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You are viewing 160 articles by the author Diana Lu
September 26: Bikes, barbers, booze | Market East multiplex | Who is Octavius Catto?
Good morning. Buses, bikes, and bootlegging in today’s news: Hidden City looks at the previous life of 606 South 9th Street in Bella Vista, most recently known as Via Bikes. Underneath…
September 25: Parking and poverty | PATCO Card in Philly? | General fund low point
Philly’s real parking war is between parking tickets and poverty, argues WURD’s Charles D. Ellison for the Philadelphia Citizen. Ellison looks at 2012-2016 data on parking violations, poverty rates, and racial…
September 22: London banishes Uber | ESPO’s Love Letter | Composting bodies
Point Breeze can flourish and “long-term residents are able to take part in that growth” when residents and developers collaborate in zoning and construction process, writes RCO leader Claudia Sherrod Zelda…
September 21: Top-down public spectacle | Weinstein’s Wayne Junction dream | ‘Ugly produce’
ZBA’s decision last week to reject rezoning a vacant West Poplar warehouse for apartments sends a message about pushing diversity in the construction industry, Inga Saffron argues. The core of the…
September 20: NHSL crash prelim report | Amazon’s refined search | Ryerss Mansion
A federal preliminary report states that slippery rails and speed may have been factors in the Norristown High Speed Line crash in August, Jason Laughlin reports. The SEPTA operator told National…
September 19: Strawberry Mansion’s anchors | Long-term Amazon impact | Dear Ben Carson
Philadelphia’s housing affordability and Strawberry Mansion’s anchor intuitions in today’s news: In Philadelphia, almost 70 places of worship of the city’s stock of 800 sit vacant, while another 20 to 30…
September 18: Open union negotiations | Median parking Philadelphia relic | Unlisted: Locust Theatre
Though the lawsuit challenging median parking on South Broad has come to an end, the fight for cultural dominance rages on. Joe Trinacria, contributing to Philly Magazine, makes the case for…
Between Two Planters: Longtime practitioners discuss transforming urban spaces in Philadelphia
Planners, public utilities fans, and curious residents packed WHYY’s studios Wednesday to discuss the transformation of urban spaces in Philadelphia. PIDC's Prema Gupta, the Philadelphia Land Bank's Angel Rodriguez,…
September 15: SLA + Ben Franklin | Bikelash, culture war | Selective property reassessment
Dissent over power, direction and allocation of resources, and the tensions of a changing city dominate today's news: The School Reform Commission (SRC) voted unanimously Thursday night to “co-locate”…
September 14: Mixed-use library | Fingerprints in data | “Youthful vigor”
Philadelphia continues to use data to make sense of the city’s past, present, and potential future: On the continuing courtship with Amazon: Inga Saffron pens an open letter to the tech…
September 13: Afro pick, Rizzo | Amtrak derailment ruling | Once “barren,” now dining
Projects of varying ranges of permanence dominate the news today: A Philadelphia municipal court judge dismissed all counts against former Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian Tuesday, Jason Laughlin reports. Judge Thomas Gehret…
September 12: Dark side, claw back | Post pop-up | ‘Gentrification tax’
Quite a bit on localizing economic development in today’s news: “This is a dark side of our constitutional federalism, as it plays out in ‘economic development,’” cautions City Lab. As cities…
September 11: Many thoughts on SEPTA | Houston’s bus redesign | Monument Lab
Transit’s the talk of the town in today’s news. Civic and cultural assets, too. The transportation secretary, agriculture secretary, fire commissioner, and PennDOT all voice concern over the GOP-backed House plan…
September 8: Relatively unglamorous ghosts | Amazing, dangerous, and frightening | Amazon HQ2
Amazing, dangerous, and frightening: Stu Bykofsky writes about the intersection of youth and bike culture on Philly streets. Byko speaks with youth bicyclists and bewildered onlookers who are concerned that these…
September 7: City clean confidence | Parkway fails | Clean energy jobs up 6%
Whether the Ben Franklin Parkway was meant to be the city’s signature cultural destination, a festival porta potty invasion, tree-lined commuter path, or grand public park, the Parkway “fails at…
September 6: AV advisory council | Female labor fighters | Urban agriculture + housing
What is dead may never die: Philadelphia heritage and ideas from our neighboring cities in today’s news: West Philadelphia community leaders say they were blindsided by the City’s decision to scrap…
September 5: School new Vaux | Daguerreotype selfie | Philly's Grandest Flop
Vaux High School in Sharswood is set to reopen its doors Tuesday, WHYY’s Aaron Moselle reports. The new Vaux, which will remain public, will open with just ninth-graders and add a…
September 1: Parks, trails on street view | PennDOT bribery | MFL derailment update
Quite a bit of news for and about those who drive, hike, and take transit in the region today: A Philadelphia-based PennDOT employee took nearly $14,000 in bribes to unleash more…
August 31: Place, race, rules | Parking, urban success | Philly sues Sessions
The conversation about parking and urban success has largely focused on commercial cores and not residential areas, so does the same urbanist thinking apply to neighborhoods? Inga Saffron looks at Center…
August 30: Blackwell & bike lane | Mazzoni Center | Clean and Saarinen
Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell wants to make the city’s first protected bike lane on Chestnut Street temporary, WHYY’s Tom MacDonald reports. The highly anticipated ten-block stretch, which the City proudly unveiled…
