Philadelphia
Should Police Write More Jaywalking Tickets in Philadelphia?
A reporter in Philadelphia doesn't hold back the innuendo in a recent article about the city's efforts to improve pedestrian safety. The implication: pedestrians won't be safe until the police start writing jaywalking tickets.
Critiquing Philadelphia's Fairmount Park Master Plan
Architecture critic Inga Saffron describes a new master plan for Philadelphia's signature piece of open space as "important" and "welcome," but still finds that it falls short in addressing some of the park's critical needs.
Philadelphia Continues Zoning Tweeks
The Philadelphia City Council has been busy, proposing multiple bills to rezone a few neighborhoods and parcels around the city. Many of the proposed changes follow the guidance on the city's Philadelphia2035.
Nuisance Liens Persist in Philadelphia—City Owed $423 Million
An investigation by the Philadelphia Inquirer finds that Philadelphia is owed $423 million in "nuisance liens" or unpaid bills for the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections. The city has only collected $15.6 million in owed liens since 2009.
Happy Ending for Controversial Development Proposal in Philadelphia
Once a developer provokes the ire of the community surrounding a proposed development and the word NIMBY gets bandied about, chances for a mutually beneficial solution are slim to none. Not so with the One Riverside project in Philadelphia.
On the State of Architecture Criticism
Inga Saffron recently joined a very small group of architecture critics to win the Pulitzer Prize. What does her victory say about the state of criticism, especially built environment criticism, today?
Freeway Cap, Penn’s Landing Waterfront Details Emerging in Philadelphia
Project planners estimate that a $200 million investment in an 11-acre cap park over I-95 that will reconnect the city with the Delaware River could return $1 billion in private investment.
Historic Properties Decay in Philadelphia’s Old City
Old City in Philadelphia presents a troubling dichotomy—while the neighborhood is a busy location for redevelopment investment, many of its historic buildings are succumbing to neglect.
Pulitzer Prizes Awarded for Urbanism and Built Environment Journalism
The 2014 Pulitzer Prizes yesterday awarded the best work of journalists over the past year. Included in the roster of winners were journalists and publications covering issues of relevance to Planetizen readers.
'Urban Experiential Displays' Proposed for Philadelphia’s Center City
An outdoor advertising company has crafted legislation, expected for City Council review, to allow electronic displays at seven locations in Center City.
Optimism Indicator: Record Number of Building Permits in Philadelphia
Observers of Philadelphia’s economic and social situation can celebrate, and worry, given recent data on issues like poverty, crime, and the job market. One bright spot, however, is 2013's record number of building permits.
Friday Funny: Copy-Cat Planner Can't Help It
The Onion has once again focused its satirical gaze on the art and science of planning, this time telling the fictional story of a planner in Des Moines, Iowa, who just couldn't help but copy Philadelphia.
Which Is the Problem: Affordable Housing or Poverty?
Jonathan Geeting argues that Philadelphia’s recently proposed affordable housing program is focusing on the wrong problem—in Philadelphia, housing is quite affordable, but people are still too poor to afford it.
1,500 Affordable Housing Units Proposed for Philadelphia
The “1,500 New Affordable Housing Units Initiative” would target gentrifying neighborhoods in the hopes of preserving a mix of incomes where housing costs are pricing-out long-term residents.
Philadelphia Sending More Money to Street Repair
Following a long winter, the Philadelphia Streets Department is on pace to break records for pothole repair, but that won’t be the only improvement paid for by a proposed 33 percent increase in funding to the Streets Department.
Oil Trains from North Dakota to the Rescue in Philadelphia
The hazards of shipping North Dakotan crude-by-rail have been well documented and are the focus of new DOT regulations due to its volatility, but there's a more positive side to this oil and the trains that deliver it, illustrated in Philadelphia.
This is Awkward—Highway Widening Projects Based on Obsolete Projections
Several highway-widening projects on the East Coast were approved under the pretense of expected growth in traffic totals. Now planners are scrambling to figure out the new normal.
Keys to a Successful Land Bank
Philadelphia recently became the largest U.S. city to create a “land bank.” As new land banks spring up across the country, it is important to take a close look at what needs to accompany them if we want to have real impact.
Historic Examples of 'Urbanism Without Government'
We’ve all heard the question “but who will build the roads?” put to libertarians. In a recent article, Emily Washington examines historic examples of urban settings that developed without the guidance of a government.
Calling for a 'Design Revolution' in Philadelphia
The recently rejected proposal for a new Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia failed to live up to the spirit of that seminal event, writes Nathaniel Popkin.
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
