PlanPhilly is once again presenting Jane’s Walk, a series of free, citizen-led walking tours inspired by writer and urban activist Jane Jacobs. The walks are geared at getting people engaged with their city and connecting with one another. Last year, there were more than 800 walks in more than 200 cities around the world. This year the walks will celebrate Jacobs’ 100th birthday (May 4).

Twelve walks have been scheduled this year for May 6-8 in Philadelphia, including two walks in West Philly:

Friday, May 6: Tactical Urbanism on the Eastern Edge of University City, with Nate Hommel

Join Nate Hommel of University City District (UCD) on a tour of public spaces popping up on formerly underutilized spaces, including: the Market Street Bridge, The Porch at 30th Street Station, and others. The walk begins at The Porch at 5 p.m. Registration is not required but you can RSVP here.

Sunday, May 8: Baltimore Avenue: A Place for People, with Daniel Wolf

On this walk down Baltimore Avenue, you’ll learn about a few recent and upcoming projects initiated by UCD to enhance the pedestrian environment. The walk will begin at 40th Street Portal at 5 p.m. and will conclude in Cedar Park and there will be a couple of surprises. More info is here.

For information on other walks taking place this weekend in Philadelphia, visit: http://janeswalk.org/united-states/philadelphia/

 Councilman At-large David Oh

Councilman David Oh will visit West Philadelphia this Thursday (May 5) to host a community meeting on heroin and opioid crisis in the city. The meeting, chaired by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, will take place at the University of the Sciences (Pharm Tox Building, Room 140, 636 S. 42nd St.), from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m..

Thursday’s meeting is a continuous effort by Councilman Oh to gather community feedback that he will use to shape the City’s coordinated response to the epidemic. Last week, he met with residents of Northeast Philadelphia, Manayunk, and the River Wards in three “emotional at times” community meetings. Another meeting is scheduled in South Philadelphia next week.

The community meetings come as a result of a resolution Oh passed through City Council which authorized the holding of public hearings following City Council’s declaration of 2016 as “The Year to Combat the Heroin Abuse Epidemic in Philadelphia.” The resolution also called for the development of a strategy to effectively address the heroin epidemic as an urgent local health priority.  Continue Reading

Thanks to the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC), 13 local schools that lost their librarian due to budget cuts, now have a library run by volunteers. On Monday, one of these schools, Morton McMichael school in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia, hosted well-known local children’s author and illustrator Andy Myer. WePAC arranged the visit.

Myer spoke with a group of fourth grade students about his life as a writer and illustrator and the process to move from concept to published book.

“The children were mesmerized, and they were especially excited to each get a copy of Myer’s latest book [Henry Hubble’s Book of Troubles] signed by the author himself,” writes Heather Farber, WePAC Interim Executive Director.  Continue Reading

Projects like this one at 35th and Haverford, a block from where last week’s meeting to talk about rezoning took place, has many Mantua residents worried about displacement and gentrification (Photo by West Philly Local).

As Drexel University’s residential footprint continues to creep north, Mantua residents are turning to rezoning to keep their neighborhood diverse.

Roughly bound by Spring Garden Street to the south, Mantua Avenue to the north and 31st Street and 40th Street to the east and west respectively, Mantua has become a focal point for developers looking to cash in on the relatively cheap stock of rowhomes and vacant lots. Most of the building is aimed at students pushing north from pricier Powelton Village.

About 100 Mantua residents met last week at the Grace Lutheran Church to talk about a plan to rezone the neighborhood as primarily single family housing and make it more difficult for developers to build multi-unit student housing.  Continue Reading

Bethany Rusen at work (photos via Indiegogo.com)

Last month, we wrote about the efforts by West Philly artist and educator Bethany Rusen to open a new ceramic studio and affordable co-working space for artists in Cedar Park. Renovations of the space, called Black Hound Clay Studio (BHCS) and located at 711 S. 50th Street, began this spring, and a few days ago Bethany launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to help this venture succeed.

The startup costs for the studio are considerable, according to Bethany. Thanks to successful fundraising raffle held last month at Art Star Gallery and a loan from the nearby Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, some funds have been secured to carry out some space renovations and to cover the deposit and first few months’ rent. Bethany also managed to get some free stuff through Craigslist, including work tables, shelving and storage. She currently has four working pottery wheels, either donated by friends and family or bought used.  Continue Reading

40th Street Artist-in-Residence (AIR), a program that awards West Philly artists free studio space for one year, is currently accepting applications for its 2016-2017 residency. The application deadline has been extended until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, 2016.

40th Street AIR Gallery at 4007 Chestnut St.

Selected artists will be given studio space at either 4007 Chestnut Street or 4013 Chestnut Street starting Sept. 1, 2016 and ending Aug. 15, 2017. During residency, artists will work on developing their own creative work. In exchange, they will be asked to share their talents with West Philadelphia through a minimum of 40 hours of outreach service, which may include a public installation, a workshop or a class.

Applications are accepted from artists who are affiliated with West Philadelphia – you must live, work, volunteer, or create art here in order to apply.

Applications can be submitted online here, but first please visit the 40th Street AIR website for more information.

If you have questions, email: 40th.AIR.app@gmail.com