Funded by the William Penn Foundation, the Next Great City initiative came together in the fall of 2005 to address the environmental and public health issues that are harming Philadelphia's economy and quality of life. The coalition gathered information from residents on environmental issues and attitudes, both through community meetings and through professional polling, done by Terry Madonna Opinion Research. That polling showed that Philadelphia residents and businesses were being harmed by environmental issues, such as stormwater flooding, high levels of asthma and abandoned property becoming sources of crime.

Together, the coalition created a 10-point, common sense agenda of policy recommendations that met five criteria. First, each of the recommendations can be completed within the new mayor's term. Each is within the city's authority. Each of the actions will create positive changes that people will be able to see and feel in their own neighborhoods. Each was proven successful in another peer city. And each action is affordable- either revenue neutral or able to be funded through an identified source that can cover key costs.

The coalition created a report, a brochure and a website to share the information with the public. Meetings were held with candidates for Mayor and for City Council to gather their support and to encourage inclusion in their policy papers. A Mayoral Forum held in February of 2007 was attended by all candidates and watched by an audience of almost 800 people. Trained volunteers have given Next Great City presentations to almost 50 community, civic and school groups. The website and a bi-weekly newsletter continue to update and engage the larger community. The recommendation’s subcommittees meet regularly to strategize for implementation of each recommendation and to grow support through additional organizational endorsements and community presentations.

The Next Great City coalition is now made up of 108 civic associations, health groups, unions, social service agencies, environmental organizations and congregations throughout the City. Less than a year into the Nutter Administration, significant progress has been made towards implementing the Next Great City agenda, with five of 10 recommendations completed and three more launched.

The Next Great City initiative aims to address issues that have been holding back Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. By reducing asthma, improving parks, making public transportation safer and getting litter off the streets and into recycling bins, every neighborhood in Philadelphia will become healthier, greener place to live and work for generations to come.

Next Great City has the support of 108 diverse organizations ranging from Congreso de Latinos Unidos, the AFL-CIO of Philadelphia, Committee of Seventy, Habitat for Humanity, NAACP, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, the Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition. The breadth of this coalition ensures the support and engagement of Philadelphians of all neighborhoods, ethnicities and backgrounds and we continue to grow and add more support.

With an economic crisis forcing the closure of libraries and fire stations, each policy recommendation in the agenda is either cost neutral, or funding has been identified to cover key costs. In some cases, the policy can even generate money for the city. Additionally, the recommendations will add to the economic vitality of the city by making the city a more attractive, effective place to live and do business.

The Next Great City initiative is a first for Philadelphia. No other coalition of its size and diversity has ever come together to back a single agenda. Nor has any coalition ever been so successful in putting its issues into the spotlight during an election. Due to its success, several other advocacy communities within Philadelphia and environmental coalitions in other cities are planning to carry out a similar initiative.

Next Great City will have a lasting and deep impact on Philadelphia. As the entire agenda is gradually implemented, Philadelphia’s air will be cleaner and less children will have asthma as diesel trucks are retrofitted and more trees are planted; there will be less trash on the streets and more recycled for profit, every person will have a clean, safe transit stop and community park; blight will be removed and vacant lots will be greened; buildings will be more energy efficient and healthier for their inhabitants; neighborhoods will grow with appropriate zoning laws to protect open space and encourage smart development and our riverfronts will again be an asset to our city. In future elections, candidates for city office will be expected to articulate their positions on environmental issues.

Environmental organizations and others within the coalition will have more access to and clout with their elected officials in making sure good public policy moves ahead. The newly created Office of Sustainability is already looking to the coalition for advice and support, while the Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Board is made up of several members of the coalition. The relationships formed among coalition partners will also have a long term impact. Those involved in Next Great City have benefited from accessing new information, creating alliances and partnerships and creating new voices for environmental change.

Next Great City thrived because of its partnerships. Having non-traditional allies from labor, health, senior, faith and minority-representation organizations increased the relevance of the issues and made the campaign stronger and smarter. The initiative can easily be replicated. Funding from William Penn Foundation has already been secured to launch a second Next Great City initiative to keep pushing public policy ahead. The success of the initiative could also be replicated by other issue advocacy groups, or by similar organizations in other cities.

Coalition Impact:

Building a 108-member coalition to back the agenda has been one of the largest successes of the initiative. Having non-traditional allies such as the NAACP or the AFL-CIO join and support Next Great City demonstrated that these issues had a wide impact and not just a concern of any particular group, but the entire city. Making connections among these various organizations has also led to more opportunities for collaboration on various issues and has overall given more strength to each of the participating groups.

Election Impact: The attached article from the Philadelphia Inquirer summarizes the impact that Next Great City has had on the Mayoral race. During the primary, each of the candidates issued a policy paper on the environment- a first in Philadelphia election history. Each also issued a statement of support for Next Great City. The February 15th Next Great City Mayoral Forum was the first event of the primary season that all five candidates attended, essentially kicking off the race. In the general election, the candidates were still forced to talk about issues like parks, recycling and riverfronts at major speaking engagements and both attended the October 15th mayoral forum hosted by Next Great City, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Urban Sustainability Forum.

Policy Impact: In April of 2007, Mayor Street signed a contract with PECO Wind purchasing all of City Hall's power needs, or about 4.2% of the city's energy usage, from clean, renewable wind energy. Next Great City recommended the City purchase 5% renewable energy, and this purchase puts the City close to achieving that recommendation. In May of 2007, voters overwhelmingly approved a City Charter change to allow for the creation of a Zoning Code Commission that would be charged with making recommendations to update and improve the City's Zoning Code. Next Great City recommended the Zoning Code be updated to include incentives for green buildings, encouragement of transit-oriented development and the inclusion of an open space designation. The creation of this Commission is necessary for these changes to be included. On July 7, 2008, The City of Philadelphia made the final expansion of the single stream recycling program to bring the entire city into the program that allows residents to recycle paper, plastic, metals, glass and cardboard all in one bin. As recommended by Next Great City, single stream makes recycling easier and allows for more material collection- both of which should have a positive impact on increasing recycling rates.

Next up, the city will expand weekly collection citywide staring on January 5, 2008. On October 22, 2008, city officials announced a project to retrofit 88 city-owned fire department vehicles to reduce soot by 20 percent, smog-forming pollution by 40 percent, and carbon monoxide by 50 percent. Funds for the retrofits were provided by EPA Region 3 and managed by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association. The City is providing matching funds through a settlement with the Sunoco Corporation.

On November 4, 2008, a whopping 73% of voters signaled their support for the parks by voting for a measure that will result in two major reforms. First, the governance of Fairmount Park will change to provide an open and transparent appointment process for qualified commissioners, one of the Next Great City recommendations. Secondly, it will create a unified parks and recreation system that will be managed by and accountable to the Mayor. Additional funding had also been promised, but due to the financial crisis has been postponed.

In November of 2008, the Philadelphia Water Department began the process of changing the way stormwater fees are collected from commercial customers. As recommended by Next Great City, instead of making the fee based on how much water a property uses, it will instead be charged by how much impervious surface it has and therefore, how much stormwater it creates. Several Next Great City coalition partners are submitting testimony in support of the change during the rate case, which should conclude by February of 2009. For fiscal year 2008, a budget line of $3.5 million was allocated for vacant land stabilization and maintenance strategies. This budget line ensures that the internationally-recognized Philly Green program will continue to engage communities in removing these eyesores and potential sources of crime from neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia.