Photo by Paul Gargagliano. Last week in partnership with NextCity, 900 AM WURD and AL DÍA News we launched City Sessions, a series of conversations with Philadelphians and national experts about the future of Philadelphia. Now is the time for us to think about how we want to continue growing and strengthening our city. 

We’ve had seven straight years of population growth, fueled by baby boomers moving in from the suburbs, immigrants and college-educated millennials, a mayor in the last year of his term and a booming Center City. To continue moving forward, we need to engage all facets of our community in these important discussions.  Not many groups can do that alone. ­It therefore requires most groups to partner with others that they may be unaccustomed to working with.  It is these unlikely partnerships that will cause the collisions between young and old, new and established, and upper- and lower-income individuals that will move Philadelphia forward. 

The unlikely partnership of NextCity, WURD, and AL DÍA News ensured that the audience for the first City Session—on “Making Philadelphia More Family Friendly”—was diverse in ethnicity, age and income.  We heard from people who think it’s important not to lose talented young couples to the suburbs once they have children. We heard from people who have been raising their children in the city and believe that our community doesn’t offer enough support to those who choose to stay.  And we heard solutions to keeping families in Philadelphia that varied from better marketing and branding for our public schools to greater investment in public spaces such as parks and recreation centers.

I want to commend Next City, WURD and AL DÍA News for stepping out of their comfort zones by working together on these important City Session discussions. They each bring a different perspective to the issues and that was reflected on the panel, in the audience and in the discussion. 

If you missed the first session, here is a recap. We also encourage you to join us for one of the next two discussions. It is important for our leaders and policy makers to hear multiple points of view, and we need your voice! For more information on City Sessions and to register to attend those in November and December, please visit nextcity.org/events.  

You can also do more than talk; you can act by sharing your big idea for making Philadelphia more successful by entering the Knight Cities Challenge. The challenge asks, What’s best idea to make cities more successful? Philadelphia is one of 26 Knight communities where the ideas of civic innovators—people like you and your neighbors—will be put to work. If your idea around talent attraction and retention, creating economic opportunity or promoting civic engagement is accepted, you could share in $5 million to implement your idea. Check out the challenge and submit your idea for the continued success of Philadelphia at knightcities.org. The application form is simple. The deadline is 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 14. 

The Knight Cities Challenge is just one of the ways we can come together to build a better community. Philly, let’s keep pushing forward, breaking down divides, hearing new ideas and forming unlikely partnerships; the future of our city depends upon it.

Donna Frisby-Greenwood is Philadelphia program director at Knight Foundation.

The Knight Cities Challenge offers applicants a chance to share in $5 million by focusing on the question, “What’s your best idea to make cities more successful?” The challenge will test the most innovative ideas in attracting and retaining talent, expanding economic opportunity and promoting civic engagement in one or more of 26 Knight Foundation communities, including Philadelphia.