Project Team
Project Lead | Core Team | Advisor | Funding | Credits
City Parks Association of Philadelphia
City Parks Association stimulates visionary thinking about natural resources and open space in the urban community. From its founding in 1888, City Parks Association has encouraged the establishment and maintenance of public parks and open spaces in the city of Philadelphia.
City Parks’ programs foster ongoing dialogue and collaborative action among people committed to the stewardship of our city’s natural resources.
www.cityparksphila.org
Core Team: Organizational Partners
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1827 to motivate people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture. Programs of the PHS include the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, the Philadelphia Green program, and the McLean Library. www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org
Pennsylvania Environmental Council
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council improves quality of life for all Pennsylvanians by enhancing the Commonwealth's natural and built environments by integrating advocacy, education and implementation of community and regional action projects. The Council values reasoned and long-term approaches that include the interests of all stakeholders to accomplish its goals. www.pecpa.org
The Reinvestment Fund
The Reinvestment Fund Inc. builds wealth and opportunity for low-wealth communities and low- and moderate-income individuals through the promotion of socially and environmentally responsible development. TRF makes loans, equity investments, and grants to affordable housing, small business, community services, commercial real estate, workforce development, and energy conservation projects; provides relevant and high quality research, information and policy ideas to government, nonprofit institutions, and private sector partners; and builds public and private partnerships and systems that connect low-wealth people and places with opportunity, information, and resources. www.trfund.com
Competition Advisor
(Development & Management)
Van Alen Institute: Projects in Public Architecture
Van Alen Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving design in the public realm through a program of exhibitions, competitions, publications, workshops, and forums, and is an advocate for active and accessible waterfronts. Founded in 1894 as the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects, the Institute was renamed in 1996 after William Van Alen, the architect of the Chrysler Building and its largest benefactor, and reorganized to focus on the public realm. Based in New York, the Institute’s projects initiate interdisciplinary and international collaborations between practitioners, policymakers, students, educators, and community leaders. www.vanalen.org
The project team would like to thank the following organizations for supporting this project:
- The City of Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development
- The Claneil Foundation
- The Samuel S. Fels Fund
- The National Endowment for the Arts

Competition Advisor
Susanna Sirefman, Van Alen Institute
Competition Manager, Phase I (2005)
Jonathan Cohen-Litant
Competition Administration
Marcus Woollen, Jonathan Cohen-Litant, Ori Topaz, Van Alen Institute
Website Design
Jonathan Cohen-Litant, Kirsten Hively, and Marcus Woollen, Van Alen Institute; Doug Meehan, CPA; Liron Topaz, Graphipus
Aerial Photography
Jonathan Cohen-Litant
Maps
Vicky Tam, Cartographic Modeling Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania
Additional Photography
Philadelphia Horticultural Society; Students from Gideon Elementary School and Vare Middle School in Philadelphia, under the direction of Tory Read