The Philadelphia Inquirer

Townships surrounding Philadelphia have managed to survive the recession until now, but city coffers are now going into the red and cities are being forced to take action.

In Philadelphia, the Gaming Control Board is made up of 10 men, 9 of which don't live in the city. A recent decision by the board will destroy two planned developments that would have improve Philly's character, says arch. critic Inga Saffron.

Crime numbers and struggling city budgets have caused the Justice department to issue $1 billion in federal stimulus funds to 1,046 communities to beef up their police forces.

The Philadelphia neighborhood of Francisville is about to get an urban makeover, but two competing visions have very different ideas of what that means.

A competition to redesign Philadelphia's Pier 11 represents a concentrated -- and viable -- effort to create quality public space along the city's waterfront, according to Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron.

SEPTA of Philadelphia will inspect train-control signals made by the same company that made the signals on the Metro in D.C, where a possible signal malfunction is under investigation in the recent train crash.

Obama Administration officials, speaking at a conference of real estate writers and editors, admitted that the housing crisis is far from over and administration efforts are taking time to have an effect.

The executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission says that the zoning "overlay" of the central Delaware waterfront will be replaced by a new master plan in 12 to 16 months.

Falling tax revenues are a major element of the current economic woes facing many American cities. A recent study by the Pew Charitable Trust finds that few are increasing taxes in order to close budget gaps.

Philadelphia's SugerHouse waterfront development could learn a thing or two from San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood, according to this piece.

Despite advocating for an end to ground-floor garages, a neighborhood group in Philadelphia is now asking for an exemption to the rule it wrote against them.

Philadelphia's Dilworth Plaza is another modernist civic construction that didn't live up to the architect's utopian ideals. A new design aims to create a more park-like atmosphere and improve transit access.

'Fridge-sized units' are being installed around Philadelphia to control traffic lights. Why so big? Columnist Inga Saffron investigates the morass of requirements that led to the oversized street furniture.

As cycling increases in Philadelphia, more bike parking is needed. But the common upside-down U-shaped rack won't provide enough for the city, according to this piece from The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Supermarkets are moving back to urban areas like Philadelphia. But their big box designs are decidedly un-urban, according to architecture critic Inga Saffron, who calls for more relevant urban designs.

Philadelphia is still trying to figure out where to put its two approved casinos as it prepares to become the nation's biggest city to host gambling. In this piece, Inga Saffron says a new proposed site could make gambling work for Philly.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the MPO for the Philadelphia metropolitan region, has introduced an innovate way of making people aware of the benefits of older, established suburbs: market them.

1,300 property owners in Camden, New Jersey whose homes are in a new redevelopment zone were sent letters explaining eminent domain, but the city says it has no intention of taking their homes.

Almost 200 New Jersey mayors have joined together to oppose new affordable housing requirements that they say their cities can't possibly comply with.

In an effort to reduce shipping costs, Wal-Mart is cutting its food miles and passing the savings on to customer by selling locally grown produce.