Urban Planning | Penn Today

Can Americans just stop building new highways?

In his new book, “Overbuilt,” Erick Guerra of the Weitzman School of Design argues that the interstate U.S. highway system sacrificed urban wealth and quality of life, particularly in low-income neighborhoods.

Philadelphia deserves transit investment, not just survival

Ph.D. student Jay Arzu in the Weitzman School of Design pens an opinion piece on SEPTA and Philadelphia.

Weitzman team selected for Special Recognition in the Los Angeles Small Lots, Big Impacts Design Competition

FORMA (led by associate professor of practice Daniel Markiewicz and Miroslava Brooks) and Studio Zimm (led by Weitzman alum Michael Zimmerman) teamed up to design a project for the Los Angeles Small Lots, Big Impacts design competition, and received Special Recognition for their work on both sites within the Gentle Density category.

The gardens are coming to life at the future Calder Gardens

James Corner of the Weitzman School of Design discusses the artistry of landscape designer Piet Oudolf.

Professor of practice Leslie Richards on innovative transit and city planning

Once described as a “battleship turner” by Philadelphia Magazine, Weitzman professor of practice Leslie Richards served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and subsequently led the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), where she oversaw a $2 billion budget and a network that connects over five million residents in Greater Philadelphia. Having earned a master of regional planning degree from Penn in 1993, she was the first planner and

2 min. read

Public housing failed miserably in Chicago. Why is the city now opening a housing museum?

Akira Drake Rodriguez of the Weitzman School of Design explains why images celebrating the destruction of public housing in Chicago remain vivid in the public imagination.

Robert Gerard Pietrusko’a installation ”A Satellite Symphony.”

At the Venice Biennale, a convergence of innovations in materials, structures, and landscapes

Several Weitzman School of Design faculty and students will exhibit at the Venice Biennale’s 19th International Architecture Exhibition.

3 min. read

Leslie S. Richards: Philadelphia’s transit faces deep cuts. Chicago can still avoid this fate

In an opinion piece, Leslie S. Richards of the Weitzman School of Design writes about the importance of public-transportations systems, citing comments by Kevin Mahoney of Penn Medicine.

Inside PHA’s $6.3 billion plan to save public housing

Vincent Reina of the Weitzman School of Design discusses a new emphasis from the Philadelphia Housing Authority to increase the affordable housing supply.

A $6 billion shortfall has U.S. mass transit facing a death spiral

Leslie Richards of the Weitzman School of Design says that people stop using mass transit when it isn’t frequent or reliable.

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