Better Philadelphia (and a "Better" South Jersey)

I did something very dumb. I entered a student design competition in addition to all of the other obligations I have. It was due the same time as most of my midterms. It was rough.

It was also too interesting to resist. The 2015 Better Philadelphia Design Challenge – in honor of the city's great planner of the 20th century, Ed Bacon – asked students to consider how the Philadelphia and (optionally) Camden Waterfronts could be redeveloped alongside Petty Island, which is a beautiful piece of land in the Delaware River between the two cities. As with any competition, time was extremely limited and just a day after submitting, there are numerous tiny thing I would like to change. Due to constrained space, I had to scrap including some more ideas I had about housing and a neat idea about providing space for people in need of temporary shelter (e.g. domestic violence victims, other individuals involved with social work, etc.). All that being said, I'm proud of it, and my group mates and I should be pleased with how well it came out. 

UPDATE: I realize I probably should not post the project until judging is completed. I will put it back up in December. I remember that we are supposed to remain anonymous to the judges, and if for some reason any happened to read this, we might be DQ'd. If you'd like to view it (and you're not one of the judges :p) please message me!

UPDATE 2 (March 13, 2015): Not a winner. I probably focused too much on Camden, when they explicitly said "Camden should not be a major part of your presentation  – I just love that place too much! Anyway, please go ahead and check out my team's final poster below.  

Note: To view the text and smaller graphics, it's probably best to download the file and then zoom in as needed. The project had to be 80" x 40"!

Higher quality download available here: http://imgur.com/PsCcSuo

Highlights:

• Daylighting (digging up and making into an active waterway) the currently paved over Aramingo Canal (formerly Gunner's Run) in the Kensington/Port Richmond neighborhoods of Philly. This would be a beautiful public space, a driver of economic investment, and a bulwark against future water level rises.
• A pedestrian/cycling bridge between Petty Island and Philadelphia, thus connecting Camden to Philly. It would also be able to open by swivel to allow for shipping channel access (although almost all shipping ends south of Petty Island). Smaller boats can pass by on the east of the island, without needing the bridge to open. Increased ferry service between interesting points on the Camden and Philly waterfronts will also be added to improve connectivity.
• ResIndustrial Development.  One idea that PhiliAdelphés shares with great planners like Bacon and Jane Jacobs is that industry need not be a boogeyman – we believe residential and light industry can cohabitate with proper design. Imagine a bar where guests watch the  Conrail shipments move in and out, or mid-rise lofts where workers need only take an elevator and a few steps to get to work. 
• In Camden, ResIndustrial uses will be dedicated to attracting late-night industries and shops, including all-night cafes, publishing, shipping logistics, bakeries and the like. This will ensure “eyes on the street” and informal security at all hours of the day. The signicant state aid programs in place in NJ could attract these businesses to the city.
•  Interpretive Digital signage will be installed on the Philadelphia waterfront at quarter mile intervals. Signs will be equipped with altered reality technology. Signs are equipped with a camera that reads real world activity and translates it into historic footage of various eras, depicting the activity that took place on the waterfront and on Petty Island.
• Install piezoelectric plates (which generate electrical energy by collecting kinetic energy) under I-95 as it undergoes repairs. In Philadelphia, just a 1 km stretch of piezoelectric plates in the project area under I-95 will provide daily power to over 1,200 homes.
• All new and renewed developments in the project area will be tied into district-wide energy and grey & storm water management systems.  
• Inspired by Leni Lenape longhouse architecture and the Petty Island designs of architect Louis Sullivan, the Museum for a Changing World is not only a monument to the past and a united future, but is also a time-based public art piece. The museum stairs, which borrow from the grandeur of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, run up to the riverfront and are labeled with a year and historic event in the region's history. As water levels rise and we watch events disappear, It will serve as a reminder that all things and people are in flux and interconnected.

• As we expect the land area of Petty Island to shrink over time due to rising water levels, the rest of the island is devoted to transient uses like camping, hiking, and a farm demonstrating sustainable agricultural and urban gardening techniques.