Guest Commentary

The Tragic Consequences of SEPTA Cuts

CHOP’s CEO warns that letting our public transit system fail means failing children around the region

By Madeline Bell

The Folly of Free Parking

What Philly can learn and gain (affordable housing!) from doing the unthinkable: Making our parking spots more expensive.

By Malcolm Burnley

Make Building Easier

Drexel’s Metro Finance head with two federal housing policy ideas that mobilize resources and reduce barriers to creating housing for all Americans

By Bruce Katz
New Urban Order

Expand — Yes, Expand — Public Transit

New York City, Seattle and Sydney are doubling down on public transportation amid the ongoing work-from-home trend. Why this counterintuitive move is an idea Philly should steal

By Diana Lind
New Urban Order

Should Philly Be More Like … Detroit?

The midwestern city has gone from bankrupt to transformational growth by embracing innovation and bling. Here, some ideas Philly might steal from Motor City

By Diana Lind
Ideas We Should Steal

Safer, Cleaner, Greener Public Spaces

New York City and Paris both have leaders who care about making shared urban spaces for every resident. Philadelphians deserve the same

By Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

Reports of the Death of American Downtowns are Greatly Exaggerated

Call it the new economic geography. Drexel’s Metro Finance head on how some U.S. cities are moving toward healing through economic diversity, cultural growth, and physical rebuild

By Bruce Katz

A Path to “Jobs That People Love”

PECO’s workforce development initiative is, little by little, making solid middle class careers easier to get for Philadelphians who look like their customers

By Natalie Pompilio
New Urban Order

Should We Envy Paris’s Swimmable River?

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo got a lot of attention for cleaning the Seine in preparation for the Olympics. But that may not be best goal for Philly’s local waterways

By Diana Lind

The New Industrial Geography

Drexel’s Metro Finance head on how the U.S. cities primed for re-industrialization are headed for success

By Bruce Katz