A collection of environmental organizations has joined forces to build new green stormwater infrastructure in Kingsessing, all with approval from community members, writes Nate File for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The project is part of the Resilient Communities Stormwater Initiative. It is funded by the William Penn Foundation and will be implemented in several neighborhoods throughout the city.

The planned infrastructure can include any structures that help reduce flooding and pollution caused by stormwater, along with rain gardens, trees, and permeable pavement. While the main focus is on stormwater, this infrastructure can also add other green benefits, such as lowering local temperatures.

In preparation for the project, RCSI held its first neighborhood workshops in Kingsessing this summer. Residents and community leaders were provided with stipends to work with the RCSI team.

They mapped out all of the greening programs and vacant lots throughout the neighborhood and toured them in person to determine what options they had for further improvement and potential challenges.

They then reviewed and approved a draft of the plan.

“We can show others how to create green spaces,” said Carol Simmons, a Kingsessing resident and community activist. “That’s what’s important.”

Read more about the green development in Kingsessing in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

_____________

Philadelphia’s “Green City, Clean Waters” project aims to put green stormwater infrastructure systems all around the city to help nature do some of the work that would otherwise be done by pipes and water treatment plants.