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Urban Planning
Safely reengaging with nightlife and supporting the creative economy
Safely reengaging with nightlife and supporting the creative economy
PennPraxis researchers are collaborating on the Global Nighttime Recovery Plan, which provides best practices, real-world examples, and frameworks for safe and inclusive nightlife.
A conversation about ‘Akon City’ and speculative urbanization
A conversation about ‘Akon City’ and speculative urbanization
Christopher Marcinkoski of the Weitzman School of Design unpacks—through the lens of speculative urbanization—the self-described ‘futuristic’ city to be built in Senegal, led by musician and philanthropist Akon.
Improving the quality of life in cities
The Gordon Fellowship program, currently in its second year, provides urban studies students with an opportunity to find summer internships that connect theory with practice.
Design travels to South Carolina to plan more protective urban coastlines
Design travels to South Carolina to plan more protective urban coastlines
A Weitzman School team is working with the city of Charleston on an urban seawall plan that combines natural elements with structural systems that respond to the local conditions of the city’s shoreline.
PennPraxis Design Fellows take on the real world with design solutions
PennPraxis Design Fellows take on the real world with design solutions
PennPraxis has expanded the scope of experience for graduate students since its founding in 2001, and now 80 Design Fellows are involved in ambitious interdisciplinary design projects.
Reflections on public spaces in the age of COVID, protest
Reflections on public spaces in the age of COVID, protest
Ken Lum and Paul Farber of the Weitzman School of Design remark on how the public might perceive public spaces and art differently in the time of COVID-19 and protests.
‘Expanding what it means to be a class’
‘Expanding what it means to be a class’
Allison Lassiter, Randall Mason, Michael Luegering, Joshua Mosley, Richard Farley, and Michael Henry had to work quickly and creatively to shift their classes from a hands-on learning experience to a virtual one.
Cities and contagion: Lessons from COVID-19
Cities and contagion: Lessons from COVID-19
Penn IUR’s inaugural Cities and Contagion: Lessons from COVID-19 initiative brings together experts who can help interpret the pandemic’s implications for urbanization.
Using science to make cities safer and healthier
Using science to make cities safer and healthier
In a Q&A, criminologist John MacDonald discusses his new book, grounded in years of research on the positive effects of remediation like fixing up abandoned lots and houses.
Wading into Philly’s vacant land morass
Wading into Philly’s vacant land morass
Four students in the Weitzman School’s Department of City and Regional Planning are working to find suitable properties to rehabilitate with the Women’s Community Revitalization Project and the City of Philadelphia Department of Planning and Development.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Comcast’s Sports Complex plan for South Philly would make our city less livable
In an Op-Ed, Vukan R. Vuchic of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that Philadelphia should make transit more accessible rather than striving to accommodate more cars.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia’s Market Street East searches for growth and renewal — with or without a new Sixers arena
Akira Drake Rodriguez, Rashida Ng, and Dominic Vitiello of the Weitzman School of Design say there should be a more robust and inclusive conversation about the future of Philadelphia’s Market Street East.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Bus Revolution would bring frequent bus service to 1 million SEPTA riders
In an Op-Ed, graduate student Jonathan Zisk of the Weitzman School of Design says that SEPTA should green-light the Bus Revolution project and allow the rollout of transformative bus service across the Philadelphia region.
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The New York Times
In a city defined by history, Chinatown’s champions fear new arena for 76ers
Domenic Vitiello of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design comments on sports projects that have not revitalized downtowns or added substantially to cities’ tax bases.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
How will Philadelphia finance climate change?
In an Op-Ed, Eugenie Birch of the Weitzman School of Design, William Burke-White of Penn Carey Law, and Mauricio Rodas of the Penn Institute for Urban Research write that Philadelphia will need to blend public and private climate financing to adapt to ever-growing climate risks.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
The Biden administration is trying to make it easier to convert offices to apartments post-pandemic
In a Q&A, Vincent Reina of the Weitzman School of Design discusses a new White House initiative to incentivize commercial-to-residential conversion projects, especially as the office market continues to struggle.
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