The Philadelphia Enquirer's Inga Saffron looks at the city's newest public plaza and finds much to like -- and much for other cities to learn from.
"Blatstein's newest development, The Piazza at Schmidt's, on Second Street in Northern Liberties, really is modeled on the Piazza Navona, and it really does include a vast public square, paved in the exact same scallop pattern as the one in Rome.
The evidence might lead to the assumption that The Piazza is a cheap, cringe-worthy theme park. In reality, The Piazza, which opens this weekend, is anything but. Actually, it's pretty wonderful.
Eight years and $100 million in the making, Blatstein's Piazza is a massive, right-brain assemblage of apartments, offices, shops, and restaurants, all set around a one-acre plaza, and cleverly linked into his earlier Liberties Walk development. Maybe because the expanding territory of Bartistan ignored so many real estate conventions, The Piazza accomplishes something rarely seen in new American developments: It feels like a real place.
Of course, no one would ever confuse the project, which occupies the southern portion of what was once the mighty Schmidt's Brewery, with Rome's glorious Baroque gathering place, with its famous Bernini fountain and larger dimensions, 2.8 acres.
But does the Piazza Navona have a 40-foot, Daktoniks LED television beaming down every Phillies game, along with movie classics on Saturday nights? How about a sound stage for rock concerts? Or a diner inspired by Blatstein's childhood memories of road-trip pit stops at Howard Johnson?"
Read the full story: Changing Skyline: A nonconformist's development coup
Learning loss and urban schools, part 2
Did test scores in progressive cities drop more post-COVID than test scores in moderate ones?
Philadelphia lawmakers fight to save 'Chinatown Stitch' from Trump cuts
The freeway cap project, approved and funded under the Biden administration, is now in jeopardy after the federal government rescinded all but $8 million in funding.
SEPTA's bus-mounted lane enforcement cameras cut travel times by up to 6%
The AI-assisted cameras have issued nearly 200,000 citations to drivers blocking bus lanes.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority