Philadelphia’s Black Development Community Goes Green

On Friday, April 26, the Philadelphia Energy Authority, the Impact Development Roundtable (IDR), an initiative of the Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC), and the African American Real Estate Professionals Philadelphia (AAREP-PHL) hosted an inspiring event. Philadelphia’s Black Development Community Goes Green featured seven esteemed panelists and welcomed over 120 guests for an open and impactful conversation on equity in Philadelphia’s real-estate development community and the barriers to producing energy-efficient and sustainable buildings.

From left to right: David Langlieb, Anthony Fullard, Tayyib Smith, Leslie Smallwood-Lewis, Blane Stoddart, Sandra Dungee Glenn, Lisa Shulock, and Kevin Williams.

Some of the many themes that panelists touched upon were education, innovation, access to the latest information on practices, materials, and technologies, and rising energy costs. These themes were echoed in the “Challenges” video and the Leon H. Sullivan Community Center video that the Philadelphia Energy Authority premiered at the event. Together, the panel and the short videos spurred many new connections between guests. The event concluded with an activity and commitment wall, with small groups of attendees each pledging their support for advancing initiatives to increase access and education surrounding energy-efficient and sustainable development. Guests reported vibrant conversations and many exchanges of resources that would not have been possible without the event bringing these diverse groups together. The result of this activity is posted above.