Finalists Announced in Knight Cities Challenge

Today the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced 126 finalists (20 of which are from Philadelphia) in the first Knight Cities Challenge, a national call for new ideas to make the 26 communities where Knight invests more vibrant places to live and work.

Finalists were chosen from a field of more than 7,000 applications. The Knight Cities Challenge asked applicants to answer the question: What’s your best idea to make cities more successful?

Applicants also had to follow two rules:

1. A submission may come from anywhere, but the project must benefit one or more of 26 Knight communities.
2. The idea should focus on one or all of three key drivers of city success—talent, opportunity and engagement.

Submissions came from public and government organizations, design experts, urban planning organizations and individuals focused on making their cities more successful.

Winners will receive a share of $5 million and will be announced in spring 2015. For more information, visit KnightCities.org.

The 20 finalists from Philadelphia are (descriptions are from Knight Foundation website):

Common Table by the Enterprise Center Community Development Corp.(Submitted by Jesse Blitzstein): Developing a restaurant incubator that allows aspiring restaurateurs to test their newest ideas in a low-risk temporary setting that encourages food entrepreneurs to thrive.

Creative Commons at 30th Street by Drexel University (Submitted by Harris Stienberg): Launching an experiment in urban development by temporarily transforming an underused  parking lot, near Drexel University and across from a busy rail station, into a creative hub where community members can gather to exchange ideas and spark civic innovation.

DIG Philly by The Big SandBox Inc. (Submitted by Jacques Gaffigan): Bringing together members of the community from diverse backgrounds, ages and economic groups to  reinvent the schoolyard using traditional grassroots outreach and new digital engagement tools.

Every Street in Philadelphia (Submitted by Jacob Winterstein): Promoting livable cities by having an artist and a journalist cycle the city’s 2,600 miles of streets and engage residents in a multimedia conversation about how city design affects quality of life.

The Glass Schoolhouse Project by OLIN (Submitted by Meghan Talarowski): Reinventing Philadelphia’s schools into multiuse community centers, including co-working facilities, makerspaces and recreation.

Hygge Project (Submitted by Meghan Talarowski): Providing people the chance to interact in public spaces during the winter months by installing “Hygge” stations, a fleet of warming devices that unfold to offer seating, heat lamps, small libraries or blankets; each has its own offering.

Philadelphia: An Urban Thinkscape by Temple University (Submitted by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek): Reimagining the city as an “Urban Thinkscape” through playful activities in parks and public spaces that encourage residents to learn and interact with their surroundings.

The Pop-Up Pool Project by Group Melvin Design (Submitted by Benjamin Bryant): Introducing fun, easy solutions to make the city’s free outdoor public pools more vibrant places to meet and interact with neighbors and friends.

Recreation Centers as Hubs of Community Stewardship by City Parks Association of Philadelphia (Submitted by Timothy Baird): Reimagining city recreation centers into idea and education hubs for city sustainability, training residents in areas such as green infrastructure, food production and soil manufacturing.

Restoring the City Beautiful to Working Class Neighborhoods by Philadelphia City Planning Commission: Launching a design competition to engage residents in transforming the vacant rail yard that divides the Mantua-Powell neighborhood from Center City Philadelphia.

South Philly’s Stoop by Scout (Submitted by Lindsey Scannapieco): Transforming the vacant space surrounding the recently closed, historic Edward Bok school in South Philadelphia into a new community living room that brings community members together, encourages connections and engages people with neighborhood history.

Urban Arboreta by City Parks Association of Philadelphia (Submitted by Timothy Baird): Transforming vacant land in Philadelphia into urban forests that produce trees to be replanted on city streets and in parks.

Next Stop: Democracy! The Voting Signage Project by Here’s My Chance (Submitted by Lansie Sylvia): Making voting enticing by creating bright signs at polling places and commissioning artists to perform site-specific pieces on election days.

NCO Generator: Template for Neighborhood Conservation Overlays by Central Roxborough Civic Association (Submitted by Sandy Sorlien): Promoting walkable, livable neighborhoods by creating a toolkit residents can use to create a special zoning designation called a Neighborhood Conservation Overlay.

PACDC Entrepreneurs in Residence by Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (Submitted by Lynn Haskin): Embedding talented entrepreneurs into Philadelphia’s community development corporations to create businesses and expand economic opportunity in the neighborhoods they serve.

Philadelphia Immigrant Innovation Hub by Mt. Airy USA (Submitted by Anuj Gupta):  Harnessing the talent and energy of immigrants to revitalize distressed neighborhoods by providing centers that would provide low-cost space, language assistance, workshops and trainings, and access to traditional and non-traditional sources of capital.

Pop-Up Hustle Shops (Submitted by Steve Vassor): Creating a mobile mall that will provide traditional neighborhood businesses the opportunity to reach a wider audience of customers throughout the city.

Public Space as Public Media by Drexel University (Submitted by Kara Lindstrom):  Engaging residents by using the sides of public buildings to display relevant city data and public information about policy discussions, elections, and other issues.

When Cities Vote, Cities Thrive by POWER – Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower & Rebuild (Submitted by Dwayne Royster): Encouraging voting by building networks of volunteers in low-income areas to encourage their own neighbors — in one-on-one conversations — to get engaged in local issues

Using Play as the Vehicle to Design Creative Abrasion Networks Leading to New Economic Ventures by Figure 8 Thinking LLC (Submitted by Natalie Nixon): Creating play hubs designed to prompt “happy accidents” among residents and create networks that lead to business collaborations.

Photo via Flickr user Rhys A.