Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Museum of Art hired Frank Gehry for its new renovation, opening up the opportunity for an exciting old-meets-new architectural statement. But after six years of planning, the design that emerged is uninspiring.

August 11, 2014 - Urban Direction

On Monday, August 4, half a million people in the Toledo, Ohio metro region could once again drink from their water taps after a weekend without safe drinking water due to a toxin resulting from an algal bloom in the city's water supply, Lake Erie.

August 7, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Housing shortages are news in San Francisco and North Dakota, even if for different reasons. But parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania are facing the tough policy questions from their own, less documented fracking boom.

August 5, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Some restaurants have found ways to circumvent the expense of liquor licenses in Philadelphia by opening pop-up beer gardens operating under a much, much cheaper catering permit. Cue state legislation to curb the practice.

July 24, 2014 - PlanPhilly

In Chicago, speed cameras are proving effective at reducing speeds; in Philadelphia, a police commissioner is lobbying the state to allow the implementation of the cameras.

July 22, 2014 - Chi.Streetsblog

In the hopes of finalizing a plan to connect Pittsburgh and Oakland with a bus rapid transit route, the Port Authority of Allegheny County has approved $3 million out of the needed $4 million for a preliminary engineering and environmental review.

July 18, 2014 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ryan Briggs reports on the state of the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment—although zoning reform was a promise of Mayor Michael Nutter's administration, Briggs finds that inconsistency and mysterious politics still mar the board's decisions.

July 11, 2014 - Philadelphia City Paper

While much of the concern of how to regulate transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar comes down to questions about safety and access, recent findings show that the apps have reduced DUI arrests in the City of Brotherly Love.

July 9, 2014 - PlanPhilly

Streetsblog recently launched a series that will highlight Pittsburgh as a city "shedding its 'Rust Belt' image and emerging as a leader in progressive street design." The first case study: the city's three shared streets projects.

July 9, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Philadelphia Inquirer Architecture Critic Inga Saffron writes of a possible political awakening among Millennials in Philadelphia in response to the old guard's efforts to stifle progressive parking and zoning decisions.

July 8, 2014 - Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia's Mayor Michael Nutter has set a policy goal of becoming the "Greenest City in America," but the city's lack of progress in reducing automobile use is a troubling obstacle to such a lofty goal.

July 7, 2014 - Next City

In a huge victory for fracking opponents and a major blow to the shale gas drilling industry, the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest, ruled on June 30 that municipalities can use zoning laws to enact fracking bans or moratoria.

July 4, 2014 - USA Today

Named as one of the APA's Great Public Spaces in 2008, Mellon Square in Pittsburgh was badly in need of repair. Earlier this month, the park completed a $10 million restoration process that launched in 2009.

July 2, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

Alina Dizik details what it takes to find a luxury home in the evolving Pittsburgh real estate market.

June 28, 2014 - Wall Street Journal

Allegheny County officials have embarked on an experiment to allow companies to drill for oil and gas below one of the county's eight parks. Whether operations expand beyond the initial test site remains to be seen.

June 25, 2014 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pedestrian safety in Philadelphia is a mixed bag. While it can often be a pleasant, pedestrian-friendly city, recent pedestrian deaths have highlighted the ongoing need to improve the safety of the Philadelphia's sidewalks and streets.

June 23, 2014 - Philadelphia Inquirer

A precedent-setting settlement for a cyclist run over after being doored should send a message to motorists, both exiting their parked vehicle and when driving, and cyclists when riding adjacent to parked cars.

June 23, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Pittsburgh leads all American cities in the number of its public stairways (followed by Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco), but the city has begun removing some of the staircases, citing the high cost of maintenance and public safety.

June 22, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Inga Saffron asks the tough questions of Philadelphia's sale of University City High School to Drexel University.

June 18, 2014 - Philadelphia Inquirer

"The drilling industry boom in places like Washington County [Pennsylvania] has squeezed the housing market, especially among those looking for lower-priced apartments and homes," reports Stephanie Ritenbaugh.

June 17, 2014 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette