Reimagining the Parkway

Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway is the city’s grand civic boulevard and historic cultural epicenter. From hosting Jay-Z to a Super Bowl Parade to the Pope, whenever something big happens in Philly, it happens on the Parkway. Just one mile long, the fabled boulevard is arguably Philadelphia’s most famous street and serves as the central artery of the city’s cultural core, cutting diagonally across the northwest quadrant of Center City to link Philadelphia’s City Hall with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 2020, the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Parks and Recreation and the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability, with funding from the William Penn Foundation, teamed up to begin a planning process to create a world class public realm plan for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The goal of this project is to build on past efforts in order to implement permanent improvements that will ensure the Parkway retains its vital role as the civic heart of the city.
This mobile workshop will offer conference attendees the opportunity to participate in and/or observe a design charette for the Parkway. This charette will bring together the Design Workshop team leading the effort to reimagine the Parkway, to begin to develop an urban design framework that will ultimately guide its revitalization. The charette will allow attendees to contribute to discussions with a variety of partners working to create a renewed sense of place on the Parkway and offers an opportunity to discuss strategies for improved connections between adjacent public spaces and nearby neighborhoods.
The project team is committed to including innovative approaches to civic engagement centered on creating opportunities for thoughtful and inclusive conversations. This is an opportunity for a diverse group of professionals to add to the conversation about the future of the Parkway.