PennPraxis

Last updated

PennPraxis is the clinical arm of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a 501c(3) non-profit subsidiary of the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Founded in 2012, PennPraxis has worked on ideas for urban planning for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to a "civic vision" it has for the city, including the Delaware River waterfront, and the western banks of the Schuylkill River.

Contents

The group offers community collaborative design opportunities for Penn faculty and students to test ideas and theories in real-world applications. The group also offers architectural and planning services to individuals and groups who are in need or are otherwise unable to procure these services from traditional sources. The group accepts project proposals that do not meet the university's guidelines for "sponsored research projects"; they must also provide educational benefits, or serve the interests of the Philadelphia community.

In its first ten years, it earned $16 million in fees. [1] Some of the group's funding comes from the William Penn Foundation. [2] [3]

History

PennPraxis was founded in 2012 by former School of Design Dean Gary Hack, using $80,000 in seed money from the office of the provost. [4] The group's first executive director was Penn faculty member Harris Steinberg. [5]

On June 26, 2008, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter accepted PennPraxis' recommendations for the introduction of Foxwoods and SugarHouse casinos in the redevelopment of the Delaware River waterfront. [6] [7] [8] The plan, while not binding on the two casino operators yet, strongly recommended serious redesign of the casinos' plans, including the use of off-site parking accessible to non-patrons. [9] [10] Representatives from both casinos accused PennPraxis of being biased against them. [11] It was later reported that PennPraxis hired five experts to devise alternative plans for the casinos, accommodating for reduced on-site parking, a breakdown from a more singular building mass to allow more public access to the river, a 30-percent allotment of the area for open space, use of green roofs and accommodations for mass transit, to conform to PennPraxis' civic vision, parts of which the mayor has since promised to accept. [12]

Designs by PennPraxis influenced plans for the regeneration of Philadelphia's waterfront announced in 2012. [1]

In 2014, PennDesign professor Randall Mason succeeded Steinberg as executive director. [13]

In 2016, PennPraxis helped plan and organize the restoration and move of the 1839 Newkirk Monument from Amtrak's Northeast Corridor to a new site along the Schuylkill River Trail. [14]

The group's “impact has been really profound,” Inga Saffron, architecture critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, told The Pennsylvania Gazette in 2022. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia</span> Largest city in Pennsylvania, United States

Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the second-most populous city in the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Philadelphia is known for its extensive contributions to United States history, especially the American Revolution, and served as the nation's capital until 1800. It maintains contemporary influence in business and industry, culture, sports, and music. Philadelphia is the nation's sixth-most populous city, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census and is the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions consisting of 6.245 million residents in the metropolitan statistical area and 7.366 million residents in its combined statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Field</span> Sports stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. Named after Penn's founder, Benjamin Franklin, it is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the university's venue for football, track and field, and lacrosse. Franklin is also used by Penn students for recreation, intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket; it is also the site of Penn's commencement exercises, weather permitting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishtown, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

Fishtown is a neighborhood in the River Wards section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Located northeast of Center City Philadelphia, its borders are somewhat disputed today due to many factors, but are roughly defined by the triangle created by the Delaware River, Front Street, and York Street. Some newer residents expand the area to Lehigh Avenue to the northeast, while some older residents shrink the area to Norris Street. It is served by the Market–Frankford Line rapid transit subway/elevated line of the SEPTA system. Fishtown was a largely working class Irish Catholic neighborhood, but has recently seen a large influx of young urban professionals and gentrification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Philadelphia</span>

Transportation in Philadelphia involves the various modes of transport within the city and its required infrastructure. In addition to facilitating intracity travel, Philadelphia's transportation system connects Philadelphia to towns of its metropolitan area and surrounding areas within the Northeast megalopolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University City, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

University City is the easternmost portion of West Philadelphia, encompassing several Philadelphia universities. It is situated directly across the Schuylkill River from Center City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Gutmann</span> American academic and diplomat (born 1949)

Amy Gutmann is an American academic and diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Germany since 2022. She was previously the president of the University of Pennsylvania from 2004 to 2022, the longest-serving president in the history of the University of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schuylkill Expressway</span> Highway in Pennsylvania

The Schuylkill Expressway, locally known as "the Schuylkill", is a freeway through southern Montgomery County and Philadelphia. It is the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 (I-76) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia, paralleling its namesake Schuylkill River for most of the route, southeast to the Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west. Maintenance and planning for most of the highway are administered through Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 6, with the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) maintaining the approach to the Walt Whitman Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn's Landing</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Penn's Landing is a waterfront area of Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, situated along the Delaware River. Its name commemorates the landing of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, in 1682. The actual landing site is farther south, in Chester. The city of Philadelphia purchased the right to use the name. Penn's Landing is bounded by Front Street to the west, the Delaware River to the east, Spring Garden Street to the north, and Washington Avenue to the south, and is primarily focused on the Christopher Columbus Boulevard corridor.

Schuylkill River Passenger Rail is a proposed passenger train service along the Schuylkill River between Philadelphia and Reading, Pennsylvania, with intermediate stops in Norristown, King of Prussia, Phoenixville, and Pottstown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEPTA Route 15</span> SEPTA trolley line in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Route 15, the Girard Avenue Line, is a trolley line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) along Girard Avenue through North and West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2007, it is the only surface trolley line in the City Transit Division that is not part of the Subway–Surface Trolley Lines. SEPTA PCC II vehicles are used on the line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania</span> Section of Interstate Highway in United States

Interstate 95 (I-95) is a major north–south Interstate Highway that runs along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border at Houlton, Maine. In the state of Pennsylvania, it runs 51.00 miles (82.08 km) from the Delaware state line near Marcus Hook in Delaware County in the southeastern part of the state northeast to the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge at the New Jersey state line near Bristol in Bucks County, closely paralleling the New Jersey state line for its entire length through Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsport</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Pennsport is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia was a proposed casino to be located first along the Delaware River, then under pressure from local residents attempted to move to The Gallery at Market East in Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one of five stand-alone casinos awarded a gaming license on December 20, 2006, by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The Board revoked the license in December 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newkirk Viaduct Monument</span> Sculpture by Thomas Ustick Walter

The Newkirk Viaduct Monument is a 15-foot (4.6 m) white marble obelisk in the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was installed in 1839 to mark the completion of the Newkirk Viaduct, the first permanent railroad bridge over the Schuylkill River. It is inscribed with the names of 51 railroad builders and executives, among other information.

Meiklejohn Stadium is a ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is on the University of Pennsylvania campus and is the home field for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers varsity baseball team. It opened in March 2000.

Gentrification is the controversial process of affluent people moving into a historically low-income neighborhood. It is often criticized because the current residents have limited options to buy or rent equivalent housing in alternative areas at the same price. If they stay, prices for products, services, and taxes rise and existing social networks are disturbed. Gentrification is the opposite of white flight—when residents voluntarily move away as a neighborhood declines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">30th Street Station</span> Railway station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

30th Street Station, officially William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, is a major intermodal transit station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is metropolitan Philadelphia's main railroad station and a major stop on Amtrak's Northeast and Keystone corridors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1</span> Railroad bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1 was a swing steel through truss that spanned the Schuylkill River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Kingsessing and Grays Ferry neighborhoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dilworth Park</span> Public space in Philadelphia

Dilworth Park is a public park and open space along the western side of City Hall in Center City, Philadelphia. The one-half-acre (0.20 ha) park opened to the public on September 4, 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 "Well Practiced". The Architects Newspaper. 2012-04-26. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  2. Graham, Troy (2008-07-11). "The other icon: William Penn Foundation sold off its company stock in '97". Philadelphia Daily News . Retrieved 2008-08-07.[ dead link ]
  3. William Penn Foundation [ permanent dead link ] - 2008 grant listing for PennPraxis
  4. 1 2 "Penn Praxis at 10". The Pennsylvania Gazette. 2022-01-01. Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  5. "A Civic Vision For the Central Delaware | Weitzman". www.design.upenn.edu. Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  6. Melamed, Alex (2008-07-10). "Philly Mayor endorses PennPraxis". Daily Pennsylvanian. Archived from the original (web) on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  7. Saffron, Inga (2008-06-27). "Nutter endorses PennPraxis waterfront plan". Philly.com. Retrieved 2008-08-07.[ dead link ]
  8. "Philadelphia Neighborhood Alliance Endorses PennPraxis Action Plan". Philadelphia Weekly Press. 2 July 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  9. Brennan, Chris. "Panel: Casinos' plans 'incompatible' with city's". Philadelphia Daily News. Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-30. (archive Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine )
  10. Lin, Jennifer (August 9, 2008). "PennPraxis: Phila. casino sites won't work". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  11. Lin, Jennifer (2008-07-31). "Casinos balk at waterfront planning meeting". Philly.com. Retrieved 2008-08-07.[ dead link ]
  12. Tarlow, Naomi (2008-08-07). "PennPraxis redesigns casinos". Daily Pennsylvanian . Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 2008-08-09. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  13. "Randy Mason takes the lead at PennPraxis". WHYY. Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  14. Maule, Bradley (2016-12-05). "A Moving Monument". Hidden City Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-01.