Parklets Return to University City With Help From the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative

This week University City District is working to install our popular Parklets, the innovative, temporary seating platforms that provide residents and visitors with a space to take in the area’s lively streetscape. UCD’s Parklets are landscaped with planters and a decorative railing, furnished with movable café tables and chairs, and add a distinct vibrancy to the neighborhood.

The Parklets' return is an effort coordinated between our Planning and Economic Development department, our Public Space and Maintenance   crews and, for the first time this year, participants in the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, who are currently enrolled in our landscaping program. 

This winter UCD gained national attention due to the publication of The Case for Parklets: Measuring the Impact on Sidewalk Vitality and Neighborhood Businesses, a study that provides data and recommendations based on analyses of six Parklets in University City from the 2013 season and their ability to bring more life to public spaces and more feet to neighborhood businesses. Key findings from the report included that: Parklets can attract an enormous number of users (well over 150 unique users over the course of a day in the 240 square feet that could otherwise have hosted just one or two parked cars); Parklet installation coincided with a substantial (an average of 20%) boost in sales for nearby businesses; Parklets can have substantial spillover effects to nearby sidewalks and spaces; and Parklet success can be predictable based on a few key environmental factors.

Visit the Parklets for yourself and enjoy outdoor seating. The locations for the Parklets this year are: 

• 4040 Locust St. (hosted by Ramen Bar)
• 261 S. 44^th St. (hosted by Honest Tom’s Tacos and Lil’ Pop Shop)
• 4239 Baltimore Ave. (hosted by Green Line Cafe)
• 801 S. 47^th St. (hosted by Fu-Wah Market)
• 4903 Catharine St (hosted by Little Baby’s Ice Cream and Hibiscus Cafe)

We are working on securing an additional location as well, and will announce this final location once it has been confirmed.