[March 19, 2025 Philadelphia, PA] – Today, Clean Air Council and Feet First Philly, in partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, announced the recipients of the fifth Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant awards. These projects seek to improve walkability in 10 different neighborhoods in the Greater Philadelphia area.

More than 70 community-based organizations, businesses, and individuals submitted applications to this program, all with worthy project ideas to support walkability. A committee made up of past recipients, pedestrian advocates, professionals in public space improvements, and city officials, planners, and designers from multiple departments selected the 10 highest-scoring projects. 

Our Public Space Enhancement Mini-grant program has grown over the past 5 years. During this round, the program received over 70 applications. “These projects help to bring communities together to create safer and healthier spaces,” said Titania Markland, Clean Air Council, Sustainable Transportation Program Manager. “Through the mini-grants, we can give Philadelphians the ability to build their communities in ways that benefit their neighbors.” 

“It is a privilege to fund these community-identified projects to enhance our public space,” said Dr. Kinnari Chandriani, Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Director at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. “We are excited to see each of them come to life and make their sidewalks, gardens, lots, and parks healthier, safer, cleaner, greener, and more welcoming.”

The projects selected for funding are:

  1. ACHIEVEability – This organization will implement a project called Impact Day 2025. It will mobilize volunteers to engage in revitalization efforts in West Philadelphia. These efforts include porch painting, litter removal, storefront improvements, tree planting, community gardening, and more.
  2. Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team RCO (NTIT) – This group will engage in phase three of the repair and revitalization process for their Healing and Unity Gardens. This project will include workshops on garden maintenance and stormwater management. It will also add raised planter beds to the gardens.
  3. Norris Square Tabletop Project – This project will create a regular community gathering for tabletop games at Norris Square Park. This project aims to help residents gather and build community with each other.
  4. LA21 – This project is called the Container Village Lighting Enhancement. It will add outdoor lighting to an outdoor retail, recreational, and community hub that was once a vacant and blighted lot in Parkside West Philadelphia.
  5. Face to Face – This project is called the Price Street Improvement project. It will improve a portion of the sidewalk by replacing broken sidewalk blocks and removing weeds and other debris.
  6. SEAMAAC –  This project is called the Heat Reduction Project on S. 7th St. Commercial Corridor. The group will install trees along the entry of the commercial corridor and planter boxes to continue the beautification efforts along the corridor.
  7. Urban Creators – This project is called the UC Beautification and Safety Project. It aims to enhance the safety, accessibility, and overall experience of their urban farm. These improvements include signage, outdoor lighting, and additional irrigation equipment.
  8. Empowered CDC – This group aims to maintain their Cecil Street Garden by adding new planters along the sidewalk and fixing broken sidewalks along the garden.
  9. Mantua Civic Association – This is the third phase of their Pollinator and Tulip Planter Tribute Project. This project aims to add planters on Mantua Ave with the mantra “Bulbs Not Bullets” to add beauty to the area along with spreading an anti-violence message.
  10. Little Memorial Temple Church – This is another sidewalk repair project that aims to replace broken sidewalks on West Norris Street to improve safety.

Quotes from funding recipients:


With the assistance of the Clean Air Council and the Feet First Philly Program, SEAMAAC aims to tackle the issues of heat and violence on the S. 7th St. Commercial Corridor. We plan to use the mini-grant funding to install 2 trees and 10 planters along the corridor” said Dominic Brennan, SEAMAAC’s Community Building Coordinator. “This, in addition to the 18 planters we have previously installed, will have both short- and long-term benefits for the neighborhood. This project will both beautify the corridor and help with stormwater management. It will also add much-needed shade to the corridor, which has been proven to reduce violence, and traffic injuries, and increase foot traffic to local businesses.” 

“Face to Face is thrilled to be a recipient of a Feet First Philly grant through the Clean Air Council,” said Craig Heim, Face to Face. “As a community center providing daily meals and social services in Germantown for over forty years, we work to be a resource and respite for those in need. Support from Feet First Philly allows us to make much-needed sidewalk repairs at our Price Street building in East Germantown. This project will serve pedestrians and neighbors by providing safer walking surfaces and steps along with the installation of new public-facing planters, with brightly colored 3-season flower displays that send the message of beauty and hope. We are grateful to the Council for this partnership and invite members of the public to visit us at Face to Face.” 

“I’m excited to bring tabletop games like chess and dominoes to the local park, creating a space for more connections and outdoor fun,” said Giovannie Vilomar, Norris Square Tabletop Project. “Thanks to the Norris Square Neighborhood Project, Kensington Library, and the local Senior Community Center for their support. Lastly, I’m grateful to the Citizens Planning Institute for empowering me to help shape the neighborhood and to the park’s friends for their dedication to its care and improvement.” 

“The Healing Garden (est. 2007) and The Unity Garden (est. 2013) are the only public green spaces in our neighborhood,” said GVGK Tang, Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team RCO (NTIT). “They help keep residents of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds safe. This grant supports the revitalization of these Gardens as the sites of walkability, wheelability, and respite they were always meant to be. Restoring these sacred places of rest and gathering allows us to reclaim and maintain communal space; care for the environment and promote sustainable practices; and foster spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. Our free, family-friendly programming allows neighbors to connect with one another and work towards a shared goal of neighborhood renewal.” 

Pedestrian mini grant projects

Philadelphia, PA (January 4, 2024) –  Feet First Philly (FFP) is Philadelphia’s only pedestrian advocacy group dedicated to protecting the rights of pedestrians and is a project of the Clean Air Council. In partnership with Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, FFP supports projects that will improve Philadelphia’s public spaces with mini-grants of up to $2,000, making them safer and more accessible to pedestrians. The Public Space Enhancement Mini-grant program is now in its fourth year and will fund 21 projects in 2024, the largest set of projects the group has awarded since 2020 when the program was launched.

“This is the first year we are able to fund almost half of the applications we received, and this has a lot to do with the commitment of our partners from the Health Department and everyone that donated to our fundraisers,” said Titania Markland Transportation Outreach Coordinator at Clean Air Council. “We are excited to see these projects installed because they will make great improvements to these public spaces, and improve safety and accessibility for all pedestrians.”

“We at the Health Department are so pleased to be able to support Philadelphians’ visions for safer, cleaner, greener, more connected and more walkable communities,” said Dr. Kinnari Chandriani, Director of the Health Department’s Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention. “The Surgeon General has identified a nationwide epidemic of loneliness and isolation. These community-led public space enhancements address that problem head-on, bringing neighbors together to improve and enjoy our outdoor environments.”

Projects for this year’s Public Space Enhancement Mini-grant program fall into five categories. Below are a few examples of these projects, and a full list can be found below.

  • Greening projects – projects that make improvements to community green spaces and gardens. Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team RCO (NTIT) project will transform overgrown, abandoned lots into sacred art parks with monthly clean ups, tree planting, and programming to activate these community green spaces in North Philadelphia.
  • Infrastructure and Cleaning – projects that improve mobility by making the walking space more accessible and more appealing. Hunting Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee’s project will support block ambassadors by providing tools and equipment to conduct regular block clean ups in the Hunting Park Neighborhood.
  • Programming and Public Art – activating a space and including programs and activities. Original American Foundation’s project will use a community garden space in Southwest Philadelphia to teach gardening skills to kids and young adults.
  • Lighting and Security – Installation of lights to make spaces more visible and safer at nights. Friends of Campbell Square will install cafe style lighting along the southern part of Campbell Square to improve visibility in that area.

The complete list of organizations that will be receiving funding are:

  1. Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha
  2. Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team RCO
  3. Mantua Civic Association
  4. Frankford Community Development Corporation
  5. Tacony Community Development Corporation
  6. Germantown Residents for Economic Alternative Together
  7. Hunting Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee
  8. Klean Kensington
  9. Hunting Park Green
  10. 58th Street Neighbors
  11. Susquehanna Clean Up/Pick Up Inc
  12. Friends of Campbell Square
  13. Original American Foundation
  14. Greater Philadelphia Asian Social Service Center
  15. Belmont Alliance Civic Association CDC
  16. Exhibit A Art Design
  17. Do Moore Good
  18. Wynnefield Heights Community Association
  19. Community Alliance for Development
  20. Disney-Nichols AME Church
  21. Friends of Carrol Park 

All of the funded organizations and their projects are located in communities that have experienced active disinvestment in their public spaces. Mini-grant recipients were selected because of their innovative and inspiring community-led proposals that address the challenges of increasing pedestrian access, reducing violence, and improving safety in their respective neighborhoods. 

“With this grant, we will finally be able to begin our community garden project for the community,” said David Ly from Greater Philadelphia Asian Social Services Center. “This Garden will help revitalize the area, make use of vacant land, stimulate community engagement, and become a source of joy for many.” 

“We welcome the opportunity to work with Feet First Philly to promote health and safe travels for pedestrians,” said Judith Robinson from Susquehanna Clean Up/Pick Up Inc. “We look forward to a project that can be of value citywide. This grant will allow our community to use a neighbor/ peer approach to problem solving.”

Newstand mural at Chew Avenue and Chelten Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia Funded by the Council's public space enhancement grant.

In January 2021, a selection committee made up of Council staff along with professionals and community members from across Philadelphia selected the top seven projects to award mini-grants ranging from $500 to $2000. The grants were awarded earlier this year and the projects have been recently completed.

Some of the highlights include: 

Chew and Chelten CDC completed a mural painting on a long time newsstand that had shut down. The work was performed by a local artist (Sarafina Harris), who did an excellent job depicting local residents, and community members had input into the design.

The Cobbs Creek Ambassadors used funding to purchase supplies and start up kits to complete regular clean-ups along the Cobbs Creek Trail. Collectively, the ambassadors collected over 1.9 tons of garbage throughout the year, and have been leaders in neighborhood stewardship of the Trail.

The Enterprise Center CDC will be creating mini-libraries outside the Blackwell Library to facilitate a more friendly pedestrian environment that will promote more engagement with the library and other resources they provide.

Centennial East Parkside CDC hosted a Black Men’s Conference during the weekend of Juneteenth, where they used the opportunity to survey neighbors about their walkability experience within the community. They collected data that will be helpful in addressing walkability and other issues in the neighborhood.

Kensington Neighborhood Association is completing a major reconstruction of a severely damaged sidewalk along their neighborhood garden. This project will improve accessibility to the garden as well as general pedestrian travel within the area.

The Council is excited to announce that Feet First Philly is partnering with the Department of Public Health again in 2021 to provide funding for mini-grants to create and improve public spaces, particularly in underserved communities. Mini-grants between $500 and $2000 will be awarded to address the financial and technical barriers that organizations face when creating or improving safe public spaces. Grant money can be used to support public space projects, including construction materials, educational materials, event costs, insurance, stipends, staff time, or other needs. 
Check out the page here to learn more about the mini-grant program, download the RFP, and view a recent webinar from Council staff on the program. Applications are due November 8th, and interested applicants are encouraged to contact feetfirstphilly@cleanair.org or Titania Markland, Transportation Outreach Coordinator, at tmarkland@cleanair.org to discuss their projects.

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