The program was part of a broader project, helmed by Penn\u2019s Weitzman School of Design, called \u201cNew Philadelphia: The People\u2019s Vision is Coming Soon,\u201d which considers what Philadelphians of all ages want their city to look like in 2076.<\/p>\n
The idea for \u201cNew Philadelphia: The People\u2019s Vision is Coming Soon\u201d grew out of an ongoing partnership Penn architecture professor Rashida Ng has developed with the Philly Peace Park,<\/a> a grassroots organization that offers sustainable farming, green economy and wellness programming at their two community parks \/ urban farms in North and West Philly. Ng has worked closely with the park\u2019s leaders to bring students from her and her colleague Eduardo Rega Calvo\u2019s spatial justice seminar to their locations, and in 2023 the Peace Park participated in Penn\u2019s Housing Justice Futures<\/a> symposium, which considered how race and climate change influence housing design and policy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think that there\u2019s a vision here for a future of Philadelphia that is more responsive to people\u2019s needs, their desires,\u201d Ng says. \u201cThe idea is that the things that people want in their neighborhoods are achievable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not every day where adults listen to kids. [We] can give adults ideas on how we want the future to look like for ourselves and our kids and I think we can \u2014 as a community with adults and other children \u2014 make this world more than what it is.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Lilly Jones, 8th grader<\/p>\n Ng was thinking about design and the future of Philly ahead of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence<\/a> this year. She was inspired, in part, by some of the counterprotests that took place in Philly<\/a> over the bicentennial in 1976, when more than 40,000 people marched in protest of the Vietnam War, unemployment, racial inequality and poverty in the city. Ahead of the 250th, Ng wanted to create an opportunity for Philadelphians to share what they wanted for their neighborhoods, how they envisioned them growing and changing, over the next 50 years. She partnered with the Peace Park on these efforts because of their track record of engaging with neighbors on design efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really want to encourage people to reflect and remember that America is still an experiment. It\u2019s continuous, and that means that we can actually transform what the future looks like,\u201d says Lavinia Davis, director of operations and special programs for Philly Peace Park. \u201cBut we have to do it together.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of the program, Ng and her partners knew they wanted to elevate the voices of children, who are often left out of the city planning process. Ng had spoken at Breakthrough\u2019s<\/a> career conversations events in the past, so they felt like a natural partner to bring children\u2019s voices into the project. She worked with DesignPhiladelphia,<\/a> a nonprofit that offers design education programming for kindergarteners through 12th graders in Philly, to create a curriculum.<\/p>\n Then, they brought in a team of Penn grad students to teach courses on planning and design across nine sessions, held every two weeks during Breakthrough\u2019s fall semester. Lessons focused on everything from sustainability and resiliency to how design affects community building.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important to expose them to design and the role that it plays in society,\u201d says Michael Spain, director of design education for DesignPhiladelphia. \u201cIf they understand these concepts and how it works and how it affects them, we\u2019ve done our job.\u201d<\/p>\n The program started small, teaching students about \u201cthird spaces<\/a>\u201d \u2014 places outside of home, work or school where people can gather and build community. Then, they asked students to build models and collages of third spaces that either already existed in their lives or that they would like to see using construction paper, cardboard and magazine clippings.<\/p>\n Some students mentioned libraries and recreation centers in their neighborhoods. Others said Breakthrough was their third space. Many designed spaces had outdoor areas with fields or basketball courts and indoor spaces where they could spend quiet time reading or playing on a tablet. Philly has more than 150 recreation centers,<\/a> but students wanted more places where young people could gather for free. (Makes sense, considering they\u2019ve been banned from malls, carnivals and a host of other places<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of community centers in Philly, so that\u2019s what we put in our new city model,\u201d says Kaleah Parker, a student who participated in the program. \u201cIt had libraries, basketball courts, track fields, football fields, and it was about access to stuff you could do outside of home and school.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to encourage people to remember that America is still an experiment. It\u2019s continuous \u2026 we can actually transform what the future looks like. But we have to do it together.\u201d \u2014 Lavinia Davis, Philly Peace Park.<\/p>\n As the program progressed, students moved from designing individual spaces to neighborhoods and considering what they want Philly as a whole to look like. Instructors asked students what they\u2019d keep from Philly\u2019s existing infrastructure \u2014 they loved our historic sites, the promise of the stadium district and Philly\u2019s 4,000 murals \u2014 and what they\u2019d change. Many said they wanted more natural space, like urban forests in the city. Others took a more futuristic approach to greening the city, envisioning rooftop gardens and covering our sports arenas with vining plants. They drew sketches and built models, and used AI design tools.<\/p>\n \u201cI was able to be creative and work with them to make ideas for a better future for all of us,\u201d says Andy Nguyen, another student who participated in the program. \u201cWe learned how to keep clean and care for the environment in the projects that we worked on.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones wants to create a greener city as a way to counter both the lack of nature she sees when she walks through the city today and the industrialism she fears is in store for the future. She liked working with other students to combine their ideas. The program also got her interested in becoming a graphic designer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not every day where adults listen to kids,\u201d she says. \u201cI think us kids can give adults ideas on how we want the future to look like for ourselves and our kids and I think we can \u2014 as a community with adults and other children \u2014 make this world more than what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Weitzman_Breakthrough_120625-162.jpg\"\/)
<\/a>Photo by Kait Privitera A new vision for Philadelphia <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Weitzman_Breakthrough_120625-42.jpg\"\/)
<\/a>Photo by Kait Privitera Designing Philly\u2019s future <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Weitzman_Breakthrough_120625-103.jpg\"\/)
<\/a>Photo by Kait Privitera What will Philly actually look like in 2076? <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764777427_704_nl_bolt600-copy.jpg\"\/)
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