{

BACKGROUND

The City of Philadelphia recently received a Hope VI grant to redevelop Mill Creek Public Housing, originally designed by architect Louis Kahn, in a collaboration between the Philadelphia Housing Authority, Philadelphia Water Department, and the community. Many of the ideas underlying the City's proposal were developed by WPLP in collaboration with neighborhood residents and teachers and students in a local middle-school. How can the knowledge and visions produced by these earlier efforts serve as a resource for these new ventures and be effectively communicated to new actors, such as city officials and professional consultants they hire?The Brightwood/Northend neighborhood of Springfield is embarking on an ambitious program of community planning and development, for which they have good support from city agencies. What can Springfield learn from the 15-year experience of WPLP, its successes and failures, and how can this knowledge be transferred?