Center City: Mayor Nutter Makes Appearance at Citizen's Planning Event.....

On Monday, December 6, 2010, the Citizen’s Planning Institute of Philadelphia hosted an awards ceremony to honor and pay tribute to the staff, committee, volunteers, teachers and students who are a part of their amazing program.

Monumental best describes the event which occurred at the Conversation Room in City Hall, located in Center City, Philadelphia. Parents and family and friends came together to watch their loved ones receive recognition for their hard and dedication to the program. Students, ranging from grades 4th to 11th, were awarded with certificates for expressing their creativity in the artwork they put together for the program. As a part of CPI’s Philadelphia2035 plan, the students were asked to create portraits depicting what each of them (students) believes their neighborhoods would look like in the next 20 years or so. Parents stood up from their seats, and cheer for their children as they went up to the front podium, one by one, to accept their awards.

“Children are precious resources for the future,” Gary Jaroub, one of the members of CPI said, during his speech.

Mayor Michael Nutter managed to stop to by for a few minutes. While standing at the podium to deliver his speech, Nutter offered a brief congratulation to the winners, and gave a little some positive input on the Philadelphia2035, and where he see the program going in the upcoming years. “….I’ll be here in 20 years,” Nutter said jokingly.

A fairly new program that is funded by the William Grant Foundation, CPI’s mission is to encourage the residents of Philadelphia to take initiative, when it comes to their neighborhoods. The Philadelphia2035 plan is a sort of like a 25-year contract that promises that the city of Philadelphia will improve in areas such as: growth and preservation, community planning, and housing.

For more information on CPI, please visit http://citizensplanninginstitute.org/ and, for details on the Philadelphia2035 Plan, visit http://citizensplanninginstitute.org/phila2035 .

Teresa Nicole Hatch (of ) Group 29

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