The master plan proposed by the Society Hill Civic Association contains lessons about single-family zoning in a historic neighborhood with fingerprints of 20th century urban renewal also present.
"The Society Hill Civic Association has presented a new master plan [pdf] to the city’s Planning Commission," reports Jake Blumgart.
The plan presents "both an innovative way to manage the open space that laces throughout the neighborhood of well-kept circa-19th-century rowhouses and a more familiar zoning proscription -- downzone everything," according to Blumgart. Design guidelines are also included.
As noted in the article, Society Hill is one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the city, transformed by urban renewal led by Edmund Bacon in the middle of the 20th century.
"The wish list for that overlay is extensive but would basically downzone a substantial portion of Society Hill. For example, the civic association seeks to purge much of the RM-1 multifamily zoning from the single-family rowhouse blocks, a designation that dates to before the urban-renewal program, when many townhouses were carved into rooming houses or small apartment buildings," explains Blumgart in more detail about the plan.
FULL STORY: A master plan for Society Hill proposes new design guidelines -- and downzoning
Downzoning for Society Hill Back on After the Philadelphia City Council Overrides Mayoral Veto
One of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Philadelphia is increasing parking requirements and limiting building heights at all costs.
Mayoral Veto Kills Controversial Philadelphia Downzoning
The mayor, planning staff, and the Philadelphia Planning Commission agree. The Philadelphia City Council and residents of the wealthy neighborhood of Society Hill, not so much.
Newly Exclusionary Zoning Expected for Approval in Philadelphia Neighborhood
The Philadelphia City Council is expected to approve new zoning for Society Hill over the objections of the Planning Commission and city planning staff.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association