Empty Promise

Metro columnist Tom Ferrick has been baying for a while about Philadelphia's empty lots - how it won't be long before one sees wolves return to the abandoned spaces that ring the city center.

Courtesty of  Phillyist comes word of a competition:

The Van Alen Institute, a NY-based organization devoted to public architecture, has teamed with Philadelphia's LandVisions to challenge planners, designers, students to create a winning model for what to do with Philadelphia's 40,000 vacant lots, which sprawl across more than 1,000 acres of the city. It's called the "Urban Voids" competition.

Writes Phillyist: The intent is to foster designs that integrate the city's surprisingly interesting ecological traits with the extant architectural milieu, as well as encouraging new construction plans that bridge the two. If you're an architect or urban planner, or even a student of one of those disciplines, you can register until November 14 to submit a plan – designs are due January 6.