Special Topic Classes
CPI offers three electives each semester to give participants the opportunity to explore topics they want to know more about. Participants select a minimum of two electives to meet course requirements. Let us know if you have ideas for topics or would like to present in class.

Advocacy & Engagement
- Advocating for Your Cause (2018)
- Community Engagement 101 (2016)
- Neighbors Helping Neighbors – A Citizen’s Toolkit (2016)
- Telling Your Neighborhood’s Story – How to Have a Voice in Local News (2019)
Community Planning
- Coalitions: Working with Other Organizations (2019)
- Community Organizing & Asset Mapping (2017)
- Community Planning Tools & Techniques (2014)
- Filling the Fridge: Gardens, Supermarkets & Pantries (2016)
- Fixing Neighborhood Issues (2017)
- Identifying Community Assets (2019)
- Navigating City Government: Building Relationships and Leveraging City Resources (2020)
- Resources for Neighborhood Development (2017)
- Walkable Neighborhoods
Data
- Accessing Free City Information (2018)
- Good Planning Begins with Good Data (2014)
Economic Development
- Broad, Germantown and Erie (2021)
- Commercial Corridor Development (2011)
- Complete Streets and Commercial Corridors (2012)
- Commercial Corridors Reality Check (2016)
- Equitable Development (2015)
- Supporting Businesses & Living Wage Jobs in Your Neighborhood (2020)
- Reinventing Commercial Corridors (2013)
- Riverfront Development & Citizen Advocacy (2014)
Emergency Management
- Preparing Your Community (2018)
Environment & Green Spaces
- Clean and Green (2017)
- Climate Change Preparedness (2015)
- Community Leadership in Climate Resilience (2020)
- Greening Philadelphia & Greenworks on the Ground (2011)
- Greening Philadelphia through Better Design (2012)
- Parkland Stewardship & Green Infrastructure (2014)
- Philly Parks and You (2018)
- Urban Green Spaces (2015)
Health
- Healthy Communities & Environmental Justice (2011)
- Healthy Communities & Green Streets (2014)
- Reducing Risk in Philadelphia (2021)
Housing
- Affordable Housing (2018)
- Neighborhood Construction (2021)
Investment
- Investing in Our Future – the Capital Program (2013)
- Leveraging City Funds (2013)
Land Use
- Accessing Vacant Land (2021)
- The Land Bank & Community Access (2015)
- Vacant Land & Community Land Access (2013)
- Vacant Land Policy and Interventions (2012)
Litter
- Let’s Talk Trash (2021)
- Reducing Litter (2019)
Organization Management
- Diversifying your Organization (2017)
- Making Your Organization More Effective (2012)
- Strengthening Your Organization (2013)
Preservation
- Conserving Community Character (2014)
- Historic and Cultural Resources (2021)
- Preserving Historic Resources (2016)
- Preserving a Sense of Place in Neighborhoods (2011)
Transportation
- Safe Streets & Vision Zero (2018)
- TOD’s & the Role of Public Transit (2011)
Urban Design
- Community Safety through Design (2015)
- Creative Placemaking (2015)
- Designing Places for Everyone (2019)
- Public Spaces for People (2016)
- Urban Design Principles (2012)
Zoning
- L&I and Zoning Committee Best Practices (2013)
- The New Zoning Code (2012)
- Zoning 2.0 (2019)