For over 25 years, the Collaborative has offered Design Grants of pro bono preliminary design services to CDCs and other nonprofits that match communities with volunteer design professionals to put their visions down on paper and advance to the next stage: gaining support, raising funds, and implementing projects. These publications will tell you more about our Design Grants and their impact.
In 2015, the Collaborative and Philadelphia Water published a design guide to greening schoolyards with case studies of three public schools, the steps to greening a schoolyard from community organizing through stewardship, and seven design elements to consider in creating your green schoolyard.
In 2014, 30 out of Philadelphia's 257 public schools were closed. What do these big empty buildings mean for Philly’s tight-knit communities? What will happen to them in neighborhoods where the real estate market is hot… or not? We tackled the issue of school reuse through a design charrette that focused on two yet-unsold schools, revealing the power of temporary reuses to get them into active use and redefining their places in the community.
How can innovative design revitalize neighborhoods? Infill Philadelphia is an initiative of the Community Design Collaborative that explores key community development challenges in Philadelphia and other cities through design. Infill Philadelphia has addressed play space, green stormwater infrastructure, the reuse of industrial sites, food access, commercial corridor revitalization, and affordable housing.
AIA Philadelphia publishes a quarterly magazine that explores a range of design topics, including social equity design. Beth Miller, Executive Director of the Community Design Collaborative, acted as guest editor for these recent issues.