Protecting the Places That Shape Us and Honoring the Women Who Shaped Philadelphia
Women’s Alliance for the Empowerment of River Spaces
“When I walk or row on this river, I think about the women who came before me. Margaret Corlies fought to create a place for women on these waters. Ellen Phillips Samuel left a legacy of beauty, history, and civic purpose. Ernesta Ballard showed what it means to protect and restore the natural world. Their vision reminds me that one person really can make a difference, and inspires me to do my part to care for this place for the generations that follow.”
-Jane McNeil, Founder W.A.T.E.R.S.
The Opportunity
The Schuylkill River corridor along Kelly Drive and MLK Drive is one of Philadelphia’s great civic landscapes, alive every day with movement, memory, and possibility. It is a multi-dimensional, multi-user riverfront—where walkers, runners, cyclists, rowers, paddlers, families, commuters, and visitors come together for connection, exercise, reflection, competition and escape.
Beloved public spaces thrive with continued care and investment. Thoughtful improvements to the river and surrounding spaces can support the many ways people use and experience this corridor, making it more comfortable, accessible, safe, and welcoming for all.
The Women’s Alliance for the Empowerment of River Spaces (W.A.T.E.R.S.) was created to bring focus, resources, and advocacy to this vital corridor. In partnership with Fairmount Park Conservancy, W.A.T.E.R.S. is a group of civic-minded women working together to make the Schuylkill Riverfront safer, more accessible, and more vibrant while lifting up the women whose leadership, advocacy, creativity, and courage have shaped Philadelphia’s history.
Through design, interpretation, placemaking, and stewardship, W.A.T.E.R.S. will help bring those stories into view and strengthen the everyday experience of the riverfront, as a place to move, gather, learn, reflect, compete, and take pride in the city.
At its heart, W.A.T.E.R.S. is about carrying a legacy forward: caring for a place that has shaped generations of Philadelphians, recognizing the women who helped make the city better, and inviting more people to help protect, improve, and celebrate the riverfront for the future.
