On April 25 11 second-year Master of City Planning students urged Philadelphia leaders to undertake preliminary work for a bid for the 2024 summer Olympics. Reporting on their spring studio supervised by James Kise, principal, Kise, Straw and Kolodner, designers of the city's successful Avenue of the Arts, the group advised about 50 key civic, political and business leaders that the region's locational advantages including unique historic and cultural assets, broad planning efforts with regard to its rivers and neighborhood transformation program, and development potential constitute a strong basis for moving to the next steps.

The Philadelphia Sports Congress, a division of the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau, was the studio's client. Alexander Garvin, Director of Planning, New York 2012 (and now Vice President for Planning and Development, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation), Brenda Levin, Director of Community Outread, New York 2012, John Randolph, Executive Director, Schuylkill River Development Council, Warren Huff, Director of Urban Design, Philadelphia City Planning Commission and others helped advise the students on the project.

Received with enthusiasm, attendees have asked the group to make at least two more presentations, one to the Mayor's Cabinet and another to the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Economy League. For a full account see http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/3134562.htm.

Related Link: University of Pennsylvania, City and Regional Planning

For more information contact:

Eugenie Birch
University of Pennsylvania
127 Meyerson Hall
Philadelphia
PA 19104-6311
USA

Phone: 215 898 8330
Fax: 215 898 5731
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.upenn.edu/gsfa/city_plan/index.htm