architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) have unveiled a long-term masterplan to develop a vast new urban district in Philadelphia.

The scheme, which is centred around the city’s 30th Street Station precinct, envisions 40 new acres of open space and 18 million square feet of new development, including an entirely new mixed-use neighbourhood.

Over the next three decades and beyond, city planners want the station to become a new hub for a district where people can come to shop, meet and eat. The surrounding area will include public parks, walking trails and improved transport routes for cyclists, drivers, trains and buses.

A proposed investment of US$2bn (€1.8bn, £1.5bn) will be made in roads, utilities, parks, bridges and transit services. It is believed this will unlock up to US$4.5bn (€4bn, £3.4bn) in private real estate investment in the city.

The masterplan has been created over the past two years by SOM in collaboration with professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, landscape architect OLIN, and project consultants HR&A Advisors. The developers of the scheme include rail service provider Amtrak, the Brandywine Realty Trust, Drexel University and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

More information about SOM’s ambitious plans for Philadelphia can be found in the video below: