Brewerytown to host the Storefront for Urban Innovation

[mixiboi]

So the City Facebook page just posted this:

Next American City » Buzz » Announcing The Storefront for Urban Innovation

In an effort to broaden our audience and expand the circle of people who are participating in the dialogue about our cities, Next American City is launching something called The Storefront for Urban Innovation. The Storefront will serve as our offices, an exhibition space and a host for small and medium-sized events. We’ve located our storefront in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia on West Girard Avenue. This neighborhood, like many others in the city, is often described as having “seen better days.” Many of its storefronts are closed or open only sporadically. The neighborhood lacks the basic amenities of a supermarket, bank, post office or school. And abandoned houses, vacant lots, stray kittens and trash are common features of the streets just north of our office. But on the other hand, there is a coalition that has installed new colorful trashcans that have cleaned up the street. A developer, MM Partners (disclosure: our landlord) has helped revive the area by bringing Mugshots Café, a bike shop, and infill housing to the neighborhood. And many people who lived further south but are seeking cheaper rent are now populating the area, rehabbing buildings formerly in disrepair. This location that bridges gentrification and stagnation at the same time is not incidental; it is a perfect perch to watch and participate in the direction of the community.

It is an interesting concept, but will it get the attention of those outside of the homogeneous audience that these type of projects attract? They picked a good area to do this as it is still fairly in the middle of two different types of urban lifestyles.

We will see...

[dcss1205]

Sounds like the kernel of a good start. Congrats.