Guest Commentary

Make Schools the Center of Philly’s Wealth Strategy

Want to grow our city? The path, the Center for Black Educator Development’s founder argues, is through our children’s classrooms

By Sharif El-Mekki
Guest Commentary

Nutrition as New Vital Sign

The CEO of a statewide anti-hunger nonprofit makes the argument that Pennsylvania must integrate food into healthcare

By Stuart I. Haniff
Guest Commentary

Harrisburg, Help Seniors Stay at Home

An advocate for people with disabilities sees Pennsylvanians losing their independence because of PA’s meager reimbursement rates for at-home care

By Steven Mack
The New Urban Order

The Great Aesthetics Debate of 2026

Amid Washington, D.C.’s return to classical (and gilt-adorned) architecture, can Chicago’s Obama Presidential Center reinvigorate America’s waning affinity for modern design?

By Diana Lind
Guest Commentary

How To Build A Better City Budget

Ideas are out there, in places like New York, Chicago and Pittsburgh, to mitigate federal cuts. A local tax and economic policy analyst asks: Why doesn’t Philly steal them?

By Rita Jefferson
Guest Commentary

A Philadelphia Where Workers Can Afford to Live

If we want people who work in Philly to be able to live in Philly, change must start with bringing down the wage tax, argue champions of commercial real estate and urban development

By Natalie Shieh and Sarah Maginnis

The Boss Shows the Way

For a decade, political leaders and media elites haven’t known how to respond to Trumpism. Last week in a South Philly patriotic tent show revival, Bruce Springsteen provided a script

By Larry Platt
Guest Commentary

The Insurance Trap Killing Philly Public Spaces

The City’s rules make street improvements like parklets and streeteries onerous for organizations. A pair of transportation researchers found no good reason to keep them

By Ariel Ben-Amos and Joshua Davidson
Guest Commentary

A Dollar Won’t Do

City Council has one chance to get rideshare taxation right, says an urbanist and strategist. His solution combines the ideas of Parker, Uber and economics 101

By Russell Richie
Guest Commentary

How Nonprofits Can Fight Rising Energy Costs

Local solar energy leaders urge nonprofits to take advantage of federal incentives before they end on July 3

By Emily Schapira and Sharon Pillar