Project area: 35 acres
Location: Philadelphia, PA 19140
Type: Urban design proposal
Year: 2026
Location: Philadelphia, PA 19140
Type: Urban design proposal
Year: 2026
Logan Roots & Routes is an urban design proposal for Logan Triangle in Philadelphia, a site shaped by a long history of instability, displacement, and vacancy. What exists today is the result of homes being built over the buried Wingohocking Creek, followed by structural failure, demolition, and the relocation of hundreds of families. Instead of treating the site as an empty piece of land waiting for development, the project begins with that history and asks what it would mean to rebuild in a way that acknowledges what was lost.
The proposal focuses on food as a way to bring people back into a relationship with each other. In Logan, food has always carried culture, memory, and exchange across different communities, so the project uses markets, gardens, and shared public spaces to create new opportunities for gathering and connection. The goal is not just to fill a vacant site, but to create a place that feels useful, welcoming, and rooted in the people who already call Logan home.
Design process
The design process combined historical research, mapping, land use and zoning analysis, SWOT studies, system diagrams, and process sketches. These studies helped shape a proposal that responds to both the physical conditions of the site and the social realities of the neighborhood. The final design grew out of an effort to connect history, ecology, movement, and community into one coherent framework.
1895 - 2024 Years
The history of Logan Triangle is tied to both growth and loss. What is now a large vacant site was once part of a dense residential neighborhood built over the buried Wingohocking Creek, land that had earlier been Lenape territory before later development reshaped it. In the early 1900s, the creek bed was filled with ash and cinders to create buildable ground, and the neighborhood grew into a lively residential and commercial area connected to the rest of the city.
Historic imagery
But the unstable fill beneath those homes eventually led to sinking structures, gas explosions, and major safety concerns, and by the 1980s, 957 families were relocated while entire blocks were demolished. The result was Logan Triangle, a 35-acre void that has remained largely vacant for decades, carrying the physical and emotional impact of displacement, disinvestment, and stalled redevelopment.
Thesis / Concept
Logan has long been home to people from many different parts of the world, including communities from Israel, Korea, China, Jamaica, Haiti, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Over time, those cultures helped shape the neighborhood through language, religion, tradition, and especially food. Food has always been one of the clearest ways people connect with one another. It creates opportunities to share, learn, teach, celebrate, and build understanding across differences. In Logan, where many residents still experience a sense of separation from one another and from the city, the project uses food as a way to rebuild those connections.
Masterplan
The masterplan brings together a mix of spaces that support both everyday life and larger community activity. A key organizing element of the site is the historic footprint of the buried creek, which shapes the overall layout of the proposal. Buildings and public spaces are arranged around this path, turning it into the main structure that guides movement through the site. Along this residential spine, people are led toward the center of the project, where the food market acts as the heart of the plan and the main place of gathering. The historic footprint is also used as part of the stormwater strategy, reconnecting the site to its history of water in a way that is visible, functional, and sustainable.
Food Market / Magnet
At the heart of the project is a community food market designed as a place of both exchange and opportunity. It gives Logan residents a space to share their cuisines, ingredients, and traditions while also creating room for small businesses and economic growth. The idea is that visitors come not only to buy food, but to experience the culture of the neighborhood, which helps bring more visibility, activity, and pride back to the area.
Typical pedestrian street / Residential development
View towards the TOD station and Community center
Street Section Perspective
More than anything, the project is about creating a place that feels alive again. By centering food, gathering, and shared public space, Logan Roots & Routes imagines a future for Logan Triangle that is rooted in local identity and shaped around connection. The goal is not simply to fill the site, but to make it feel like it belongs to the community again.
The history of Logan Triangle is tied to both growth and loss. What is now a large vacant site was once part of a dense residential neighborhood built over the buried Wingohocking Creek, land that had earlier been Lenape territory before later development reshaped it. In the early 1900s, the creek bed was filled with ash and cinders to create buildable ground, and the neighborhood grew into a lively residential and commercial area connected to the rest of the city.
Historic imagery
But the unstable fill beneath those homes eventually led to sinking structures, gas explosions, and major safety concerns, and by the 1980s, 957 families were relocated while entire blocks were demolished. The result was Logan Triangle, a 35-acre void that has remained largely vacant for decades, carrying the physical and emotional impact of displacement, disinvestment, and stalled redevelopment.
Thesis / Concept
Logan has long been home to people from many different parts of the world, including communities from Israel, Korea, China, Jamaica, Haiti, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Over time, those cultures helped shape the neighborhood through language, religion, tradition, and especially food. Food has always been one of the clearest ways people connect with one another. It creates opportunities to share, learn, teach, celebrate, and build understanding across differences. In Logan, where many residents still experience a sense of separation from one another and from the city, the project uses food as a way to rebuild those connections.
Masterplan
The masterplan brings together a mix of spaces that support both everyday life and larger community activity. A key organizing element of the site is the historic footprint of the buried creek, which shapes the overall layout of the proposal. Buildings and public spaces are arranged around this path, turning it into the main structure that guides movement through the site. Along this residential spine, people are led toward the center of the project, where the food market acts as the heart of the plan and the main place of gathering. The historic footprint is also used as part of the stormwater strategy, reconnecting the site to its history of water in a way that is visible, functional, and sustainable.
Food Market / Magnet
At the heart of the project is a community food market designed as a place of both exchange and opportunity. It gives Logan residents a space to share their cuisines, ingredients, and traditions while also creating room for small businesses and economic growth. The idea is that visitors come not only to buy food, but to experience the culture of the neighborhood, which helps bring more visibility, activity, and pride back to the area.
Typical pedestrian street / Residential development
View towards the TOD station and Community center
Street Section Perspective
More than anything, the project is about creating a place that feels alive again. By centering food, gathering, and shared public space, Logan Roots & Routes imagines a future for Logan Triangle that is rooted in local identity and shaped around connection. The goal is not simply to fill the site, but to make it feel like it belongs to the community again.