Philadelphia neighborhood design initiative kicks off tonight

We Have to be Able to do it Ourselves is the title of a 1970 documentary and the kick-off event for a design initiative in Philadelphia.

The Community Design Collaborative has received $150,000 in matching funds from the William Penn Foundation to launch Urban Energy, a year-long event focused on community design.

A national conference, design charrettes, an exhibition and publication are part of program, which will showcase the Collaborative’s 20 years of work improving neighborhoods with community design.

“It’s about creating more access and collaboration around design,” said Michael J. Paul in a release. Paul is a senior consultant with Duffield Associates, Inc., and chair of the Collaborative’s 20th anniversary steering committee.

The big kick-off event is tonight at the Center for Architecture, where city employees, local studio owners and planners will view the aforementioned documentary and participate in a panel discussion