May 2026 · United States · Philadelphia, PA
Designing a Climate-Resilient and Inclusive City — Philadelphia
A C40 Urban Planning & Design analysis applying the 15-Minute City, TOD, NbS, and tactical urbanism to a US Northeast context.
NGL Fellowship · 1,500–2,000 word paper + City Vision presentation
§ Abstract
Philadelphia exemplifies a Northeast US planning paradox: dense pre-war neighborhoods designed for walking, overlaid with a post-war car-dependent retrofit and a heat-vulnerability map that tracks redlining boundaries.
The paper draws C40 implementation guides into a Philadelphia transformation thesis: TOD on SEPTA spines, green-corridor cooling on heat islands, and tactical urbanism on neighborhood school streets.
Equity is treated as the binding test: 15-Minute City interventions must not become gentrification accelerants. Tenant-protection and CDC-led development are written into every recommendation.
§ Key findings
- ·TOD on SEPTA spines is the highest-leverage emissions-and-equity lever.
- ·Medellín-style green corridors can cool the hottest census tracts measurably within three years.
- ·Tactical urbanism (school streets, pop-up plazas) is the cheapest way to test 15-minute ideas before capital commitments.
§ Methods
- →C40 Knowledge Hub document review
- →Comparative case analysis (Barcelona, Medellín, Paris)
- →Equity audit of each proposed intervention
§ Downloadable resources
Take it. Use it. Adapt it.
CC BY 4.0. Attribution appreciated. If you adapt one of these for your district or country, I'd love to hear how.
slides
City Vision Presentation Outline
philadelphia-city-vision-slides.md