Philadelphia's Open Data Reveals Land Use Trends

A trove of data from the Office of Property Assessment has been released to the public. It's like Christmas day for zoning wonks in the City of Brotherly Love.

1 minute read

September 6, 2015, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"The [city of Philadelphia] Office of Innovation and Technology has been upping the city's data visualization game for a while now, and the latest release of Office of Property Assessment data is everything a data dump should be," according to a post by John Geeting.

Geeting notes that the data release goes beyond a dump of raw data—there are visuals and products that helps people access the information, as well as tools to manipulate the data and mine it for more findings.

Among the findings, ready for analysis, "is that RSA-5 (the typical neighborhood rowhouse) is the most common zoning classification by far, accounting for about 42% of all properties." Other kinds of single-use zoning classifications make up the bulk of uses in the city: "Residential-only properties are 79% of the total, and hotels and apartments, stores with dwellings, and commercial properties make up just 12% of properties combined."

There are more analysis and samples of the many other interactive features available on the Office of Property Assessment site.

Friday, September 4, 2015 in PlanPhilly

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

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.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

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.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Mamdani behind a microphone, in front of a snowbank

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.

November 6 - CNN

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6 - Grist

People board a bus in Seattle.

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.

November 6 - KOMO News

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.