February 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 59

in
an urban park near
Philadelphia's city
hall creates an oasis
in the heart of the
ﬁnancial district.

Philadelphia's story

Parks oﬀer billions in savings compared to the cost of storm sewer renovations

thinkstock

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IKE EVERY OTHER CITY in the
country, Philadelphia is struggling
with budgetary pressures that too
often lead to abandonment or commercial
development of its parks. But, according to
Time magazine, public parks may actually save the city billions. A forward-looking
use of open land proposes to save Philadelphia's parks, and add more green space to
manage storm water more efficiently.
This city has made the connection between the public's love of its parks and
the growth of smart new green technologies. They've realized the potential economic and environmental benefits of using
planted, percolating land to replace aging,
expensive, polluting storm sewer systems.
Mayor Michael Nutter has pledged to make
Philadelphia the greenest city in the nation,
and has launched a campaign to ignite the
public support.
Philadelphia sits between the Schuylkill
and the Delaware Rivers. When the rain

is heavy, its aging storm sewer system
dumps raw sewage into those waterways.
The proposed solution has been a complicated renovation involving a huge tunnel under the Delaware, with a price tag
of $9 billion.
Mayor Nutter has a different idea. He
wants to eliminate the tunnel project and
cut the cost to correct this problem from
$9 billion to $2 billion. How? By supporting
preservation and creation of parks, public
and private development of rain gardens
and green roofs, incorporating systems to
capture storm water runoff, and replacing asphalt and concrete paving with new
permeable, percolating surface materials.
This ambitious initiative proposes to create 15 square miles of urban land that will
process rainwater the way a natural forest does.
This approach could manage the city's
storm water in an efficient, sustainable
way by keeping most of it from going

into the sewers at all. At the same time,
the green project would improve the river
water, the air, the beauty, and the quality
of life in this historic city.
America's Backyard works to save parks
by increasing public awareness of stories like Philadelphia's. Beyond the need
for natural places to gather, play, and recharge our energies; beyond the health
benefits of fresh air and exercise, and beyond the restorative calm we experience
there, our parks and green spaces can return environmental and economic benefits
many times greater than their costs.
America's Backyard, a grassroots initiative of the National Recreation and Park
Association, is working to preserve and
protect public parks by bringing together
citizens who love parks and want to save
them. We see parks as part of our irreplaceable national heritage-our birthright,
and our responsibility. Learn more by visiting us at www.americasbackyard.org.

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February 2012 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2012 - Parks & Recreation
