New Website Additions!
Our website has been spruced up and you can now find materials from our partner Park in a Truck. These will help you design, build, and maintain your pocket park. Check it out! 
In response to requests from alumni, we’ve also added short videos of main presentations from our Special Topic Classes. Video topics include licenses & inspections, equity & inclusion, the RCO process, the circular economy, and reclaiming vacant land. Watch them here!
Have you found resources that would benefit other citizen planners? Email us at cpi@phila.gov so we can upload them to our website. Thanks for your contributions!
Mixing it up for the Fall Course!
This fall we’ll be offering virtual classes for ALUMNI only. After four virtual cohorts, we will not be opening applications again until next spring when we hope to have LIVE classes. Class descriptions will be posted on the website and alumni will also receive email notice with a link to register. 
Upcoming Celebration!
Alumni! In case you haven’t heard – we’re throwing a party! It’s been a difficult two and a half years and we are looking forward to reconnecting IN PERSON!   

Visit the Boathouse at FDR Park, tour the Southeast Asian food market, take a kayak ride, tour the Swedish Museum, and meet fellow Citizen Planners! 

First 150 alumni will get the new CPI-in-a-Box prototype to test! 
Upcoming Opportunities
You’re invited to walk around Philadelphia!

Join JJ Tiziou (Spring 2017) for his 10th walk around the perimeter of Philadelphia beginning September 10th. This iteration of Walk Around Philadelphia will facilitate the experience for ~320 participants, with ten days of walks to choose from, along with a virtual kickoff event and special in-person closing celebration at Cherry Street Pier.

Participants can join for a partial segment, whole day, or multiple as you’re able. Click here to learn more! 
Upcoming Civic Engagement Learning Series Sessions:

  • Building Coalitions: How to engage the right people and resources around a shared goal. August 17, 2022, 6:00 - 7:30 PM Location: Virtual

  • Government 101: How the federal, state and local government works. September 21, 2022, 6:00 - 7:30 PM Location: Virtual
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission is partnering with Connect the Dots and Amber Art and Design to guide the community engagement process for the Roundhouse building redevelopment project.

There will be opportunities throughout the summer and fall for community members to share their lived experiences with the space and imagine potential futures for the site. Stay tuned for more opportunities to participate! Add a comment on the website Idea Wall!  
Social Research Project Opportunity 

CPI alumna Naida Montes (Fall 2014) will be conducting Philadelphia-based interviews for a study called: Rust Archipelago: Natural and Human Ecologies after Abandonment. The Department of Urban Studies at The New School is interviewing residents from Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Detroit. Interviewees will receive financial compensation for the 1-1.5 hour recorded interview. Interviews will begin in September 2022.  

Contact Naida Elena Montes at naida.elena@gmail.com  
Rowhouse City: History and Adaptation in Philadelphia

This two-day symposium held on Friday October 7th – Saturday October 8th will focus on the history and development of the rowhouse in Philadelphia, critically evaluate its current conditions, and identify the inherent advantages and challenges associated with its preservation in a 21st-century context. Learn more about the event and speakers here.
Job Opportunities
The Mayor’s Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service is accepting applications for part-time Community Resource Corps members!

CRC connects residents to anti-poverty benefits and life sustaining resources. Corps members will work about 30 hours per week to conduct community outreach, and work to help residents understand eligibility requirements and apply for resources.

Members can decide to serve on the team from October 2022 to March 2023, or October 2022 to August 2023. Applications are being accepted here.

They are also hiring a Community Resource Corps Member Experience Manager and Coordinator to lead CRC members and create an impactful experience for them.  
Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition is seeking a part-time Community Organizer to build social networks and facilitate connections. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis until position is filled. Learn more and apply here

Urban Creators is looking for a Director of Capacity & Development. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through August 15th. Learn more here

Community Ventures is looking to hire a part-time (2-3 days) Development Associate as a temporary intern. A graduate student or someone with an interest and minimal experience in housing and community development with great writing skills is desired. The position would start ASAP through at least December 2022. Email thannigan@community-ventures.org if interested.

PACDC is hiring a Communications and Events Coordinator. Resumes are being accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more and apply here

Ceiba is looking for a Bilingual Program Coordinator. Rolling deadline. Experience not necessary, smart, dedicated young talent is welcome to apply. Learn more and apply here. 

Community Legal Services of Philadelphia is seeking a Communications and Social Media Associate. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more and apply here.

NKCDC is offering a part-time paid training to become a Certified Community Health Worker in the Kensington community. The training will include basic healthcare fundamentals. Only general skills are needed to train. Learn more here.

The Bicycle Coalition is hiring a Communications Manager. Applications are due by August 15th. Click here to learn more and apply. 

Norris Square Neighborhood Project is looking for a Co-Urban Garden Manager to assist in upkeep of NSNP’s garden spaces and implementation of activities and projects. Applications accepted on a rolling basis. Click here to learn more and apply. 
Citizen Planners are on the Move!
We connected with Odessa Tate (Spring 2021) to learn more about the greenspace projects she is working on in her neighborhood of Strawberry Mansion and how CPI has informed this work. Read the full update here.  
Yvonne Hughes, Spring 2022 cohort, has been appointed as a commissioner for the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities. Congrats Yvonne!  
Antonio Romero, Fall 2014 cohort, and instructor, Fall 2015, is now the Associate Director for Diversity Initiatives and Community Relations at Temple University. A huge part of his role is to visit schools in the Philadelphia area and make connections on an individual and broad level with prospective students on a regular basis. Although there are over 100 schools in the city, Antonio says he tries to prioritize schools that are in highly concentrated Latinx neighborhoods because of Temple’s mission to serving particularly the North Philadelphia community.
Consider making a tax-deductible contribution! Click "support this project" on the CPI page on the Mayor's Fund for Philadelphia website.

Donations will go towards scholarships, printing Citizens Toolkits, hosting more Neighborhood Exchanges, increasing support for CPI alumni, and expand CPI programming beyond the biannual course.