GET THE IDEA➤ IT ALL STARTS with an idea — for something new or different or even revolu-tionary. It’s that “We could do this, couldn’t we?” moment that epitomizes the spirit we’re celebrating with our Big Vision Awards. For the fourth year, we’re giving an enthusiastic newsprint (and online) shout-out to a handful of Philadelphians who have shown themselves able to come up with innovative, out-of-the-box ideas and make them a reality.

These six Big Vision Award winners and 18 honorable mentions are an eclectic crew who have shaken up the realms of government, arts, activism, food and more. Some have recently burst onto the scene. Others have been around much longer but made a notable impact this year. For example, our sustainability and design winner, Onion Flats, a design/build construction firm, was founded back in 1997. From the start, it has had somewhat unorthodox goals, including making architecture less theoretical and more hands-on. It has launched an arm of the company specifically to design green roofs and solar systems. But this year Onion Flats built the first super-energy-efficient passive house in Pennsylvania, working with a nonprofit that helps people transition out of homelessness. That’s the kind of idea that deserves major accolades.

To arrive at our winners and runners-up, nominations were made by City Paper

staff and contributors, and then voted on by the editorial board. There were a lot of worthy candidates to choose from, which just goes to show how much creativity and ambition swirls through this city.

—Theresa Everline

(theresa.everline@citypaper.net)

BIG VISION NOMINATING COMMITTEE

A.D. Amorosi, Meg Augustin, Jake Blumgart, Daniel Denvir, Adam Erace, Theresa Everline,Christian Graham, Emily Guendelsberger, Catherine Haas, Gary M. Kramer, Drew Lazor, Natalie Hope McDonald, Samantha Melamed, Josh Middleton, Patrick Rapa, Caroline Russock, Brion Shreffler, David Spelman, Carly Szkaradnik, Isaiah Thompson, John Vettese, Andrew Wimer

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MUSIC

BANDS IN THE BACKYARD

IT BEGAN AS a simple enough idea. Freelance designer Kyle Costill decided in sum-mer 2011 to film some musician friends performing in his Oaklyn, N.J., backyard. With plans to shoot one web video a month, he hoped the changing of the seasons would put indie rock in an ever-evolving context.

That didn’t quite go as planned: Ultimately, the backyard looked and felt like the same backyard. But the part about taking music out of the rock club and out of doors was a success, and the newly branded Bands in the Backyard project was born.

BITBY produced a remarkable string of videos its first year, some 180 at last count. The monthly shoots at Costill’s home have showcased experimental space-rock out-fit Arc in Round and riot-grrrl-inspired trio Break It Up, to name two. Soon, they branched out to other locations for mini-features: a Bartram’s Garden sit-down with the distillers at Art in the Age; a lively reading by comedian Juliet Hope Wayne; a blur-ry, massively excited clip from Meek Mill’s 25th-birthday concert at Union Transfer. If BITBY is out on the town, they’re probably filming it, with most of the video by Costill and his partner David Kain.

These days every music fan with a camera and a Vimeo account wants to make their own Black Cab Sessions. But rather than chasing the Arcade Fires of the world, BITBY’s focus is the local music and arts scene first, grabbing the occasional small-time touring band (Metz, for instance) a distant second. Their 40,000 or so YouTube views may seem modest , but considering the project’s aim, it’s actually kind of impressive.

Talking with folks about BITBY, I find naysayers who ask , “What’s the point? They’re just working with bands people haven’t heard of.” I say that’s exactly the point.

—John Vettese

LAWN CHEERS: David Kain and Kyle Costill, photographed Dec. 4 in Costill’s backyard.

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HONORABLEMENTIONS✚EDIBLE ONION This tiny cassette-based label is building a cool little scene around their lo-fi bands’ small shows and handmade albums.✚ANDREW LIPKE Last year he gave us The Plague, his “song cycle of apocalyptic vignettes” that includ-ed parts for a string quartet. This year he released Siddiqah, a two-song EP includ-ing an epic 15-minute track that feels like a movie. Very composed. Very cool.✚ MADE IN AMERICA The doomsayers were legion, but Jay-Z’s gigantic, two-day, multi-stage concert delivered on its promise of big names (Kanye, Pearl Jam, etc.) and a boost to the local economy (a reported approximate $10 million).

PHOTO BY JESSICA KOURKOUNIS

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SUSTAINABILITYAND DESIGN

ONION FLATS

“WHY DO WE build houses with utility bills for people who can’t afford [those bills]?” That’s what Tim McDonald, president of design/build firm Onion Flats, wants to know when it comes to low-income housing. This summer, Onion Flats showed what’s possible.

On Belfield Avenue in North Philly, Onion Flats built three houses that are “passive,” meaning they’re so ener-gy efficient, heating costs are reduced up to 90 percent. With solar roof panels generating energy to cover the other 10 percent, a passive house has the potential, over the course of a year, to have zero energy consumption. These are the first certified passive houses in the state.

“This isn’t science fiction — it’s insulation,” says Mc-Donald. The virtually airtight building features such things as triple-paned windows and a condensing dryer that doesn’t need to be vented to the outside. After you’ve walked through a passive house, it’s hard to look at dryer heat being released into the atmosphere without cringing.

Onion Flats’ buildings are modular: The structure is made off-site while the foundation is built. “A lot of wast-ed time and money can be eliminated” this way, notes Habeebah Ali, executive director of the nonprofit Raise of Hope, which funded the houses through grants. And passive-house construction doesn’t cost any more. “Our motto for Belfield and all our projects to come is ‘zero energy, zero premium, zero debate,’” says McDonald.

Raise of Hope works to get families out of the home-less-shelter system. Among the Belfield homes’ new residents are Lisamarie Howse and her children. Howse was in a homeless shelter two years ago. Now she’ll be living in one of the most innovative homes in the city.

—Theresa Everline

PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE: In front of the Belfield Avenue passive houses on Dec. 5, members of the Onion Flats team (except where noted), from left: Karen Gibson, Dan Magno, David Serrahima, Ted Singer, Raise of Hope’s Terrie Wiggins, Johnny McDonald, Howard Steinberg, new resident Lisamarie Howse, Tim McDonald and Raise of Hope’s Habeebah Ali.

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HONORABLEMENTIONS✚ VIADUCTGREENE Through advo-cacy and a lot of walking tours, this group brought into real consideration the idea of an above- and below-ground park along the former Ninth Street and City branches of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad. ✚ INVISERGY TECHNOLOGY Penn Engineering and Wharton students developed a design modification for luminescent solar concentrators, allow-ing ordinary windows to be converted to solar panels that generate sustainable energy. ✚ ICY SIGN CO. Best known for his Love Letters series around the El in West Philly, artist Steve Powers (aka ESPO) is setting up a community-minded sign shop in Brewerytown. He’ll be making free signs for Girard Avenue businesses to beautify the corridor and help spur economic development .

PHOTO BY MARK STEHLE

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ACTIVISM AND WATCHDOG

DECAR CERATE PA

DECARCERATE PA FINDS it troubling that Pennsylvania, home to the Cradle of Liberty, keeps more than 50,000 of its people locked in cages. The upstart orga-nization, founded just over a year ago, is tapping into public disenchantment withthe war on drugs and concern that prison spending is breaking the public bank.Their goals: Stop all new prison construction, downsize the prison population and reinvest the saved money in communities, schools, drug programs and jobs. “We believe that money should be invested in those areas as a way to combat crime, as opposed to building prisons,” says Hakim Ali, a Decarcerate leader who spent decades behind bars.

Decarcerate formed in response to Gov. Tom Corbett’s 2011 budget, which slashed spending on schools and programs for the poor and disabled. The grassroots and penni-less activists have quickly given voice to a rising statewide movement: Members have debated Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel on WHYY’s Radio Times, penned op-eds for the Inquirer and gone toe-to-toe with the state in dueling Daily News letters to the editor. Their protests against the construction of the new $400 million Graterford state prison, which will expand the facility’s capacity by more than 700 inmates, have drawn widespread attention.

Rarely has a grassroots group so quickly made itself into such a productive annoyance to the most powerful. To do so takes a big vision and an open heart — the same mindset Decarcerate PA says society needs as it rethinks its approach to criminal justice.

“I will give them the opportunity to change,” says Ali, referring to Corbett’s frequent statements in favor of prison reform. “I haven’t closed the door on these dudes.”

—Daniel Denvir

BAR NONE: Members of Decarcerate PA, photographed Dec. 6 outside Eastern State Penitentiary.

HONORABLEMENTIONS✚PHILADELPHIA COALITION ADVO-CATING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS This coalition of labor and community groups has been working to propose an alterna-tive to the current plan for the Philadelphia public-school system, holding a series of town-hall meetings to generate discussion among city residents about what they want their school system to look like.✚MAGEE REHAB’S WHEELCHAIR SPORTS PROGRAM Magee’s program gives wheelchair-bound athletes the chance to compete in everything from rugby to ten-nis all over the country. Named program coordinator this year, Keith Newerla is a rugby player who’s been in a wheelchair all of his life.✚VOTER-ID COALITION The ad-hoc coalition fighting the voter-ID requirement — a moving target that garnered much legal maneuvering — suc-cessfully mobilized around the issue and got the law held off, for now at least.

PHOTO BY NEAL SANTOS

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FOOD AND DRINK

PARC THE FLOURISHING FOOD scene along East

Passyunk Avenue is hardly a secret these days — even casual gastronomes have been dropping chefs’ names like Styer, Prawlucki, Sabatino, Kearse and Cicala for a minute now. For those tracking industry minutiae more vigilantly, another neighborhood name has become a fixture: the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation, or PARC.

The nonprofit — born of the embattled Citizens’ Alliance but sporting a new name, new leadership and a smaller footprint — has been steered by a board headed by Sam Sherman for just under two years. In that time, they’ve implemented an assertive, holistic approach to furthering the local dining cause.

It’s no coincidence PARC’s fingerprints are all over many of the biggest food stories of the year. Tenants see real perks. Their first restaurant overhaul was at 1911 E. Passyunk Ave., now home to much-lauded Will. Chris Kearse, a first-time chef/owner, gave input from the earliest design stages. When Fond relocated into their new PARC-owned 11th and Tasker digs earlier this month, they scored a prime location and a space built hand-in-hand with their new landlord.

There’s a price break, too. Rents fall “a little under market,” explains Sherman. The aim is two-fold: to attract start-ups who promise something new for the neighborhood but lack funds, and to make businesses accessible to residents. “At least 50 percent of our com-mercial tenants walk to work,” Sherman estimates. Joncarl Lachman — of PARC’s next big project, Noord — plans to live right above his restaurant.

Eventually, PARC wants to capitalize on dining-driven crowds with more retail options staying open later. “We’re working to get something like Fante’s down here now,” Sherman explains, “because some people are going to King of Prussia for that stuff.” And Sherman says next year will see another big round of acquisitions, bringing at least a few more restaurants to bolster the neighborhood’s dining-destination rep well into the future.

—Carly Szkaradnik

STREET SMARTS: Sam Sherman, photographed Dec. 4 on Passyunk Avenue.

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HONORABLEMENTIONS✚THE VETRI FOUNDATION The non-profit is working to revamp school lunches — both by improving nutritional value and by getting kids to slow down and enjoy healthy food choices.✚BRAUHAUS SCHMITZ Jeremy Nolan and Doug Hager and Kelly Schmitz-Hager of the modern-German Brauhaus Schmitz are pushing diners beyond schnitzel and brat . This year they expanded into a neighboring property on South Street and also opened- Wursthaus Schmitz in Reading Terminal Market.✚LE VIRTÙ Joe Cicala’s highly praised restaurant has brought the cuisine of Abruzzo into the local spotlight.

PHOTO BY JESSICA KOURKOUNIS

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ARTS

THE 215FESTIVAL THE 215 HAS always been a different sort of literary festival. We realized that in 2001, when author Arthur Bradford, having just finished reciting an obfuscating story about a 10-pound slug, stepped out from behind the podium and smashed his acoustic gui-tar on the stage of the Free Library. But, as with so many awesome grassroots and volun-teer-driven labors of love, putting the 215 on and keeping it vibrant on an annual basis has been a struggle. There were down years. There were lost years. It was feared dead.

Until — total plot twist! — it was reborn, good as new. More than a decade after it was founded, the 215 Fest returned to its former glory this November thanks to the sweat and swagger of a fleet of volunteers led by Philebrity blogger Joey Sweeney. Centered around the underdog Eraserhood district — mostly in the shadowy expanses of the lovely new Underground Arts space (which garners an honorable-mention on the right) — the 215 stitched together a hip, eclectic roster that lots of litnerds around here could agree on.

We huddled in the cold for an intimate outdoor reading by satirist verité Jon Ronson. We watched deranged millionaire/215 Fest alum John Hodgman destroy a drunken heckler like a seasoned standup. We quietly freaked out at the interview with Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three. We rocked out with Philly’s charming adopted son John Wesley Harding and his Cabinet of Wonders, a vaguely literary showcase that made room for Paul Muldoon, Dean and Britta, the Spinto Band, Doogie Horner and a big old sing-along .

Will Sweeney et al. be able to repeat the feat in 2013? We hope so. But we also know it’s an expensive and mostly thankless undertaking. Fingers crossed. This year they nailed it.

—Patrick Rapa

PAGE PROGRAMMERS: At Underground Arts on Dec. 4, some of the 215 Festival’s volunteer crew, from left: Alethia Calbeck, Mary Richardson Graham, Ian Cross, Joey Sweeney, Gary Reuben, Jim Adair, Noelle Egan, Claire Connelly, Michael Thatcher and Clarissa Griebel.

HONORABLEMENTIONS✚PHILLY PAINTING This Mural Arts-conceived project to paint bright stripes of color on several blocks of Germantown Avenue buildings, led by Dutch artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn, has employed about a dozen local people and created a sense of possibility — and the hope of some economic stimulation. ✚UNDERGROUND ARTS Simply put, it’s the best new comedy/arts/music/anything venue in town, the kind of multi-purpose space the city needed.✚OPEN AIR Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s giant light installation on the Parkway was bold and beautiful. Philadelphia could do with this kind of planned light pollution.

PHOTO BY NEAL SANTOS

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GOVERNMENTAND POLITICS

PHILLY’S 311 APP A CITY-GOVERNMENT effort that’s quick, respon-sive and kinda cool? Yes, it exists, as of this year.

On Sept. 13 the city launched its 311 app, which gives residents another — and arguably better — channel through which to report non-emergency problems like abandoned cars and trash dumping. (And the app actually connects to the 311 center, as opposed to Councilman Bobby Henon’s April-launched CityHall app, which just gets someone in Henon’s office to enter it by hand into the 311 system.)

The city caught some flak for the 311 app’s delays, but the end result is useful, with FAQs, the ability to see other requests that have been submitted (along with their status and any comments) and a list of city officials (although without contact information, a silly oversight). “When the status [of a complaint] changes, we notify you,” explains assistant managing director Tim Wisniewski, the 311 app’s project director.

Most notably, the app is flexible. Already-existing data from Licenses & Inspections was recently added , so you can search a property’s history and violations. When the city realized Philly 311 could be a helpful tool during the November election, polling-place informa-tion and other features appeared in a mere few days . Prior to Hurricane Sandy, the city added a “fallen tree” category to the list of possible complaints. “If there was an upcoming snow emergency, we can add features spe-cific to that,” says Rosetta Lue, director of the 311 cen-ter. After such an event has passed, she notes, “we can just shut off” any feature that was temporarily added.

Future additions along the lines of the L&I data will be determined as needed. “We are getting feedback,” says Lue, “so we’ll morph the app into what people are looking for.” It’s a little startling to hear that from a city official and know it’s not just rhetoric.

—Theresa Everline

LOOK SMART: Tim Wisniewski and Rosetta Lue, photographed Dec. 5 at City Hall’s courtyard.

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HONORABLEMENTIONS✚COMPLETE STREETS BILL Mark Squilla’s legislation, which passed last week, is tough love for bikes and cars, both of whom need to learn some basic rules of road civility and safety. We’ll see whether it’s consistently enforced, but it’s worth dreaming about a world where drivers think twice before dooring a bicyclist.✚COUNCILMAN BOBBY HENON Henon has taken on blighted properties and deadbeat landlords head-on using hearings to shame bad landlords into paying taxes and bringing their properties up to code. It’s a good start in tackling an issue no one else seems to know what to do with.✚FRONT DOOR WEBSITE AND PROPOSED LAND BANK The website where you can track vacant properties is a big help (and long overdue). If Maria Quiñones-Sánchez can get her land-bank legislation passed, there might be some hope for mitigating this city’s vacant-land problem.

PHOTO BY MARK STEHLE