As Philadelphia approaches its 250th anniversary, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway is once again at the center of civic imagination. Once envisioned as a grand cultural and green boulevard, it has gradually shifted into a car-dominated corridor with fragmented green spaces. Today, a growing coalition of community members, civic leaders, and designers are advancing a bold mission: to transform the Parkway into Philadelphia’s next great park — an inclusive, connected, and climate-resilient landscape that creates a cohesive public space worthy of the city’s legacy.
Catalyst for Change: Fundamental Needs
Originally designed in the Beaux Arts tradition to echo Paris’s Champs-Élysées, the Parkway is transforming from a Eurocentric vehicular-focused corridor into a people-focused park addressing social equity needs and community connection. Recent events underscored the urgency for change: the pandemic heightened demand for outdoor spaces, the Black Lives Matter movement called for more inclusive civic realms, and community debates around unhoused encampments emphasized returning to an experience that prioritizes walkability, green space, public art, and safe access to cultural institutions, acting as a lifeline for reconnection and healing.
Opportunities and challenges of the existing site.
A Community-Driven Vision
The reimagining of the Parkway centers on public voices. The design team conducted comprehensive public engagement, including launch events, surveys, a public symposium, focus groups, pop-up events, and a design charrette with city staff and stakeholders, as well as an Ambassador Program to gather input from those who live, work, and pass through the area daily. Feedback informed strategies for improving experience, identity, safety, amenities, and event capacity.
Modern Demands for Today’s Pedestrians
The phased transformation significantly reduces vehicular dominance, with the outer lanes becoming protected bike paths and pedestrian zones with soft surface trails for walking, jogging, and leisure activities. The central spine will maintain space for events while reducing traffic lanes, and a new cross axis will extend to the river from Eakins Oval, featuring a pedestrian bridge connecting to revitalized railroad yards, the Schuylkill River trail, a river taxi terminal, and a kayak launch. The plan also calls for removing the Kelly Drive segment that divides the Oval from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and restoring Logan Circle as a pedestrian-focused public square.