Studies of what keeps Philadelphia from building, and owning, the homes it needs. Each begins with something you can see from the sidewalk: a lot left empty, a building that can't fit, a neighbor who can't stay.
Why does an empty lot in a rising neighborhood cost so little to hold?
Philadelphia taxes land and buildings at the same rate, so waiting for prices to climb is cheap. Ten places, and what a tax on land could and couldn't change.
159–196 privately held vacant or parking lots in the city's mixed-use zones
EnterWhy can't Philadelphia's narrow lots carry the apartment buildings that would fit them?
The code demands two stairs above three floors, and rowhouse lots are too narrow for both. One change in state law would let four- to six-story homes belong on the block.
18 ft the width of the lot this city was built on, one at a time
EnterWhy can't the people who keep the city running afford to stay in it?
A single parent and a retiree, two futures each. Resident-owned co-ops built by neighborhood nonprofits, starting in the city's closing schools.
~74,000 renter households earning roughly $60,000–$105,000
EnterWhy can't a homeowner add a small home in the back, the basement or over the garage?
What Philadelphia allows today, what stands in the way, and how a second small home could help an owner stay and a renter move in.
Under constructionWhy can't neighbors build their own blocks, one small building at a time?
How small local builders once made Philadelphia, what keeps them out today, and the financing and rules that would let them back in.
Under constructionWhat if the people who design buildings also built and owned them?
Architects who take on the risk and the reward of small projects: how the deals work, where the money comes from, and what it changes on the block.
Under constructionHow else can people share a building, a kitchen or a household?
Cohousing, group-equity co-ops, shared houses and multigenerational homes: how they work, who they serve and what Philadelphia's rules allow.
Under construction