After months of preparation, we’re excited to announce some big -- and exciting -- developments on behalf of the Next Great City Coalition!
Last year, we hosted participatory, town hall-style meetings wherein member organizations – on behalf
of the thousands of Philadelphians
they collectively represent – made clear their priorities for the next mayor.
After voting and deciding on our top issues for 2015, we got to work
researching and refining our recommendations so that we covered all of the
bases: Why is this important and what will it do? Are there other cities
already doing this well? And, perhaps, the most important question: How do we
pay for it?
This hard work culminated in an exciting agenda for 2015 with six brand new, high-impact,
feasible actions that the next mayor can take in his or her first term of
office that benefit every neighborhood
in the City of Philadelphia. On February 18, members of the Next Great City Coalition presented this agenda at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Pop Up Garden in
the Shops at Liberty Place. The event received great coverage and introduced our
six new recommendations: healthy houses;
nourished
students; strong,
local businesses; trails and bike lane access; clean
public spaces; and storm preparedness.
Next up: On Tuesday, March 3,
the Coalition is hosting its BOOKED TO CAPACITY Philadelphia Mayoral Candidates’ Forum at the Pennsylvania
Convention Center. Hundreds of
people have registered to attend. The event is being hosted in conjunction with
the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Flower Show, “Celebrate
the Movies,” and is being co-presented by the Healthy Rowhouse Project. The
event is completely free.
Five candidates have confirmed their attendance: Senator Anthony Hardy
Williams, former City Council member Jim Kenney, former District Attorney Lynne
Abraham, Doug Oliver, and the Hon. Judge Nelson Diaz.
All five candidates will be speaking to the six recommendations the
Coalition has proposed and supported for 2015. This will be a great opportunity
to kick start a substantive debate in this election so that citizens can make an
informed decision about the future of Philadelphia.
We’ve done a lot in just a few months -- and we can’t wait to get started on the
new initiatives we know will help Philadelphia reach its ultimate goal of becoming
the Next Great City.
Katie Bartolotta is PennFuture's Philadelphia Outreach Coordinator. She tweets @KatieBartolotta.
