Urban planning is a diverse profession, encompassing a wide array of activities and expertise. As I got my master’s degree in it from Penn, I spent a good amount of time deconstructing urban design early on and shifted to international planning/development and real estate later on, but I still got a good amount of practice with traditional “urban planning” in between, including a metropolitan market competitiveness study, a community development plan, a housing strategy for a major university, a real estate design study, and an entry in an urban design competition. The six examples below are all based in the Philadelphia area.
- Regional Policy Recommendations – Waste Management in Delaware County: I actually wrote this before attending Penn as an outgrowth of my work for environmental justice in Chester. Broader legal and regulatory recommendations are in this post.
- Metropolitan Market Competitiveness Study – Philadelphia: After discussing trends in population, human capital, employment in Philadelphia and noting the regional context, this paper recommends a carrying capacity study, improvements in education, connecting city workers to suburban jobs, developing the leisure sector, strengthening health care and social services, and a “locational identification” campaign. (2003)
- Community Development Plan – Gray’s Ferry: Grays Ferry is a neighborhood with rich architectural, economic, and cultural diversity. After reviewing the community’s history, land use, population, housing, real estate, transportation, employment, social capital, and major landmarks and recent events, this paper recommends investment in a social institution like a school in the northern section of the neighborhood, a comprehensive plan for South Philadelphia, and diversified community-oriented housing stock. (December 15, 2003)
- University Area Housing Strategy – University of Pennsylvania (13MB pdf): This 141-page publication recommends the creation of three “town centers” in West Philadelphia from 50th St. east through Penn’s campus with the ultimate effect of improving the area’s housing stock for Penn, its affiliates, and the surrounding neighborhood. (May 2004)
- Real Estate Design – The Springfield Mall (pdf): This paper discusses the state of Springfield Mall’s current layout and design, focusing on parking and exterior access, common spaces, and the promenade. It recommends adding a separate facility like a restaurant or bank outside the mall, adding external frontage, and setting up a gas station on the southern edge of the parking lot. (February 2, 2005)
- Urban Design Competition – Riverfront Casino (2MB pdf): This large display, submitted for Penn’s urban design competition in early 2005, shows an urban design for how to develop casinos on Philadelphia’s waterfront. (2005)
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[...] Infrastructure Development: Infrastructure like roads, power lines, and sewage enhances the usability of land for other purposes and can be seen as public goods inexorably tied to the land upon which it is developed. Urban planners in developing countries should focus on slum upgrading and urban services in already-developed urban areas and can create infrastructure in less urbanized areas to redirect population growth away from over-taxed urban centers. (The development of water supply and drainage systems are of particular importance to the improvement of housing in Uganda.) Infrastructure like public bike parking lots, bike racks on public transit, and bike-only streets can remove obstacles to using this superior mode of transportation. Roads and public transit lines can connect low-income communities in urban cores to jobs in growing suburbs, as recommended for the Philadelphia area. [...]