Urban Planning | Penn Today

For some neighbors in opioid-plagued Kensington, a supervised injection site feels like giving up

Robert Fairbanks of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. “Certainly, there’s a long history here, going back to the `70s, `80s, `90s — this perfect storm of factors that leads Kensington through white flight, deindustrialization, a dead real estate market,” said Fairbanks. “And the crack and heroin epidemic have all made an already desperate ecology even more desperate.”

A vacant lot between rowhouses in Philadelphia

Wading into Philly’s vacant land morass

Four students in the Weitzman School’s Department of City and Regional Planning are working to find suitable properties to rehabilitate with the Women’s Community Revitalization Project and the City of Philadelphia Department of Planning and Development.

two scooters parked next to a bike rack with bikes parked on a sidewalk

Public scooters may soon zip through Philadelphia

The School of Design’s Megan Ryerson assisted with the city’s debate over the scooter as a safe and viable transportation alternative, as Pennsylvania assesses a bill to legalize electric scooters on public streets.

Rising Waters fellows in Mumbai in January

The future of urban waters

Students and faculty of the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities’ Liquid Histories course study the impact of rising sea levels from the banks of Philadelphia and Mumbai.

Penn history professor Brent Cebul working with students on wall maps.

From urban renewal to today, tracking the struggles of America’s cities

Equipped with SEPTA Key cards, Brent Cebul’s students are taking a deep dive into Philadelphia’s history, looking into the past and present challenges facing cities.

Scooter companies hope to be street legal in Pennsylvania by summer

The School of Design’s Megan Ryerson said the popularization of shared scooters could make everyone’s commutes safer by increasing drivers’ awareness and a resulting demand for protected bike lanes. “When we give Philadelphians access to safe and affordable alternatives for transportation, they will use them,” she said.

philly neighborhood with downtown skyline

A plan to balance growth, quality housing, poverty, and construction for an entire city

PennDesign’s Vincent Reina helped Philadelphia complete its first comprehensive housing plan.

Truck traffic is clogging Center City streets. What’s Philly going to do about it?

The School of Design’s Erick Guerra discussed the issue of delivery trucks blocking major streets in Philadelphia. “One of the big first steps is closely analyzing and understanding the problem,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s quite been done yet.”

Fine arts professor marries art and science on the Schuylkill River banks

Fine Arts lecturer Deirdre Murphy answered a call for artists for Penn's Ecotopian Toolkit project with a piece based on the migratory patterns of birds on the Schuylkill River, right in her backyard.

A Roosevelt Blvd. subway is not guaranteed, but community input could help

In an Op-Ed, doctoral student Jay Arzu in the Weitzman School of Design discusses the progress and potential of a new Roosevelt Boulevard subway in Philadelphia.

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