GREEN BLUE PENNSPORT WATERFRONT DISTRICT JUNWON KIM
The importance of the strategic framework plan against the climatic uncertainty, monopolized ownership patterns, and car oriented landscapes in the Pennsport Waterfront District demostrate the hybridization between the public realm and resilient strateges are highly required to make a sustainable community for the city of Philadelphia. Based on the New Hierarchical framework, the Pennsport Waterfront District becomes the regional green destination with different hierarchical open space arrangements and functions. There are four main ideas. The first idea is transforming I-95 into a farming highway as a test bed of urban farming that could generate community green jobs. The I-95 highway is the most significant barrier separating the neighborhood and the waterfront. Thus, I-95 is moved underground and is tightly connected to the Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) water management systems that use sustainable irrigation water filtered through the East West Park. Agricultural products harvested from the farming highway can be distributed to Philadelphia and regional areas through the regional bus system connected to the transportation center located at the center of the community, or delivered to the community for fresh consumption without going through complicated distribution process. In doing so, the farming highway creates a healthy industry and functions as a connection between the existing community and the new community. The second idea is a floodable edge that mitigates the flooding risk from the sea level rise. Currently, the waterfront of Pennsport is one of the most vulnerable areas of the sea level rise in Philadelphia. Many research institutes are predicting up to a 5 to 6 foot increase by 2100. To mitigate the environmental effects, the waterfront edge is set back to the flood line along the little boulevard and is elevated up to 10 feet higher. With those strategies, wetland restoration will be processed similar to the pre-industrial coastline of Philadelphia. The floodable edge will have a gradient border that is occupied by upland, transitional 84
community, high marsh and low marsh. This gradient edge will mitigate the effect of sea level rise and provide habitat for the native species of Philadelphia. Therefore, the floodable edge strategy will address the climatic uncertainty issue, while integrating biodiversity and human recreation. Compared to the two edges protecting the neighborhood on both sides, the third public realm idea is an anchor transportation center that provides core community assets. The anchor transportation center is a transit hub linked to the main connector street. The transportation park is connected by the new Columbus Boulevard, waterfront connector, rail park, neighborhood connector, LRT linear park and farming connector. Moreover, it provides shelter for the underprivileged community by proposing the public private partnership between SEPTA and other food delivery service companies. Lastly, the breathing boulevard is the distributor of the green and blue elements with multimodal transit. The boulevard is equipped with a GSI system that transfers collected water to the East West Park, and this water is filtered by weltands and reused for the irrigation of community agricultural purposes. In addition, the Boulevard generates electricity that could be used by the community agriculture and other urban amenities by installing wind turbines at the median of the road. Furthermore, the breathing boulevard transforms into temporary event space that provides a movable barbershop, living room, playground for children and swimming pool. By doing so, the boulevard harmonizes the alive street with green energy landscape. Through these four main ideas that bring resiliency and protect our vulnerable community, the Green Blue Pennsport Waterfront District could synchronize the current DRWC’s waterfront plan and help to reinvent the identity of the future Philadelphia waterfront district.
