Quarters can be cramped for growing families in Philadelphia's many two-story rowhouses. Rather than decamp to the suburbs, more and more homeowners are simply adding a third story, known as an "overbuild."
"Think of them as a gentle form of densification," writes Inga Saffron on a growing Philadelphia trend. Faced with space constraints, many rowhouse owners are tacking third stories onto two-floor structures originally built for immigrant workers.
FULL STORY: When trading up isn't an option, Philadelphia rowhouse owners build up | Inga Saffron
Is Philadelphia's Healthy Rowhouse Project an Answer to Gentrification?
The Healthy Rowhouse Project seeks to improve the health of Philadelphians and preserve critical affordable housing by using innovative strategies to improve housing conditions in thousands of rowhouses each year.
Philadelphia's Rowhouse Remedy for Gentrification
Blessed with an innate resilience, Philadelphia's brick rowhouses risk disrepair and redevelopment. Local nonprofits are looking for ways to keep this resource equitable.
Is it a Rowhouse, or a Rowhome?
Philadelphia has long been acknowledged as the capital of rowhouses in the United States. It’s becoming more common for those rowhouses to be referred to as rowhomes.
The Slow Death of Ride Sharing
From the beginning, TNCs like Lyft and Uber touted shared rides as their key product. Now, Lyft is ending the practice.
Cool Walkability Planning
Shadeways (covered sidewalks) and pedways (enclosed, climate controlled walkways) can provide comfortable walkability in hot climates. The Cool Walkshed Index can help plan these facilities.
Congestion Pricing Could Be Coming to L.A.
The infamously car-centric city is weighing a proposed congestion pricing pilot program to reduce traffic and encourage public transit use.
How San Diego Camping Ban Could Impact Neighborhoods
An ordinance supported by the city’s mayor would bar people from sleeping on the street near shelters or services, but critics say it will simply push people to other neighborhoods and put them farther away from the supportive services they need.
Expanding Access to Golf in South Los Angeles
L.A. County’s Maggie Hathaway Golf Course getting up to $15 Million from U.S. Open Community Legacy Project to expand access to the sport in South L.A.
Opinion: Failed Housing Bills Could Signal California-Style Housing Crisis in Texas
Legislators in a state that so often touts its policies as the opposite of California’s defeated several bills that would have made housing construction easier, leading to concerns that a constricted housing market may exacerbate the housing crisis.
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Bangor
Park City Municipal Corporation
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
