Park in a Truck Recognized with Green Building United's 2020 Groundbreaker Award

Thomas Jefferson University’s Park in a Truck was one of five projects and community leaders celebrated at Green Building United’s 2020 Groundbreaker Awards, a virtual award ceremony on Thursday, December 17. Green Building United’s annual Groundbreaker Awards recognizes and celebrates green building leadership, innovation, and impact in greater Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, and Delaware.

Park in a Truck was honored with the People’s Choice Award.

“Park in a Truck is an incredible initiative started in Jefferson’s Landscape Architecture program bringing landscape architecture students, high school students, community stakeholders and faculty together to create community owned green spaces in Philadelphia and beyond. I am proud of the recognition that this initiative has received by having been selected for the 2020 People’s Choice Groundbreaker Award” said Barbara Klinkhammer, Dean of the College of Architecture and the Built Environment. 

“This year's community leadership and project awardees include net-zero construction, affordable housing, best practice tools and training, and to programs that engage youth and build the next generation of green building advocates” said Alex Dews, Executive Director of Green Building United. “The breadth of the work that this year’s awardees are being recognized for is testament to the growing emphasis on sustainability in our region and is indicative of the role that it will play in our future. We’re pleased to recognize their hard work and dedication to innovation and green building and commend the impact they are making on our communities.”

About the Project

The Park in a Truck project was developed by the College of Architecture and the Built Environment’s Landscape Architecture program with the goal of harnessing the hidden asset of many low-income neighborhoods: vacant lots and other unused land. Our program creates a community-operated green network, established through low-cost, fast-turnaround renovations of vacant lots that not only improves environmental, social and physical health in under-resourced neighborhoods, but also unites efforts to keep them intact and helps residents lead revitalization and reinvestment efforts. This open space initiative builds upon the ongoing community development work of many great organizations by repurposing underutilized spaces to fill in the gaps. No one should ever be far from a safe, high-quality green space.