How can improvements to elevated infrastructure revitalize commercial corridors? How can other Northeastern cities learn from our experience in New York? And how can community organizations navigate the tangle of agency jurisdictions to improve the public realm?

These questions, and more, were at the heart of the conversation held as part of Design Philadelphia.

Design Trust director of programs Rosamond Fletcher, project partner Neil Gagliardi of the NYC Department of Transportation, and Design Trust Fellow Chat Travieso spoke about Under the Elevated at the two-and-a-half-hour program entitled Corridor Realities: Taking it to the Streets.

Their keynote presentation was followed by a lively panel discussion, moderated by Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger.

The panelists discussed how the strategies outlined in Under the Elevated relate to efforts to rethink ‘el-space’ in Philadelphia. They answered a broad range of questions from an informed audience of architects, policymakers, and community development professionals.

The conference was an exciting opportunity to expand the impact of Under the Elevated to other cities facing many of the problems we face in New York. Thanks to our friends and peers at the Community Design Collaborative and the Philadelphia Center for Architecture for hosting us!

Get a copy of Under the Elevated: Reclaiming Space, Connecting Communities.