Urban planners love an organizing concept. Cities originally built their economies around financial districts, but over the years they have pinned their hopes on other specialized centers, like arts districts, enterprise zones, science centers, and festival marketplaces. Today, every ambitious city dreams of having an innovation district. This month, Drexel University and its development partner, Brandywine Realty Trust, outlined plans to shape 14 acres on the west side of 30th Street Station into a conglomeration of offices, labs, apartments, shops, and landscaped public spaces where the Steve Jobses and Bill Gateses of the future can invent stuff and recreate together. The $3.5 billion undertaking, meant to be phased in over several decades, is being called Schuylkill Yards, after the rail yards on its northern edge.

March 18, 2016 ・ From Philly.com