Sixteen years ago, Diana Lind moved to Philadelphia and settled two blocks from Broad Street in Center City,where she discovered a pop-up space created by DesignPhiladelphia in a then-vacant lot. The innovative use of design and placemaking immediately resonated with her, marking the beginning of her connection with the organizatoin.

In 2011, Lind collaborated with DesignPhiladelphia Director, Hilary Jay, artist Marianne Bernstein, and Penn professors Brian Phillips and Julie Beckman on a project titles "This is Not a Vacant Lot." The project addressed the prevalent issues of Philadelphia's numerous vacant lots, to a significant concern at the time. Bernsteing designed an open cube stage called "The Play House", where performers showcased their talents by capturing the attention of passerbys. 

Phillips and Bernstein, along with their Penn students, created a minimalistic, conceptual piece using white and blue PVC pipes to outline Philadelphia County. The white poles represented the 40,000 vacant lots in the city while the blue poles highlighted local landmarks. Additionally, University of the Arts students adorned the chainlink fence with paper shells that fluttered in the wind, adding a decorative touch. 

Reflecting on the project, Lind wrote in Next City: " While people perfor in the space, the lot becomes a stage. It's not like watching a street performer or a subway musician, but rather a showcase. [Performers] treated their time in the Play House like it was an audition from American Idol. Congregating around the singers were friends and family,but also a UPS guy who stopped to watch. A couple who were clearly tourists, On display was not just three singers trying to get attention just two doorsteps from Motown legends Gamble & Huff, but Philadelphia and what it could be."

DesignPhiladelphia has always celebrated the richness of the city's design community and its boundless potential to engage, strengthen, and improve the urban landscape. For Lind, this project and her involvement with DesignPhiladelphia exemplified the transformative power in design in fostering community and reimagining spaces.