence is always a problem in large cities, but do you think the city is doing the best it can to support the school district efforts to reduce violence in and around schools?

Safety is really job number one. And it’s unfortunate that we have to say that, but it is true. And it can become pretty complicated, but the school district certainly needs to be working in tangent with the
city whether it’s the social service piece of it. Certainly the public safety piece. And that is something a Mayor can exercise, and needs to exercise leadership. You know our schools need to be safer, but they
also need to appeal to a broad range of students and families across the city. So it’s very important that create that right environment.

WHYY: Do you have any specific hopes or things you hope this administration does in terms of education in what it urges?

I think to be focused on the goals the Mayor has set is important. I also, in addition to halving the dropout rate, I think it’s just as important that we look at the quality of students that do graduate and
make sure that they are job ready and higher-ed ready. And I think, unfortunately, we still have a very long way to go on that. Again, progress have been made, but we do have a long way to go. Another
thing I’d say is to continue to have the kinds of partnerships that started that have been labeled, the Adminstration, the school district, that have made progress. Partnerships with foundations, with
community organizations and non-profits. And to continue to improve on those because it is a situation where the school district or the city can’t do it alone. And last, but not least,  I would like to see,
again, I think we need to have a rich school environment that does attract and appeal to families and students of all types, including our middle class. And sometimes when we focus on the public schools,
and its very important to look at performance, particularly in our neediest neighborhoods, it’s also important to look across the board and make sure that we have educational options work for every resident so that we continue to attract and retain all kinds of families in Philadelphia.

WHYY News profile of Nutter’s first two years

Video of Nutter’s first major speech on education. Sept 11, 2008 at South Philadelphia High School

In April 2009, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter released a plan called Greenworks. It is his administration’s vision of how to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the nation. Many of the ideas in the Greenworks plan can be traced to The Next Great City Initiative that challenged citizens to help develop policies that would promote sustainable economic vitality. One of the major organizers of the Next Great City was Penn Future. We asked Christine Knapp to give us her take on Nutter’s first two years in office.

By Christine Knapp
Director of Outreach
Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture)

Mayor Nutter’s Midterm Grade

Sustainability: A-

Overall: B

The economic crisis obviously played a large role in shaping decision making and outcomes in Mayor Nutter’s first term. Ambitious reform items had to be scrapped in lieu of keeping basic city services functioning and talented new staff was forced to do more with less.

While Nutter has not met all of his promises yet, there have been significant changes that deserve to be recognized. The crime rate - and particularly homicides- are down significantly. The city’s 311 system is helping to address quality of life issues. The number of people living on the streets is down. An increased level of transparency and public engagement has renewed civic activism. As the economy rebounds, Mayor Nutter and his administration can focus again on the reforms promised during his candidacy. I have already seen promise; in October the Reform Team Summit was attended by various city department and agency heads, as well as outside experts, designed to discuss and provide feedback on various reform initiatives.

In the field of sustainability the Nutter administration has been excellent. An early supporter of the Next Great City agenda, Nutter has already implemented many the ten recommendations put forth by the coalition of over 120 city organizations. He created the city’s first ever Office of Sustainability, and appointed Mark Alan Hughes as the director. Hughes created an ambitious, yet achievable sustainability plan- Greenworks Philadelphia- with the goal of making Philadelphia the greenest city in the country.  Greenworks is organized around 15 targets in 5 areas and encompasses over 100 initiatives to meet these targets.

But more than great ideas and plans, there has been real implementation of sustainability policies and programs:

In two years, Philadelphia’s pitiful residential recycling rate has gone from 5 percent to almost 15 percent through the expansion of recycling collection every week and change to single-stream collection. Those rates should climb even higher with the roll out of the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program this year. On-street recycling was also launched through the Big Belly solar-compacting trash cans throughout Center City and soon-to-be on neighborhood business corridors.

In the energy arena, a $1.4 million federal energy efficiency block grant is being used to replace traffic signals with LED lights, install solar panels at a sewage treatment plant and to upgrade city buildings to be more efficient. These and other projects will save the city money while also reducing its carbon footprint.

The city has hired its first Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator in Charles Carmalt. New bicycle lanes have been rolled out on Pine and Spruce streets. New bike racks have been installed and more are being created out of old parking meter stumps. And the city is studying how public bike sharing could work.

The Philadelphia Water Department continues to be one of the best, and most forwarding thinking in the country. First, storm water fees from commercial properties will now incentivize best practices like green roofs or porous pavement. And their Green Cities, Clean Waters program attempts to manage storm water not through expensive and ugly pipes and tanks, but through green infrastructure that will keep storm water out of pipes and beautify our neighborhoods.

The parks and recreation departments are being merged into one unified and cohesive department under the excellent supervision of Michael DiBerardinis. The Parks and Recreation Commission has been appointed in an open and transparent process in which over 200 individuals applied.

After years of inaction and empty promises, Mayor Nutter is finally making progress in revitalizing the Central Delaware. A newly appointed Delaware River Waterfront Corporation has been named and replaces the tainted Penn’s Landing Corporation. They have already selected a Master Planner to carry out the Civic Vision created with strong public input. And a new riverfront park is being created at Pier 11, providing new amenities for Philadelphians and visitors alike.

The innovative “Erase Your Trace” project was launched to help calculate carbon footprints and encourage offset donations to the Fairmount Park Conservancy to plant trees.

There is of course much work still to be done.  We must hold Mayor Nutter accountable, but we must also remember the pride call to duty we all felt when Mayor Nutter first took office and find a way to put our talents and enthusiasm into a solution that improves our great city.

WHYY News profile of Mayor’s first two years

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