Government Reform Proposed for Better Planning in Philadelphia

Geoff Kees Thompson digs into one component of this old city's proposed mayoral platform for Philadelphia: the need to organize the city's alphabet soup of planning agencies under one director and give the Planning Commission teeth.

1 minute read

August 26, 2014, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


The public space- and Philadelphia-focused blog This Old City released a proposed mayoral platform late last week, issuing policy briefs on categories like transportation, public space quality, and clean streets.

This week, the platform's author, Geoff Kees Thompson, drills down on a few of the recommendations, including those under the headings of governmental reform, zoning and land use, city planning and infrastructure, and more. The government reform policy point, for instance, produces a call to "[place] the Planning Commission, Streets Department, Parks & Rec, Water Department & and the Land Bank under a new Department-level Director."

The platform and its corresponding blog posts provide broad and profound insights into the current politics of planning in the city of Philadelphia.

Monday, August 25, 2014 in This Old City

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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