Over the past several months, Philadelphia has witnessed the design and construction of modern homes pointing the way toward sustainable living. Through the convenient medium of the blog, readers have watched two buildings take shape from their own homes and offices.
Building Green on Montrose and the 100K House are blogs charting the weekly progress of two green homes, located respectively in South Philadelphia and Kensington. Southern Liberties, LLC, the design firm renovating the Montrose Street house, and Postgreen, the developers behind the 100K House, have registered for platinum status for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED).
Both developers report that they made easy LEED gains by building on existing residential spaces (the Montrose project has renovated a 100-year-old row home, while the 100K house has built on an infill lot). Each project has several enticing features: the South Philadelphian home features a vegetated (“green”) roof and has used “reclaimed, recycled, and sustainably certified materials”; the 100K House achieved exceptional energy performance—bolstered in great part by its SIPs (Structurally Insulated Panels)—and has a hard construction budget of only $100,000 (amounting to $100 per square foot).
Think transit, not recreation. That's the paradigm shift cities like Lyon, Paris, Minneapolis and Miami made when instituting their bike sharing systems. In Philadelphia, where the average person views biking as a potential blood sport, the ground is being well prepared to take it to the next level. Bicycling has doubled in Philadelphia over the last three years. According to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, there are 76,000 bike trips in the city of Philadelphia every day. The region's bike culture is thriving, larger even than in Chicago or New York City. And Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Executive Director Alex Doty and chief advocate for Bike Share Philadelphia Russell Meddin are doing their best to get even more people on wheels.
Looking at the miles of bike trails available in the region, including such scenic rides as Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and Pennypack Park, the average Philadelphian could be inspired to get out on a bike. But the city is more daunting.
“There are 205 miles of marked bicycle lanes on Philadelphia city streets. Unfortunately, most people who live in Center City have no earthly idea they exist because they don't exist downtown. But they're everywhere else,” says Meddin, “So you shouldn't be afraid, because once you get out of Center City proper, there are bike lanes and the streets are marked well enough to ride safely. Once you start riding, you get used to it. You learn real quickly, and you make it safe for you.”
