\u201cWhen and where are resources made freely available, and when and where aren\u2019t [they] freely available?\u201d he said. \u201cWhy is that the case? And as soon as we ask why that is or isn\u2019t the case, we can have an important conversation and ask, \u2018Should we try to do more about this? Is this a problem that needs to be fixed?\u2019 \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
PHLASK was born out of a social practice art project called Philadelphia Assembled<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt assembled a variety of different city stakeholders and civically minded activists to collaborate and work together on shared mission and shared issues that were kind of important to these different stakeholders,\u201d Hanafee said. \u201cThe project was initially conceptualized at the time to ask or challenge where and why water is or isn\u2019t accessible freely, and to start mapping out places that people could access water for free, kind of in an effort to document how people can or can\u2019t access water, and what businesses or the public is doing to support people in accessing water.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While the project started as more of a documentation effort, Hanafee explained the project evolved into a website in 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEssential\u201d community resources<\/p>\n While PHLASK initially started to help Philadelphians find free drinking water throughout the city during the pandemic, project convenor Gabriel Cardona said it has evolved to include more kinds of resources.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can show people where they can get free food and water, why not expand to other resources that people would like to have available to them?\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so our current version is basically expanding beyond food and water to [also] include foraging resources and bathrooms.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The app is constantly adding more information and Cardona notes that crowdsourcing is an important part of the resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA smaller group of developers and people can\u2019t really see everything that is available in the city,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, [with crowdsourcing, we ask] based on what\u2019s available, what are we missing? What have we not looked at? We need to make sure that we\u2019re expanding so that other people can know where they can get access to a water fountain or a particular food bank that should get some more attention and love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The web app<\/a> works by first identifying your current location. It will then show a listing of drinking water resources near your location, but you can adjust the settings for what types of resources you are looking for.<\/p>\n This version includes food, foraging (ie, trees), bathrooms and water.<\/p>\n Users also can enter suggestions and sites to potentially be added to the map on a part of the page. Hanafee said it can take time to get a good sense of resources, and used foraging as an example.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a few different kinds of ones,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a pear tree on South 13th Street somewhere. I added a cherry tree recently, and there are some others. And I think it\u2019ll just take time to get more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Equal access<\/strong><\/p>\n Cardona explained the website can also provide insight into the distribution of assets across the city. He acknowledged many of the resources available are more plentiful in Center City.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think a lot of them are converged kind of along that Center City area,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if we look beyond that, are there areas that could benefit from something like that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n These resources meet the most basic of human needs, Hanafee said, which is why it\u2019s important that people be able to find them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for us to explore how resources are made available to the community, because we believe that a lot of resources should be provided as a basic human right, foundationally, starting with water,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hanafee said there is not always a \u201cright or wrong\u201d answer as to how many resources are enough, and the group hopes that the map can help start those conversations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf someone looks at our app and they see that there\u2019s only a certain amount of bathrooms [listed], they can ask, is that a problem?\u201d he said. \u201cOr do we say no, actually, this many bathrooms made freely available is good or that society is doing its due diligence to provide free bathrooms to people and that it\u2019s their own incumbent responsibility to find access? So the project, from an art perspective, is supposed to be enabling us as a team and as a community to explore these topics and build a solution towards it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond this, Hanafee said, the group is always looking at more resources to add to its list.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve mapped out these four resources that we can identify as being for free in certain parts,\u201d he said, adding the group then asked what other materials should they map, and should they be made available for free. Among those they\u2019ve considered mapping \u2014\u00a0 mini-libraries that have free books and health or feminine care products.\u00a0<\/p>\n A team contribution\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2025-08-06-at-4.23.33-PM.png\")
PHLASK starts with a listing of drinking water resources near your location, but you can adjust the settings for what types of resources you are looking for. (Courtesy of PHLASK)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2025-08-06-at-4.23.48-PM.png\")
Different settings show up to narrow down resources as well. (Photo courtesy of PHLASK)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2025-08-06-at-4.23.56-PM.png\")
Users can enter their own suggestions for the categories as well. (Photo courtesy of PHLASK)<\/p>\n