Greenbuild 2024 Legacy Project
The Greenbuild Legacy Project is a yearly initiative that leaves a lasting impact on the host city of the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. The Greenbuild Host Committee selects a project that demonstrates the benefits of green buildings and sustainability for community health and equity.
Inside the Greenbuild 2024 Legacy Project
The 2024 Greenbuild Legacy Project is "East Parkside, Past and Future: Building a Sustainable Community" and focuses on the East Parkside neighborhood in West Philadelphia. This project is from the Centennial Parkside Community Development Corporation (CPCDC). CPCDC was established by a group of East Parkside residents with the intention of promoting an equitable development strategy that sustains an economically and culturally diverse community, improves the health and well-being of residents, strengthens the community’s identity and connectivity, and enhances the quality of the physical environment.
East Parkside is a community bounded to the west by Belmont Avenue, to the east by the Schuylkill River, to the north by West Fairmount Park and to the south by the Amtrak Harrisburg corridor. The neighborhood is accessible by car, public transportation and bike. However, all of the transportation and pedestrian infrastructure is in need of improvements and an updated design to increase accessibility.
This project focuses on activating public spaces that spark conversations between the past and future East Parkside. The project will link stories of the rich legacy and culture of community leadership and connectedness; the once vibrant neighborhood corridors; and the neighborhood’s historic significance to Philadelphia.
About the Project
Greenbuild's 2024 Legacy Project is focused on four major goals to improve sustainability in the East Parkside neighborhood:
- CPCDC Headquarters Green Building Retrofit
- Playful Learning Installations
- Bitter Litter Program
- Community Greening
Get Involved
CPCDC is seeking additional financial contributions of $50–$5,000. When making a donation, please add a note identifying your donation for the Greenbuild Legacy Project. Whether you are making an individual donation, organizing a fundraising campaign or promoting CPCDC’s work through your social media and contacts, every contribution is greatly appreciated!
Additionally, there are opportunities to contribute your time and expertise to support community capacity building and special projects.
The Greenbuild 2024 Legacy Subcommittee is looking forward to sharing progress and updates about East Parkside on social media and encourages others to get involved in supporting this important initiative.
2023 Legacy Project
Gensler's Roots to Success initiative at Kelly Miller Middle School made a significant impact on the community. Located in the heart of Washington, DC’s Ward 7, Kelly Miller Middle School is an institution with a rich cultural history and legacy. The school serves a diverse population of students, many of whom come from families with limited resources. The school is also situated in a food desert, where access to fresh, healthy food is limited. The project addressed these issues by making impactful improvements to two of the school’s existing spaces.
2022 Legacy Project
Greenbuild's 2022 Legacy Project: Oakland Neighborhood Resiliency Hub Solar Battery Installation
This project addresses the Greenbuild Legacy project criteria through assisting socially-and economically-marginalized communities in safeguarding their health and wellbeing during dangerous situations like power outages and natural disasters. The Havenscourt/Millsmont community is predominantly Black, but the members of the community who will most benefit from this project are those with pre-existing health conditions, children and senior citizens.
This resilience project also addresses the need to reduce carbon emissions within the community through activities such as using solar, and it engages the broader local community in discussions and activities that raise awareness around environmental sustainability and carbon reduction.
2020-2021 Legacy Project
Greenbuild's 2020-2021 Legacy Project: Olivewood Gardens
In collaboration with the San Diego Green Building Council, Greenbuild's 2021 Legacy Project focused on helping Olivewood Gardens provide fresh food to surrounding communities located in a food desert around National City, California.
Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center's historic 7.85-acre property in National City, California serves as an inclusive and interactive, indoor-outdoor classroom for San Diegans of South Bay. They are driven to build healthy families in their local environment. This year's work included terracing land within the master plan created last year, installing new raised beds including soil on the new site, mulching, and painting a mural on the storage shed in Olivewood Garden's current production farm. The garden master plan includes a community mural, outdoor spaces for lounging and learning, a food forest and blueberry patch, a rainwater catchment system, and raised garden beds.