Mission

The mission of Urban Studio is to collaborate with Philadelphia communities to develop new processes for creating tools and solutions for sustainable urban living. 

Vision

Urban Studio is establishing a program and process for designing for us, Philadelphia, by engaging coalitions of motivated individuals and groups in projects relevant to community issues.

Goals

• Motivate individuals to get involved in the positive transformation of Philadelphia.
• Leverage local resources, to develop solutions to urban living that are appropriate to the city and region, in terms of design, functionality, cost, manufacturing, and distribution.
• Direct several projects a year through the Urban Studio process.
• Create mutually beneficial networks that promote community, economic, and environmental sustainable development.
• Implement our process with a team of Urban Studio program and project staff, volunteers, and Philadelphia-based organizations, professionals, students, and citizens.
• Be a model organization whose work, process, and solutions serve to benefit the city and its people

Achieving Green Village Philadelphia’s Mission

Green Village Philadelphia Mission: The mission of Green Village Philadelphia is to foster and support neighborhood development that restores and sustains the community of life for our selves and future generations.

All Urban Studio projects are focused on creating community based solutions for needs that are identified by the communities in Philadelphia, in which we live, work, and play. Applying the Urban Studio process to create solutions for community needs will have identifiable outcomes on many levels - community, educational, economic, and environmental development. The resulting solutions are created and implemented within the parameters of the capabilities of the neighborhood, city, and region restoring, building, and sustaining happy, healthy community living.

Urban Studio Description

Green Village Philadelphia has identified an opportunity to serve the communities most in need by creating a space for creative people to collaborate on solutions for urban community needs.
The Urban Studio is a multidisciplinary design studio that is staffed by professional designers, artists, green technology innovators, and business people. Staff and volunteers work on innovative actionable city and regionally appropriate solutions to the problems faced by our communities who are most in need. As projects are created and developed in the Urban Studio, professionals and students are invited to participate and learn about the design process. Each project will have a defined need, community representative and partner, a team of professionals and students, and finances to create an outlined solution. Urban Studio manages projects through all major phases - design development, installation and observation, and distribution.

Current Urban Studio Projects

Rain Collection for Philadelphia Row Homes

Urban Studio has developed a long-term project with three phases: research and design development, installation and observation, and distribution. The recommendations for rain collection systems will have several outcomes when implemented city-wide, including creating new manufacturing opportunities, new green jobs, using recycled plastics, implementing water conservation practices, cleaner rivers, and new processes for getting more people engaged with city wide issues. Prospective partners for this project include Philadelphia Water Dept, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and New Kensington CDC.

Placemaking in Philadelphia Neighborhoods

Our city works feverishly to 'revitalize' its neighborhoods. Old properties are being renovated. New properties are being built. These properties, for the most part, are privately owned. To maximize our collective efforts the public spaces within these neighborhoods should be revitalized as well. Philadelphians need places to walk, to sit-down, and to chat with one another. For this reason, Urban Studio seeks to initiate and support placemaking projects in Philly's 'up-and-coming' neighborhoods. Community-centered design, or 'placemaking' strategies are focused on recharging underutilized public spaces. Urban Studio will provide for public intervention in the re-design and designation of space for public use by offering the technical support necessary to undergo neighborhood-scale design projects. We hope to empower these communities through education, using a 'transparent' process that includes stakeholders from all walks of life in each design phase, from research to implementation.

Urban Natural Resource Production

There is a growing effort to reclaim Philadelphia’s vacant lots with programs such as Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Clean and Green initiative and the Redevelopment Authority’s recent urban farming pilot project. These initiatives have been pursuing the greening of vacant spaces by creating parks and vegetable farms. Urban Studio’s intent is to build on these initiatives and diversify the processes in which vacant lots can be reclaimed with an Urban Natural Resource Agriculture Project.
The goal of this project will be to utilize vacant lots within the city of Philadelphia for the purposes of growing natural resources. The raw materials produced from these crops will be used in the production of handmade and manufactured goods by Philadelphia based artisans and companies.

For more information please review our press packet.