Above: The family lounge area at Pop-Up Pool in Philadelphia, a 2015 Knight Cities Challenge winner. Credit Monica Peters. Civic innovators from across the country submitted more than 4,500 ideas to this year’s Knight Cities Challenge. That’s a lot of ideas. More importantly, that’s a lot of people who care enough about their city to sit down and […]
Article · January 12, 2016 by Carol Coletta
RSS Feed City Observatory is a daily source of data analysis and policy recommendations on how to make cities successful. The site helps readers separate fact from fiction when it comes to cities. This week, we talked with City Observatory founder and economist Joe Cortright. Here are five things you should know from our conversation: […]
Article · October 29, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Detroit was once the innovation center of America. Ingenuity propelled a booming auto industry, Motown synthesized and popularized a new form of music, and social change poured out on race and workers’ rights. In his new book, “Once in a Great City,” David Maraniss has captured this story of Detroit of the early ’60s. Born in […]
Article · October 22, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Design powerfully influences our behavior. About that we are certain. But as a foundation that is built on the belief that informed and engaged communities are essential to strong democracies, Knight wants to understand how design – and specifically, the design of our communities – can influence civic engagement. For answers, Knight Foundation turned to […]
Article · October 14, 2015 by Carol Coletta
While between projects in late 2007 and early 2008, Marcus Westbury, a maker, festival director and writer, was exploring his hometown of Newcastle, Australia, and found dozens of buildings and once-vibrant streets that “had fallen into disrepair and despair.” Today, however, Lonely Planet describes Newcastle as a city whose “time has finally come.” Marcus’ new […]
Article · October 7, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Like so many cities where manufacturing once dominated the local economy, Detroit has a lot of vacant land. What to do with that land is the focus of some exciting new work by Erin Kelly. Erin is program manager of Innovative Landscapes, an initiative of Detroit Future City. Next week the group plans to release […]
Article · September 23, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Knight Cities Challenge 2015 Imagine if you won funding for your best idea to make your city more successful. Imagine social media buzzing with daily mentions of your project and your work being celebrated in the press. Then, imagine City Hall deciding your idea works so well that it will change the way the city […]
Article · September 10, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Make your way to the edge of downtown Detroit, and you will find a river. Until recently, it wouldn’t have been a very inviting experience. But today, the Detroit riverfront has become one of America’s best waterfront parks. Mark Wallace is president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the organization responsible for turning the […]
Article · September 9, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Attracting and retaining talent is at the top of the economic development agenda in many U.S. cities. And the organization that probably knows best how to do that is Campus Philly. Deborah Diamond is president of Campus Philly, and she joined us this week to talk about what the organization has learned. Here are five things […]
Article · September 2, 2015 by Carol Coletta
Who doesn’t love a great market? And there is none livelier than Reading Terminal Market in Center City Philadelphia. Anuj Gupta is the market’s new general manager, and I talked to him about what makes the market so special. Here are five things you should know from my conversation with Anuj: 1. The Reading Terminal […]
Article · August 26, 2015 by Carol Coletta