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A visual archive of an iconic American boulevard
a 1960s car parked in front of the motel sunset in los angeles

Artist Edward Ruscha amassed a huge collection of photographs of Sunset Boulevard during the late 20th century. Now, Penn’s Francesca Ammon is leading a digital humanities project called “Sunset over Sunset,” which will use these images to understand the impacts of small-scale changes on the urban environment. (Image: From Sunset Blvd. shoot, Ed Ruscha, 1966. Streets of Los Angeles Archive. The Getty Research Institute, 2012.M.1. © Ed Ruscha)

A visual archive of an iconic American boulevard

A trio of undergraduate students worked this summer with Professor Francesca Ammon to catalog and organize photographs for the digital humanities project ‘Sunset over Sunset.’

Erica K. Brockmeier

Americans face looming rent crisis
Brick facades on a rainy day

Ahousing complex in Albany County, New York on May 5, 2021. Image: Tyler A. McNeil.

Americans face looming rent crisis

When the CDC’s eviction moratorium is lifted, 11 million Americans will face housing instability.

Kristina García

In the backyard at the Philadelphia Flower Show
Abdallah Tabet grips rake in garden Abdallah Tabet, a lecturer in the Weitzman School of Design, designed the 1,000-square-foot exhibit “Philly-Beirut” (pictured) for the 2021 Philadelphia Flower Show.

In the backyard at the Philadelphia Flower Show

Abdallah Tabet of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design is one of 34 major exhibitors at this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show.
The new American status symbol: A backyard that’s basically a fancy living room

The new American status symbol: A backyard that’s basically a fancy living room

Witold Rybczynski of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design commented on the popularity of exterior decorating in U.S. households. “All these alternative spaces, the sunroom, the parlor, create variety,” he said. “There are wonderful pleasures in being able to eat in different places. It brings a richness into your life.”

Urban planning and politics in Atlanta
A black and white image of high-rise buildings collapsing in a cloud of dust

The 1972 demolition of the St. Louis, Missouri urban housing projects known as Pruitt-Igoe less than 20 years after their completion in 1956 illustrates the lack of maintenance given to public housing in the United States. 

  • Q&A

    • Urban planning and politics in Atlanta

    Akira Rodríguez’s new book, “Diverging Space for Deviants: The Politics of Atlanta’s Public Housing” explores how the intersection of race and public housing development planning in Atlanta created a politics of resistance.

    Kristina García

    Planning a greener future for Philadelphia’s historic Parkside neighborhood
    Rowhouses in Philadelphia’s Parkside neighborhood.

    Planning a greener future for Philadelphia’s historic Parkside neighborhood

    This spring, students from the Department of City and Regional Planning at the Weitzman School consulted with the Centennial Parkside Community Development Corporation on ways to expand a community garden in the East Parkside neighborhood of West Philadelphia.

    From the Weitzman School of Design

    Reviving Philadelphia’s nighttime economy
    Philly cityscape at night.

    Reviving Philadelphia’s nighttime economy

    Even before COVID-19 curtailed public nightlife in Philadelphia, members of the Weitzman School’s PennPraxis have been working on a civic engagement project to articulate a better, more progressive Philly nightlife.

    From the Weitzman School of Design

    How has COVID-19 changed ‘superstar cities’?
    the philadelphia city skyline looking north on a sunny day

    How has COVID-19 changed ‘superstar cities’?

    A new analysis found that overall mobility in large U.S. cities has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, and some are also experiencing changing segregation patterns, with potential implications that could last well beyond the pandemic.

    Erica K. Brockmeier

    Orkan Telhan’s ‘Microbial Fruits of Istanbul’
    Colorful design structure made of wood and colored glass panels in the middle of Özgürlük Park in Istanbul..

    Microbial Fruits of Istanbul on view in Özgürlük Park as part of the Istanbul Design Biennial. (Image: Courtesy of Weitzman News)

    Orkan Telhan’s ‘Microbial Fruits of Istanbul’

    “Microbial Fruits of Istanbul” is a collaboration between Orkan Telhan, associate professor of fine arts, and the architecture firm elii which explores the complex histories of Istanbul community gardens from the perspective of microorganisms.

    From the Weitzman School of Design