This booklet explains the research done about Philadelphia's open space and our proposal of the solution to the unused spaces.

1. Activate Space
Jennifer McElroy ~ Brittany Ewing ~ Nicholas Williamson ~ Samantha McDonald

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3. Open Space.......................................................................................................................................................................p4
Successful...........................................................................................................................................................................p4
Location.....................................................................................................................................................................p5
Environmental............................................................................................................................................................p7
Safetly..................................................................................................................................................................p7
Social.............................................................................................................................................................................p7
Global.............................................................................................................................................................................................p9
National...............................................................................................................................................................p11
Local...............................................................................................................................................................................p13
Campaign....................................................................................................................................................................................p15
Manual........................................................................................................................................................................................p17
Table of Contents
Definition
Site
Issues
Precedents
Precedents
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5. Open Space:
An open urban public space can be any exterior space that is defined by the boundaries of enclosures. This includes but is not limited to:
Green Spaces
Parking Lots
Plazas
Sidewalks
Roads
Successful vs. Unsuccessful:
A successful open space is and area used daily by a large scale of people in proportion to the space.
Definition
Issues
Site
Precedents
Proposal
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6. Our Site:
Philadelphia is a very large city with very different areas. For this project we studied the blocks in center city surrounding the bridges that cross the schuylkill river. The boundaries east to west are Broad Street to 38th Street and the boundries North to South are Arch Street to Locust Street. Even within this area there are very different spaces. By our definition of open space center city contains almost fifty percent open space. However, by our definitions, most of this space is unsuccessful open space. Most of these spaces are very available however not used to thier fullest potential.
Definition
Issues
Site
Precedents
Proposal
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7. Philadelphia
NS: Arch to Locust
EW: Broad to 38th
Open Space
Successful
Open Space
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8. Definition
Issues
Site
Precedents
Proposal
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Issues:
Successful open spaces have many positive effects on communities. They can help the environment, reduce crime, and help unite the community. Although there are many open spaces, many of them are not successful and can have negative effects on the community. Vacant lots can increase crime and cause a depletion in the local economy. However, these open spaces that are unsuccessful can become successful through the use of them for public events. The public events raise awareness that these spaces are available and help draw people more readily towards the space.

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10. On a Global Scale:
Stadtlounge
St.Gallen, Switzerland
The Stadtlounge is a public city lounge that was designed by the
architect Carlos Martinez and multimedia artist Pipilotti Rist. I t i s
accessable 24 hours a day and challenges the common perception of
open space. The streets started just as any ordinar y street in the area
with wide roads separated from sidewalks which were both just used to
get from one place to another.
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11. Def ini t ion Si te I s sues Precedent s Proposal
People’s Park
Shanghai, China
People’s Park in Shanghai was developed in the 1900’s. It is a huge park that is mostly green space. The space hosts many events that fill the huge park with masses
of people both native and tourist. These events include fashion shows, marriage markets and many more.
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12. On a National Scale:
Olympic Sculpture Park
Seattle, Washington
Olympic Sculptural Park was opened in January 2007. The idea was
developed by the Seattle Art Director but grew into a very large project
involving many people. It was designed by Weiss and Manfredi Architects,
Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture, Magnusson Klemencic Associates
and other consultants. It incorporates both permanent and temporary
installations. It is one of the very few green spaces in down town Seattle.
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13. Def ini t ion Si te I s sues Precedent s Proposal
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Portland, Oregon
Pioneer Courthouse Square is in the center of downtown Portland. In the 1970’s the area was decided to become a public plaza. Many public events occur in the
plaza such as festivals, zumbathons, ceremonies and many more.
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On a Local Scale:
Liberty Lands
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Liberty lands is located in an up and comming area of Philadelphia known as Northern Liberties. On the land that is now Liberty Lands used to be the Burk Brothers Tannery untill 1996 when it was demolished. The community transformed the once toxic brownfield into accessable community gardens, a playground, local artwork, and more. The park now hosts festivals, movie nights, markets, and many more events throughout the year.

15. Definition
Issues
Site
Precedents
Proposal
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The Piazza at Schmidt’s
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Piazza is also located in Northern Liberties in Philadelphia. It was opened in 2009. This is one of the few successful open spaces of the area. It is an exterior plaza surrounded by commercial buildings on ground level and residential buildings above. The Piazza hosts many events every year including concerts, festivals, markets and more.

16. Definition
Issues
Site
Precedents
Proposal
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Our Proposal
The Campaign:
Most of the open space on our site is unsuccessful. Most of these spaces are very available however are not used to their fullest potential. When open spaces are created events usually occur in those spaces to help bring people to them and realize their potential as a public space. The following posters are to help raise peoples awareness levels of the potential the city has to offer and that these resources are now easily accessible. On the bottom of the poster is the QR code that is linked to a pdf of the manual.

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18. Definition
Issues
Site
Precedents
Proposal
Activate Space
Many people in the city who would want to host an event in the open spaces of the city do not know how to go about doing so. Therefor, our solution to the problem is to make a manual that compiles all of the resources necessary to plan events that will “activate” these spaces. The picture directly to the right is the cover of the manual we created. In the manual it has everything that someone would need to plan their own event including information on permits, vendors, street and sidewalk closures, catering companies and food truck rentals, and necessary insurance and emergency medical service.
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Our Proposal:

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21. Works Cited
http://www.visitphilly.com/itineraries/philadelphia/visit-philly-beer-garden-series/
http://www.pedestrians-int.org/content/33/6ped-pri.pdf
http://www.phila.gov/green/greenworks/equity_ParksAndRec.html
http://planphilly.com/articles/2014/10/01/philadelphia-land-bank-releases-plan-to-tackle-vacancy
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/
http://www.phillypolice.com/crime-maps-stats
http://www.phila.gov/MDO/SpecialEvents/Pages/AboutSpecialEvents.aspx
http://lisastown.com/inspirationwall/2010/11/10/stadt-lounge-st-gallen/
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