Center City

Market Street, Center City

The Future of Downtowns Still Hangs in the Balance

Center City in Philadelphia offers a case study for one of the largest and potentially most consequential contingencies of the pandemic: What happens to downtowns is most workers never come back to the office?

June 9, 2021 - Philadelphia

Philadelphia Street

More Residents and Workers Using Fewer Parking Spaces in Philly's Center City

The findings of a report on changes occurring in Philadelphia Center City finds more residents and workers walking, biking, and taking transit. (Thankfully, they aren't all looking for parking every day.)

July 4, 2016 - PlanPhilly

Parking Spaces Reduced in Center City Philadelphia—Along With Parking Occupancy

Philadelphia is providing a living case study of the tenants of the Donald Shoup-approach to parking.

January 1, 2016 - Plan Philly

Developers See Dollar Signs in the Viaduct Rail Park Proposal in Philly's Center City

The Viaduct Rail Park could one day become a version of the High Line in Philadelphia's Center City.

November 13, 2015 - Philadelphia Inquirer

Coming Soon to Philadelphia's Center City: 3D Digital Advertisements

A Philadelphia City Council committee approved a controversial proposal to allow "Urban Experiential Displays" (i.e., large, 3D digital advertisements) in Center City.

February 25, 2015 - PlanPhilly

Philadelphia Skyline

A Coming of Age Story for Philadelphia's Revitalized Center City

A housing report by analyzing Philadelphia's Center City enunciates an obstacle facing many cities in the throes of downtown revitalization: What happens when Millennials don't come home to roost?

February 20, 2015 - Philadelphia

Philly's Ugliest New Building Shows the Folly of Public Subsidies

Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron has the knives out for a new hotel built in Center City, calling it the 'worst new architecture' in the city. Worse yet, we all helped pay for such awful design.

August 19, 2013 - philly.com

Higher Home Values Preserved in Mixed-Income, Medium-Density Suburbs

A new study of the Philadelphia area commissioned by the Congress for New Urbanism “finds new urban characteristics play a role” in how households and neighborhoods weathered the recent economic downtown.

November 17, 2012 - Better Cities & Towns

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.

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

Senior Planner

Eagle County Government

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.