Northeast Philadelphia: Green 2015 Meets in John M. Perzel Community Center

The Green 2015 Movement, a collaborative effort led by Philadelphia’s Department of Parks of Recreation with the help of Greenworks Philadelphia, had its fifth of six meetings to engage the city’s communities about the program in the John M. Perzel Community Center in Mayfair. Through grants from the William Penn Foundation and Lenfest Foundation, Green 2015 has received help from PennPraxis, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Penn Project for Civic Engagement.

According to Patrick Morgan, an employee of Philadelphia’s Department of Parks and Recreation, the movement is focused on meeting Mayor Nutter’s goal of creating 500 acres of public green space by 2015. However, they have no intention of stopping there.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” says Morgan. “We could get 500 acres right now, but the meat of this is how we optimize it.”

Morgan says that because Philadelphia is already a global competitor in city-wide public green space, the focus shouldn’t be on simply creating pretty parks. It’s about creating a green infrastructure that will improve health, resource management and property values, according to Morgan.

Fortunately, the people of the Northeast have done more than place blame on city government, according to Morgan.

“The Northeast has agreed on the importance of green, public open space,” says Morgan. “I think in the Northeast you don’t see people pointing the finger, but asking for resources to do the work themselves.”

Morgan says that this series of meetings was to get feedback from the city’s various communities that will serve as input for the movement’s final action plan. According to Morgan, Green 2015 will reconvene this fall with the blue print for how to implement this green infrastructure based on the feedback they’ve received through the past six meetings.

If the Northeast’s involvement in this past Monday’s meeting is any indication, this neighborhood will not only have a lot to say but a good deal to contribute.

By Joe Osborne and Lauren Gordon, Group 2, Northeast Philadelphia