“As remarkable as the city’s comeback and revival have been, its gains have been concentrated in just a few neighborhoods, mainly in and around the urban core and its major anchor institutions. Meanwhile, large spans of the city, especially in North and West Philadelphia, remain mired in chronic and persistent poverty.”

Renowned urbanist, Richard Florida, PhD, spent the last year studying Philadelphia as part of a fellowship collaboration between Drexel University, Thomas Jefferson University, and the University City Science Center. The Philadelphia Fellowship seeks to bring a roster of scholars to the city to gain a deeper understanding, and remedy for, some of our most pressing urban issues. Florida and his team reviewed reams of city data, mapped key metrics, and conducted interviews with leaders, researchers, experts, and community activists.

The result is the fascinating report, “Philadelphia’s Next Challenge: From Urban Revitalization to Inclusive Prosperity.” The report reflects on Philadelphia’s transformation from the “dark days” of the late 60’s and 70’s to becoming a beacon of “urban revival filled with exceptional restaurants, hotels, arts and cultural amenities.”

The report also dives deep into the growing inequality, socioeconomic divides, and housing costs that concern the city. The goal of the report is to serve as a guidepost so Philadelphia can continue to grow while including all residents in this prosperity.

Some insights that may be of particular interest to those in housing and development include:

Florida believes Philadelphia’s revival was driven, in large part, by affordability. This affordability “enabled Philadelphia to be both creative and authentic, helping to make the city a mecca for young people and the creative class of technologists, innovators, professionals, managers, artists, and designers, many of whom were fleeing New York and other expensive cities.”

The report emphasizes that Philly is still affordable--

“In fact, housing costs in Philadelphia are less than a third of those of its neighbors across the Boston-New York-Washington, D.C. corridor, a quarter of cities like L.A. and Seattle, and just one-seventh of San Francisco.”

Yet, with a big housing divide between Philadelphia neighborhoods, “the city would benefit from more housing development overall.”

Philadelphia’s population growth has been uneven--some neighborhoods, like Old City and Northern Liberties, have seen growth rates greater than 10%; Roxborough, Packer Park, Summerdale have increased by 15%. Other areas have seen population declines, like West and North Philly, Spruce Hill, Tioga.

More upzoning would help Philadelphia. “The city would benefit from liberalizing its zoning and building codes to enable the building of more housing at greater densities. This does not just mean the construction of more high-rise towers. Zoning regulations can be reformed to allow triplex and fourplex apartment buildings in neighborhoods currently reserved for single-family homes, creating more efficient forms of ‘missing-middle’ housing.”

Strategies for Building a More Prosperous Philadelphia

“In fact, housing costs in Philadelphia are less than a third of those of its neighbors across the Boston-New York-Washington, D.C. corridor, a quarter of cities like L.A. and Seattle, and just one-seventh of San Francisco.”