Applications are open for a Philadelphia grant program that funds public space improvement projects.

City residents and community groups are invited to apply for Feet First Philly’s (FFP) Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant program by Oct. 1. The pedestrian advocacy project, which is part of the Clean Air Council, launched the sixth year of the grant program last month in partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

Recipients will receive between $500 and $2,000 for initiatives that make their neighborhoods safer and more walkable. The program aims to help underserved communities that have historically received less investment, according to a news release by FFP.

“Pedestrian advocacy projects bring communities together to create safer and healthier spaces,” Sally Hecht, a Clean Air Council Transportation Program coordinator, said in Clean Air Council’s news release. “They bring people from all walks of life together and make neighborhoods around Philadelphia safer and healthier. Through the Mini-Grants, we can give Philadelphians the ability to build their communities in ways that benefit and directly support their neighbors.” 

Since 2020, FFP has funded more than 64 community-led projects in the Greater Philadelphia region. These projects entail cleaning up parks, fixing sidewalks, painting murals, installing bike racks, developing community gardens, and creating pocket parks (small urban green spaces).

“We have received exciting project proposals over the past five years, and we are excited for the new grant proposals that we will receive this round,” Titania Markland, Sustainable Transportation Program manager for Clean Air Council, said in the release.

Previous recipients include Friends of the Wissahickon, which received a grant in 2022 to build new sidewalks and a raised crosswalk along Harvey Street in Germantown. The sidewalks and crosswalk construction is on Harvey Street, adjacent to parkland, between Lincoln Drive and the SEPTA overpass south of Wayne Avenue, said Pauline Berkowitz, FOW’s director of capital projects.

FOW applied for the grant after Germantown residents contacted staff about working together to increase pedestrian access to Wissahickon Valley Park, Berkowitz said in an email. FOW plans to develop a trail that connects the main stem of the park to Wissahickon Avenue near Rittenhouse Street, and plant more native vegetation.

The initiative, called the Germantown Neighborhood Connection Project, is ongoing, Berkowitz said. The Philadelphia Streets Department approved the design, but FOW needs more funding for the remaining construction cost.

West Mt. Airy Neighbors received a Feet First Philly grant in 2023 to develop a junior branch of Mount Airy Tree Tenders, an organization that plants trees in northwest Philly. The junior Tree Tenders program engages local schools and trains students on greening public spaces.

The Application deadline is Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 11:59 p.m. EST. More information about the program is available at feetfirstphilly.org.

Abby Weiss is an environmental reporter for the Local and a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at Abby@chestnuthilllocal.com.