Background

Philadelphia has an extraordinary opportunity to create a world class riverfront along the Delaware. In 2006-2007, four thousand Philadelphians worked with PennPraxis to create a Civic Vision for the Central Delaware. The vision plan outlined a roadmap for the future that defined the central Delaware riverfront as a vibrant, open, green, and connected riverfront. In addition, many of the riverfront neighborhoods have completed neighborhood plans that seek to create new connections to the riverfront. The master plan is the next step for each of these individual planning processes. The master plan will incorporate the tenets and principles of each of these planning initiatives in order to create a detailed physical development plan for the riverfront. The master plan will also identify policy changes and investment strategies for economic development, community development, and open space along the waterfront. Upon completion in early 2011, the master plan will provide the DRWC and the city with the tools necessary to once again make Philadelphia’s original waterfront a treasured public amenity.

Recent Plans for the Central Delaware

  • A Civic Vision for the Central DelawarePDF  |  14.37MB
    This document, a collaboration between PennPraxis, The William Penn Foundation, and planning firm Wallace, Roberts, & Todd, represents the culmination of a year-long period of intense civic engagement and thinking about the future of the Delaware Riverfront.
  • Action Plan for the Central DelawarePDF  |  44.01MB
    The goal of this action plan developed by PennPraxis is to define concrete, feasible actions needed to redevelop the river over the next ten years in agreement with the civic vision.
  • New Kensington Riverfront PlanPDF  |  7.85MB
    This comprehensive plan, developed by the New Kensington Development Corporation in collaboration with communities, state and local agencies, and planning firm Wallace, Roberts and Todd, provides a flexible framework for development along, and public access to, the Delaware River.
  • NLNA Neighborhood PlanPDF  |  5.9MB
    The Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, with the help of Interface Studio, created this plan to empower the neighborhood as a proactive participant in the area's future, adding structure to the development review process and giving a voice to the understood, but at times unspoken, qualities that define life in Northern Liberties.
  • NLNA Waterfront PlanPDF  |  11.07MB
    An addendum to the NLNA's Neighborhood Plan, this document clearly expresses the shared vision of Northern Liberties’ residents for their waterfront in response to the explosion of interest in the waterfront's development.

Other Great Waterfronts

  • Brooklyn Bridge Park The Brooklyn Bridge Park site is 85 acres and occupies about one mile of Brooklyn’s waterfront. We love this waterfront park because it has helped to make direct connections between Brooklyn’s neighborhoods and its once industrial waterfront.
  • Hudson River Park Hudson River Park features a variety of public piers linked together by a waterfront esplanade on Manhattan’s west side. The esplanade, which accommodates a well-used bicycle and pedestrian path, has inspired our consideration of Delaware Avenue.
  • Waterfront Toronto The City of Toronto has recently undertaken a project to revitalize 1,977 acres of its waterfront. We love that the city’s vision for this space puts people first and prioritizes parks, public spaces, thinking “green”, and economic opportunities.