In style, black will always be black. But around town, green is the new black at ten city schools and rec centers where blacktop will be transformed into new green space as part of a multi-city-agency collaborative initiative announced this month. It means a creative approach to creating needed accessible public green space.

Born of out of the mayor’s Green2015 Action Plan to create 500 acres of green space in the city by 2015, members from various city agencies celebrated the news with an event this month at the William Dick Elementary Schoolyard at 25th and Diamond Streets in North Philly.

Great mural

The budget for this program is about $9M, according to Patrick Morgan, chief of staff for the Parks and Recreation Department. Last year, partners from the Mural Arts Program, Water Department, Parks and Rec and The Trust…