Public Voice for Public Space

Paid Summer Internship Available at Scenic Philadelphia



Are You a Graduate Student Interested in a Paid Summer Internship? 

We are looking for a current or recent master’s level graduate student to take an existing digitalized curriculum on the visual environment and use it to create an interactive and fun web-based learning tool for middle school students.  Video clips, photos and GPS mapping can be integrated into this curriculum which is intended to introduce middle school students to the visual environment, and the critical role informed citizens can play in shaping the way a community looks.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with national leaders in the scenic movement on an innovative educational program that will be part of Apple’s E-Touch Educational Technology Project.  The ideal candidate will have a passion for technology and its potential to reach and teach the next generation about governance, civic pride and responsibility for our natural and built environments.

Experience in interactive web design, instructional technology, and programming with HTML5 is necessary to be a successful candidate.  Familiarity with I Books on MAC and experience developing content for I Pad and/or creation of content for student audiences is a plus.  We are looking for applicants who are motivated, organized, and have excellent verbal and written communication skills.

This is a full time summer internship position for 10 weeks with a stipend of $6,000. Please send a resume and cover letter marked “ViewFinders Internship” to ryan@scenic.org.

The project is a joint venture between Scenic Philadelphia and Scenic America and is funded by the Dunn Foundation.

 

 

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The Houston Chronicle Reports on the Success of Discovery Green Park



Posted May 7, 2013

Discovery Green Park in Downtown Houston is utilized  by one million  people annually. They listen to live music, watch  movies, walk dogs and splash in water fountains.  Civic leaders say it has helped change the city’s  image and development in and around the  Park is thriving.  When  proposed  in  2004, the Park was met with considerable skepticism and was labeled a “big waste”,  now it is a key part of the city’s sales pitch when seeking new  businesses or large scale events like the  the Super Bowl. Click  here to  read more.

View of Flowers in Discovery Green Park

View of Flowers in Discovery Green Park

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PlanPhilly Expose on Billboards



picture of billboard near homes

Posted April 25, 2013

Click here to read how the billboard industry in Philadelphia has employed an all encompassing  strategy to protect its assets from  regulations that they feel threaten their bottom line. Well worth reading for the big picture and to understand why we need your support.

 

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Making Philadelphia Scenic…Again



Posted April  17, 2013

Philadelphia is home to some of the most beautiful and unique parkland in the country: the Fairmount Park area and specifically Wissahickon Creek. This gorgeous natural landscape is accented by grand stone bridges, walls and staircases – many of which no longer serve a practical use, but still add character to the park. Unfortunately, in recent years these structures have fallen victim to vandals who have decided to mar the landscape with graffiti. These old structures not only contend with wear and tear from the elements, but are now covered in vandals’ “tags” and have transitioned from rustic landmarks to blatant eyesores. Luckily, local mural artist Zachary Bird of Smartwork Studio isn’t willing to stand for it. Using a technique called “faux painting”, Zack paints over top of the graffiti and makes the stone structures look as good as new. Much more visually appealing than the traditional white slab often painted over offensive tags, Zack is able to cover up spray paint, while blending his cover up with the color and texture of the surface he is painting on (see before and after pictures).

It’s ironic that Zack’s best work cannot be seen, as is the case with all faux painting – when done correctly, it can’t be detected. For now, his work has been limited to these relatively obscure stone structures in the park, but he has plans to make this a much bigger project. Zack states in his blog that he is in talks with Jane Golden of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and the City to hopefully gain access to SEPTA and Con-rail bridges along the Schuylkill River and I-76. If he is able to get permission to do cover up faux paintings in these areas, his work will be seen by a much larger audience, and thus have a much greater impact on the visual state of Philadelphia.

By: Chris Croft – University of Pennsylvania Communications intern

Intern Blog

Good-Works From Around the City!



Posted April  17, 2013

Spotlight: Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation (OARC)

Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation (OARC) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) community development corporation founded in 1983. Their mission is to create and stimulate sustainable economic development through innovative and creative use of available resources while improving the quality of life for residents in West Oak Lane and other neighborhoods throughout the Northwest section of Philadelphia.

Recently, OARC embarked on a substantial community development project, working with the City of Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to acquire a nuisance nightclub which had been the scene of a lot of criminal activity. In addition to the presence of crime, there was also an unsightly billboard on the roof of the club. The property was a nuisance to the neighborhood, and the first thing people saw when they entered Philadelphia from Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County. In order to ameliorate the crime and blight issues, OARC successfully rehabilitated the building, and it now serves as their office. The pleasant, modern office building without a billboard constitutes a pleasing and welcoming gateway into Philadelphia. The rehabilitation of this specific property is part of a larger overall community development project, as it is directly across the street from a newly upgraded SEPTA depot.

Scenic Philadelphia makes it a point to commend organizations from around the city that are diligently working to advance healthy, vibrant and beautiful public spaces throughout all of Philadelphia. Way to go OARC!

By: Marcel Garon – University of Pennsylvania Civic House intern

 

Intern Blog

New Philadelphia Outdoor Advertising Bill



cropped-scenic-banner3.jpgOutdoor Advertising on Municipal Property
City Council Is Considering Legislation – Bill 130109 –
That Would Allow Large Flashing Digital Signs
On Municipal Property Throughout the City

The Rules Committee will hold a Public Hearing on this legislation
Bill 130109 on Thursday April 11th at Noon in Room 400 City Hall

The bill’s language is extremely open-ended and does not include any
safeguards for the quality of life of our neighborhoods. Action is needed
now to weigh in on this issue.

A coalition is forming to make sure that Philadelphia’s public spaces,
parks, playgrounds, sidewalks, libraries, and other municipal properties
and the neighborhoods are protected.

Please attend a meeting of community leaders and concerned residents
who will be working together to launch a new coalition that will lobby
City Council on this legislation.

Monday, April 8, 2013
Time: 7:00 PM
PACDC conference room
1315 Walnut Street, 1600
Philadelphia PA 19107

RSVP: Call Scenic Philadelphia 215-731-1796 or email mullen@scenic.org

 Here’s the actual text of the bill.

Here’s Scenic Philadelphia’s proposed amendments to the bill.

Posted April 8, 2013

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American Sardine Bar Event



Hello Friends of Scenic Philadelphia, We are having a get together on April 11th at The American Sardine Bar in Philadelphia.

Where: The American Sardine Bar is located at 18th and Federal Streets. A convenient walk from center city and a 4 block walk from the Broad Street Line (Ellsworth stop)

When: April 11th, 5:30 – 7:30pm

Donation: $20.00  -  Includes light fare & beer generously donated by American Sardine Bar and Kenzinger. There will be door prizes and drink specials for the Scenic supporters.

How: Get your tickets online , pay at the door or contact us at: mullen@scenic.org or call 215.731.1775

http://www.americansardinebar.com/

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Digital Signage — A Victory and Future Battles



it's in your face

Callowhill and neighborhoods south of it, including Society Hill, had a narrow escape from the billboard district bill. Mayor Nutter vetoed the bill in January, and First District Councilman Mark Squilla, in an eleventh-hour move, decided not to ask City Council to override the veto. The bill (front page article in the Jan/Feb Reporter) would have allowed a seven-story digital advertising sign on the Electric Factory building, at 7th and Callow hill, owned by New York developer Myron Berman. Whether three court decisions (including the Pennsylvania and U.S. Supreme Courts) and two mayoral vetoes will finally squash Berman’s campaign to put a giant digital wall wrap on his building is anyone’s guess. However, we hope that we have heard the last of this matter. (Read the January 30, 2013, Philadelphia Inquirer editorial for more information on this bill.)

Click here to read the full story!

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Above the Law Report Sarah Richards Feb. 2013



New report exposes Philadelphia’s billboard scofflaws

report_cover1

PHILADELPHIA, February 20, 2013     Above the Law and Under the Radar: The Philadelphia Billboard Industry’s Failure to Comply with Local, State, and Federal Laws identifies over 100 billboards located along Philadelphia’s federal aid highways in violation of the Highway Beautification Act (HBA).  This widespread failure to comply with the HBA is expected to trigger a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) audit and possible penalties which could cost the City millions of dollars in lost federal-aid highway funding unless the billboard structures and sign faces are brought into compliance.

The Report focused on billboards located within city limits along the I-95 and I-676 highways and several along I-76.  In total, 183 billboard structures, supporting 331 sign faces located within 660 feet of these highways were analyzed for compliance.  Research revealed that only 18 percent of the billboards in the study were in compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations, and had valid permits


Hundreds of billboards in Philadelphia are located along Federal and Primary-Aid highways.  This report is intended to help the City identify those billboards which should be removed due to their noncompliance due to the serious risk they pose for future loss of federal-aid highway funding.

Mary Tracy, executive director of Scenic Philadelphia said the timing of the report is perfect. “City Council is about to introduce legislation for outdoor advertising signs and hopefully they will use this data to take appropriate action.”

Sarah Richards, the author of Above the Law and Below the Radar is in her final year of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of City Planning program in the Graduate School of Design. She was the recipient of a Samuel F. Fels Summer Internship Research Grant.



Scenic Philadelphia promotes healthy, vibrant and beautiful public spaces in Philadelphia.

For more information email  tracy@scenic.org.

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Mount Laurel Billboard Ban Upheld by Federal Court



Mount Laurel Billboard Ban Upheld by Federal Court

Jan Hefler, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer

mount_laurel_billboard

Municipalities are free to pass ordinances banning billboards for aesthetic and safety reasons under a federal court ruling that dismissed an advertiser’s free-speech arguments.

In a 14-page opinion released this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third District in Philadelphia upheld Mount Laurel’s 2008 ban on billboards along the township’s stretches of I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike.

Interstate Outdoor Advertising L.P. appealed, saying the ordinance was unconstitutional because it limited free speech and was based on flawed traffic studies.

The court said that the town’s “conclusion that billboards affect traffic safety and aesthetics” was reasonable, and that municipalities have the right to regulate billboards.

Interstate Outdoor, a regional billboard company, had sought permission from the town’s zoning board to erect four billboards along I-295, a six-lane highway, the opinion said. Drew A. Katz, chief executive of Interstate Outdoor, also is a director of Interstate General Media, the company that owns The Inquirer. His father, Lewis Katz, a partner in Interstate General Media, is former chairman of Interstate Outdoor.

Interstate Outdoor presented an expert witness who testified that an analysis of accidents on I-295 revealed it was not a hazardous highway in Mount Laurel. But the court noted that it was possible the “precise reason the accident rate is so low” is the lack of billboards.

The ruling means Mount Laurel “will retain its existing ‘billboard-free’ ” character, said Christopher J. Norman, the township’s special counsel in the case. Only two small billboards appear within the town’s borders because they were erected before the ordinance was adopted.

Norman said “the opinion sets the law on regulating billboards” in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Louis L. D’Arminio, who represented Interstate Outdoor, did not return a call for comment.

The court agreed that the town’s ordinance limited Interstate’s speech but said that was overshadowed by regulatory interests. “Interstate alleges that the complete ban on billboard messages does not allow for alternative channels for communication . . . to the specific target audience of the drivers traveling on I-295,” the court wrote.

But there are many alternative ways to get the message out, including Internet advertising, direct mail, radio, newspapers, and television, the court said.

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Digital Signs 2/8/13 Inga Saffron



Digital Billboards a Challenge to Philadelphia’s Ability to Regulate Signs

2_8_13_pic

Inga Saffron, Philadelphia Inquirer Architecture Critic

Posted: Friday, February 8, 2013, 9:14 AM

You might think television sets can’t get any bigger than they already are, yet last week, Philadelphia came close to installing one of the world’s largest: a seven-story-high digital screen on the south facade of the Electric Factory building at Seventh and Callowhill Streets. Instead of broadcasting your favorite shows, this jumbo tube would have beamed advertisements across the city 24 hours a day.

In the end, the city councilman promoting the building-sized screen, Mark Squilla, thought better of the idea and pulled a bill to override Mayor Nutter’s veto of the project. Big Brother would not be staring down at Philadelphia, after all. Crisis averted.
Not quite.
Click Here to read article

 

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Dear Scenic Philadelphia Friends and Supporters



Great News!

mayor_nutter

Dear Scenic Philadelphia Friends and Supporters,

Great news!! Philadelphia’s skyline is saved from the intrusion of a seven story digital advertising sign and our transportation projects will not be denied federal highway funding. Thankfully, Councilman Squilla did not call for an override of the Mayor’s veto Thursday, his last opportunity to do so. Your letter and phone calls to City Council made a critical difference and Scenic Philadelphia is extremely grateful to you for your active support. Thank you.
Many thanks to Mayor Nutter for his veto, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration for safeguarding Philadelphia’s scenic skyline and upholding the Federal Highway Beautification Act. 

Blinking digital signs may still be a threat to some neighborhoods. City Council will be passing a new outdoor advertising sign code in the near future. Please stay tuned for further information.
Mary Tracy

 

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