University City : Development News

For the first time in its 50 year history, the Science Center is launching a residential project on its University City campus. Slated for 3601 Market Street, the 27-story high rise will be a joint venture between Wexford Equities, parent company of Wexford Science & Technology, and Southern Land Company. Construction is expected to start in the fall, kicking off the first of what Science Center officials anticipate to be a boomlet of residential and mixed-use projects in the coming years.
 
The 400,000-square-foot building will feature 364 apartments and 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail—something Science Center President and CEO Stephen S. Tang, PhD, MBA, hopes will make the campus and its environs just as lively by night as it is by day.
 
"We observed similar innovation hubs in Toronto, Mission Bay in San Francisco and Cambridge," says Tang, explaining that what separates those places from the Science Center is a residential component to activate the campus, creating a more dynamic environment. "It might sound silly to say, but you really do need people to make a community. That’s the component were adding at 36th and Market."
 
This project is the first step towards creating the 24/7 "live, work, play" neighborhood they’re after. "This project is going to be complete around Spring 2015," says Tang. "From there, we’ll turn our attention to 38th and Market. It’s the only other major space open on campus right now." At that site, Tang expects another 700,000 square-feet worth of mixed-use development.
 
With these two projects, and others, in the pipeline, the Science Center continues to contribute to University City-wide efforts aimed at creating a world-class innovation environment.
 
"With the Science Center’s goals, Drexel’s vision to create an innovation neighborhood and Penn’s ongoing efforts at developing mixed-use projects, we’re working in concert to create a community of innovators and entrepreneurs," says Tang. "Over the next few years, we want to rival Center City in vibrancy." 
 
Source: Stephen A. Tang, President and CEO, University City Science Center
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Come October 20, accessing the Schuylkill Banks from Fitler Square will be a lot easier thanks to the official opening of the Schuylkill River Parks Connector Bridge that now spans the railroad that currently separates the neighborhood from the waterfront. 
 
Say goodbye to the at-grade crossing or the moments of disappointment from running or biking down to the current Locust Street park entrance only to get brutally rebuffed and blocked by a train passing by.        
 
Say hello to a brand new prefabricated bridge which spans 95 feet over the CSX railroad line, and features a 12-foot-wide pathway and ADA accessibility on both approaches.  So it shouldn’t be too tight a squeeze for a multitude of users to be on there at once.    
 
Another bonus of the bridge is that it will provide a direct link from the Schuylkill Banks to the Schuylkill River Park.  In fact, the opening of the bridge is coinciding with that park's annual Fall Festival. 
 
This year’s festival will have a lot to celebrate.  The River Park has been under construction in conjunction with the bridge, but is now completely restored.  New features include new park paving, benches, trash receptacles, an improved dog run, new lighting, an irrigation system, new trees and shrubs and revitalized turf.
 
The bridge is one piece of a very large puzzle to connect the Schuylkill Banks to the Grays Ferry Crescent Trail Park and beyond along the Schuylkill River Trail.  As part of this plan, a half-mile boardwalk, which is currently under construction, will directly connect to the bridge’s approach and extend down to the South Street bridge.
 
If you’re in the neighborhood and interested in seeing the bridge's official commemoration, the ceremony takes place at 1 p.m. this Saturday with Mayor Michael Nutter expected to attend -- during the Fall Festival, which runs 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. The events rain date is the next day, October 21 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. 

Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Pedestrianizing spaces once dominated by auto users is not a foreign concept to modern American cities.  Pop-up cafes, parklets and the well-known PARK(ing) Day jumpstarted nationwide movements aimed at improving the pedestrian experience in cities and caused numerous city leaders to implement similar, more permanent solutions in their respective cities.  Today, New York City has their now infamous pedestrian plazas in Times Square and Herald Square, San Francisco has their Pavement to Parks initiatives and Indianapolis went on a significant road diet with the completion of their innovative Cultural Trail.
 
The City of Philadelphia, too, has joined in on the movement with their Pedestrian Plaza Program, which seeks to reclaim unused stretches of asphalt and concrete by turning them into new public plazas and parks.  And now, over in University City, at 42nd and Woodland, the first plaza to be created under this Program will be unveiled later this week, with the help of Mayor Nutter and the University City District (UCD). 
 
Last year, the City awarded three grants through its Pedestrian Plaza Program. UCD was the recipient of two of those grants; next year, expect another pedestrian plaza to be unveiled at 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue.  This improvement, along with the under-construction, University of Pennsylvania-funded Spruce Street Plaza at 33rd and 34th Streets and The Porch at 30th Street Station, signifies University City gets what other cities do nationwide: there is an ever-increasing demand for pedestrian amenities in our urban cores. 
 
But the demand for creating pedestrian plazas in Philly far exceeds what these three grants cover.  And not every neighborhood can benefit from large institutions like Penn to cover the associated costs.  At the neighborhood level, groups along Passyunk Avenue have been working for years to implement or improve pedestrian plazas, with setbacks sometimes outnumbering progress. 
 
Along Grays Ferry Avenue in Graduate Hospital, the Triangles on Grays Ferry Avenue Gateway Project was formed to promote pedestrianizing traffic triangles along Grays Ferry Avenue at 23rd and South Streets as well as Bainbridge Street.  According to Tanya Seaman, Former Chair of the Grays Ferry Triangle group, the goals are in line with other pedestrian plaza efforts across the city: increase neighborhood identity, improve the pedestrian experience and spur economic development.
 
But without the backing of a citywide Pedestrian Plaza Program and no significant examples to point to, the group’s efforts have thus far been slow in progress and met skeptical critics. 
 
Seaman hopes that will soon change and believes the University City plazas will help shift the paradigm.  “The University City plazas will provide successful examples that we can point to when trying to implement our own improvements,” explains Seaman, “they will help increase awareness and excitement about what we’re trying to do in Graduate Hospital.”
 
According to Seaman, the group is in the schematic design phase of their efforts.  Once that is completed, they will take their ideas to local businesses and the community to elicit support and make the case for why pedestrian plazas will improve the Grays Ferry Corridor and the neighborhood in general.  Without the City’s Plaza Program’s help, Seaman is hopeful that if successful, the group’s efforts can be used as a model for how to implement pedestrian improvements at a neighborhood, grass roots level. 

Source: Tanya Seaman, Former Chair, Grays Ferry Triangle Group
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Biking along Walnut Street is about to get a heck of a lot easier thanks to a new left hand, buffered bike lane that will soon appear on Walnut Street from 22nd Street to 63rd Street.  As it stands today, Walnut Street already has a right, curb side bike lane that serves parts of Center City and the biker-oriented communities of UPenn and Drexel.  But thanks to the efforts of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, The Streets Department and the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities, the bike lane is getting a serious upgrade, just in time for the beginning of school.

The main crux of the improvement is found in its one-of-a-kind status:  the bike lane is the city's first buffered bike lane next to a parking lane, as opposed to Spruce and Pine and 10th and 13th, which are next to the curb line.  This will greatly affect students and other bikers who already utilize Walnut Street for their biking needs.  According to Nicholas Mirra of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, users should immediately notice the differences. 

“It will eliminate conflicts with buses and traffic turning right on the Walnut Street Bridge to the Schuylkill Expressway,” he says. “It will also make the left turn from the 22nd Street bike lane easier for bicyclists. It should also slightly reduce conflicts with car doors since the bike lane will be next to the passenger side of cars.”   

While this leaves plenty for bike enthusiasts to be excited about, auto users, too, should be at ease over the planned improvements.  According to Mirra, the lane is being installed without the removal of a travel lane or parking. Space was made by simply narrowing the existing parking and travel lanes. 

Getting this improvement implemented was a relatively routine process and a refreshing example of cooperation at its finest. 

“The Streets Department and the Mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities have been considering moving the bike lanes from the right side of the street to the left side of the street as part of the routine resurfacing of Walnut Street [which is currently underway],” says Mirra. “The Coalition met with them and proposed that there was enough road space to expand the bike lane.” 

In January, armed with this knowledge, the Streets Department approached PennDOT to incorporate the improvement into the resurfacing project, and they obliged.  Nine months later, this September, the bike lane will be open and ready for public use. 
 
While there are no anticipated existing bike lane improvements slated for 2012, Mirra hopes similar enhancements will be made in the years to come as other road resurfacing contracts are announced.

Source: Nicholas Mirra, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Branding your city, whether through logos, trademarks or historical importance, helps convey a place’s cultural values, but is also essential in competing for desirable tourism and investment dollars.  When communicating this brand, the details matter, right down to the signage systems employed at neighborhood levels.  Philadelphia already has high quality, unified walking and vehicular wayfinding signage systems that were long ago established.  More recently, the Central Philadelphia Transportation Management Association (CPTMA), in partnership with regional transit service providers, set to increase visibility of and access to Philly’s multi-modal, regional transit system as well, and visually link it to the City’s existing wayfinding systems. 

CPTMA’s goal was simple: create a single brand of Philly’s transit systems by highlighting and unifying access to underground transit in Center City.  The ‘highlighting’ part has come in the form of visually intriguing, green back-lit “lollipop” signs that mark entrances to Philly’s 3.5 mile underground concourse system that links together the subway, trolley lines and regional rail.  The ‘unifying’ part has come in the form of the “lollipop” signs, but also information at the surface as to which train lines users can access at each stop; information about the Walk! Philadelphia and Direction Philadelphia sign systems that can be followed by pedestrians and cars; and below the surface, maps of the 3.5 mile underground concourse as well as attractions found above ground around each stop.  By the end of September, after years of implementation efforts, the signage system will officially be complete.

Selling the brand wasn’t always easy, according to Paul Levy, President and CEO of Center City District (CCD).  When CCD originally approached SEPTA and PATCO about creating a unified signage system to be shared by the two transit authorities, all parties were on board.  But, as Levy describes, neither party wanted to erase their individual identity.  Through a series of negotiations and back and forth conversations, the transit authorities and CCD eventually reached a compromise to retain each transit providers brand, but on unified physical signs.  Thus the green “lollipop” and associated directional signage came to be.  All parties: pleased; a unified brand: defined.    

Today, with nearly 90 percent of signs installed, Levy owes a great deal of thanks to a number of property owners and their “willingness to share the cost of installing the system adjacent to their buildings,” likely because they understood the benefit of the unified system.  And he hopes more potential partners will come on board in the future.  “We’ve shared the system with Temple, Drexel, Penn and the University City District and have encouraged them to extend it.” 

Source: Paul Levy, President and CEO of Center City District
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Flanked on both sides with Philly’s tallest skyscrapers, Market Street West is best known for its urban canyon qualities.  Lately, these characteristics have reached new heights with the addition of a number of towers and institutional buildings along the corridor.  This trend seems to be continuing further west, this time at the northeast corner of 38th and Market in University City.  The development, an 11-story, 272,700 square foot tower is a joint venture between the University City Science Center and Wexford Science + Technology.
 
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center will take up the bulk of the building, occupying approximately 155,700 square feet for orthopedics and outpatient medical facilities.  Good Shepherd Penn Partners will occupy an additional floor and a half.  The Science Center and Wexford will control the remaining 88,000 square feet. 
 
Currently, the Science Center is largely known as the largest urban research park in the United States.  Adding Penn Presbyterian onto their campus strengthens this reputation, and according to James R. Berens, Chairman, Wexford Science + Technology, LLC, it also advances the idea of establishing University City as a world class Meds and Eds hub.  “The project, as a mix of clinical, research and office uses, is a perfect match to the Science Center’s mission and Wexford’s capabilities -- and is a great opportunity to cultivate University City and Philadelphia’s innovation cluster,” says Berens in a press release statement. 
 
Solidifying University City as a tech hub isn’t the only benefit from the project.  Expect improved access to medical care for much of West Philly, says Michele Volpe, CEO of Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in a press release statement.  “This expansion will provide PPMC faculty and staff with the infrastructure necessary to better serve the Powelton Avenue, West Philadelphia, and even the Greater Philadelphia communities.”    
     
Cranes should rise this September, with an expected completion date of June 2014.  Once finished, the building is anticipated to receive LEED Silver certification.    

Source: James Berens, Wexford Science + Technology
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Composting in University City is catching on. In just a couple weeks, the University City District (UCD) will be opening The Dirt Factory composting facility at 43rd and Market, a partnership between UCD and the Pedal Coop, a bicycle-powered disposal service that serves West (like Plotland at 44th and Locust) and South Philly (like Mercy Edible Park) and Center City.

The Dirt Factory represents the most permanent composting facility the Pedal Coop’s ever had, according to Seth Budick, the manager of policy and research at UCD, who says the cooperative is currently forced to compost at community gardens and other short-lived sites, which quickly hit capacity, forcing the disposers to find other sites. The facility will also have limited hours when other University City residents can use it.

"Our hope is that this facility will have sufficient capacity to allow (Pedal Coop) to expand their collection, increasing the number of residents and businesses that are able to compost," says Budick. This will enable Pedal Coop to handle large university functions at UPenn, Drexel, USciences, and other institutions.

West Philly businesses seem excited about the large-scale local composting option, whether or not they contract to the Pedal Coop. Budick says that Pedal Coop clients Metropolitan and Four Worlds Bakeries, both of which serve bread in West Philly, are especially thrilled about The Dirt Factory. Along with that, he adds that an increasing number of local businesses, affiliated and unaffiliated with the Coop, are asking how they can compost at 43rd and Market. 

The Dirt Factory will also have limited hours when University City businesses, non-profits, and residents can compost.

"We hope to begin by opening the site once a week for drop-offs of small quantities of compostables," says Budick. Eventually, the space could open to the public more if the need exists.

The UCD is also planning compost, food, and sustainability workshops for the summer months to be held on-site, says Budick, who promises more details will be announced soon.  Also, the site will have smaller composting classrooms where members of the community can learn techniques for composting at home. Additionally, the Walnut Hill Farm recently planted fruits and vegetables at The Factory using neighborhood compost. 

Other partners in the composting effort include the owners of the property at 4308 Market St. who offered up the parcel, and the University of Pennsylvania, which sold its used "Earth Tub" composting machines at a greatly reduced rate. The public grand opening for the Dirt Factory will be on June 20, and will feature complimentary refreshments by Four Worlds, Little Baby’s Ice Cream, and Dock St. Brewing Company.  

Source: Seth Budick, University City District
Writer: Andy Sharpe

When it comes to sustainable transportation around Philadelphia, pedestrians have been without an active group speaking on their behalf since PhillyWalks ended about a decade ago. While bicyclists have enjoyed advocacy from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and mass transit riders have been represented by the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, pedestrians have not found a similar voice recently. That is, until now. The Clean Air Council has just formed a pedestrian advocacy group, and is in the process of creating an agenda for those who travel with two feet on the pavement.

This new group, dubbed the "Pedestrian Advocacy Project," has met twice so far and has crowdsourced its agenda through the hundreds of people who are on its listserv, according to Dennis Winters, a trails associate at the Council who is leading the project. Winters says e-mail participants indicated the biggest problem facing pedestrians is that "red-green lights (are) not synced right." In other words, traffic lights around the Philadelphia area often favor motorists over pedestrians.

At the project’s second meeting, the 10 or so attendees largely agreed with the e-mail survey. They discussed intersections in Philadelphia, such as 20th and JFK Blvd., that are not as pedestrian-friendly as they believe they should be. Attendees arrived at the conclusion that pedestrian countdown signals and corresponding traffic lights should be re-timed to equalize the playing field between drivers and walkers. By the end of the evening, a committee had formed to study pedestrian countdown signals, and how they could be improved.

One prevailing question for the nascent advocacy group is whether pedestrian countdown signals themselves are to blame for diminishing the pedestrian experience, or whether bad behavior on the part of motorists is to blame. Deborah Schaaf, an employee of the City Planning Commission and a walker herself, says that police enforcement of aggressive driving had to be cut short due to lack of funds. In fact, police overtime money that was supposed to go to the "Give respect, get respect" campaign targeting vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian infractions instead went to Occupy Philly coverage.

The Pedestrian Advocacy Project’s online members also indicated that the presence of outdoor seating and other obstructions blocking sidewalks, traffic laws not being adequately enforced, and aggressive drivers turning left were other impediments for pedestrians. Most members of the listserv attended the Academy of Natural Sciences forum "Walkability: Philadelphia Strides into the Future," which was where the pedestrian advocacy group was unveiled. Given that just about everyone in Philadelphia walks, even if it is just to get to their car or train, this group could help a lot of people.   

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Dennis Winters

The Pennsylvania Convention Center Annex was filled with the redolent scents of artisanal cheese, creamy gelato, freshly-baked bread and biscotti, and premium steeped tea last Sunday. These scents formed the aromatic calling card for the Philly Farm and Food Fest, which was co-organized by Fair Food and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). One of the highlights of the convention was a panel discussion on the Green Space Alliance’s recent study “Transforming open space to sustainable farm enterprises.”

The panel discussion started with an outline of Green Space Alliance’s (GSA’s) findings, which include recommendations on public outreach, zoning and planning, and urban areas. One of the chief findings is that GSA should extend an arm to local governments, land trusts, and conservancies to generate knowledge about sustainable farming. Under zoning, the study concludes that specific ordinance definitions should be drafted, says Justin Keller, an architect with Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, which prepared the study for GSA. 

Finally, the study advises that incentives be created for urban farms that bolster stormwater management through the elimination of impervious surfaces. It specifically pinpoints urban farms as sources of sorely-needed nourishment in food deserts and job creators in neighborhoods with rampant unemployment. GSA found that the city of Philadelphia has nearly 2,500 acres that can be used for farming, which could yield a crop value between $6.4 and $10.8 million, says Peter Simone, also an architect with Simone Collins.

After Simone Collins presented the study, three panelists offered conference-goers some feedback. Nic Esposito, who farms at East Kensington’s Emerald St. Urban Farm, is interested in the study’s examination of municipal land, as his farm is owned by three different city agencies. While the study looks at both CSAs and farms that donate food, Esposito makes sure to mention that Emerald St. donates all the food it generates from chickens and bees. He also adds that Councilwoman Sanchez and Councilman Green’s land bank resolution in City Council would be an asset for urban farming on vacant land.

Another panelist was Joan Blaustein, chair of the Philadelphia Food Policy Council and a director in the city’s department of Parks and Recreation. Blaustein, who grows food in her own backyard garden, emphasizes the practical nature of urban gardening. Urban gardens “should satisfy the social needs of people in the city,” says Blaustein. She proceeds to give the city a pat on the back for emphasizing urban farms in its Greenworks plan and mentioning it in its new zoning code. 

The third panelist was Fred DeLong, a project director at the Willistown Conservation Trust and Rushton Farm in Chester County. DeLong differs from the other panelists in that his farm certainly isn’t urban. Nonetheless, he has a similar goal to the study and his fellow panelists. “Willistown Conservation Trust wants to connect people to the land,” says DeLong. He adds that within the trust is the Rushton Farm, which is a natural community-supported agriculture (CSA) within an 80-acre nature preserve.   

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Sources: Justin Keller, Peter Simone, Nic Esposito, Joan Blaustein, and Fred DeLong, panelists at Philly Farm and Food Fest

Illustration courtesy of Philly Farm and Food Fest   

It is fitting that the upcoming expansion of NextFab Studio, the two year-old "gym for innovators" that features digital fabrication tools and the opportunity for most anyone to create most anything, will bring it to a new flagship location at a former custom ironwork shop run by old-world craftsmen.

NextFab announced last week it will be growing in a big way from its original space in the University City Science Center at 3711 Market Street, where it has doubled membership in the last six months and tripled revenue between 2010 and 2011.

And inside its new facility, expected to open by early July, NextFab2 will look to create the latest edition of the creative economy, just like when slabs of iron were being shaped decades ago at the new site at 2025 Washington Ave.

"As our members increase in number and skill and the reputation of our design, engineering and custom fabrication services has grown, an increasing number of members and clients want to take on projects that fall outside of that size range, or which need more privacy or more intense around-the-clock effort," says NextFab president and founder Evan Malone.

Indeed, the new facility in Southwest Center City/Graduate Hospital should provide ample space: 21,000 square feet of equipment, expert staff, classes, workshops and accessible design, engineering and custom fabrication services.

Media-based architecture and design firm inHabit has reconfigured the building, which will provide private studios with 24/7 access, 14-foot ceilings, CNC water-jet cutter, CNC machining center, CNC router, more advanced 3D printers and a chemistry and micro-fabrication lab.

According to Malone, NextFab2 will have the layout and space for the big tools necessary for massive projects. There will be drive-in loading/unloading, a forklift and crane, a vehicle lift and facilities for car and motorcycle customization and electric-fuel conversion. There are also plenty of lighter touches, like a street-level cafe, space for exhibition and sales of products and art, and dedicated classroom spaces.

NextFab has come a long way in a short time. Revenue in 2011 was almost $500,000 with a membership that numbers 150. Full-time teaching and consulting staff has more than doubled to 17 professional artists, engineers and designers. Classes, of which there are 30 and range from Digital Embroidery to using a CNC Plasma Cutter, often fill up a month in advance.

"Our members are now successfully selling book scanners, laser-cut home decor and fashion products, custom speakers and more that they make at NextFab," says Malone.

Part of NextFab's aim is to reduce the learning curve associated with digital fabrication and foster an environment of innovation that transcends culture and education backgrounds.

"In traditional mass production you build an expensive factory to cheaply make millions of identical products," says Malone. "Digital Fabrication is an economic game changer because each thing you make can be unique for the cost of changing the picture on the computer screen."

Memberships will be available at the current rate until May 1, when rates will go up to help fund the expansion.

Source: Evan Malone, NextFab Studio
Writer: Joe Petrucci

What do New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Baltimore, Spartanburg SC, and Hollywood FL all have in common? Hopefully you’ll have an answer by the time I’m finished with this sentence. If you don’t, these are all East Coast cities that offer bike sharing. Notice that Philadelphia is not in there. With this in mind, a team from the University of Pennsylvania is looking to put our city on par with the likes of Spartanburg by establishing Liberty Bike Share, which aims to bring bike sharing to Center City, University City, South Philly, and the Temple University-area.

Liberty Bike Share is the product of three Masters degree candidates at UPenn who closely analyzed the 2010 Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) “Philadelphia Bike Share Concept Study,” says Dylan Hayden, who’s helping to organize the bike share concept. Hayden says Liberty is hoping to make 2,500-2,700 bicycles available to be shared at a cost of abougt $15 million. He adds that Liberty has the support of the Center City District and certain members of City Council. At this point, his group is waiting for the city’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU) to issue an RFP. 

As is usually the case, the cost of setting up operations is one of the biggest challenges Liberty faces. Hayden emphasizes that his team is looking to solicit pledges from local hospitals, universities, insurance companies, and other private sector entities willing to chip in. He does admit that securing financial contributions in the Philadelphia-area can be “like squeezing a turnip.” On this note, MOTU has identified the up-front costs of bike sharing as one of its biggest worries. 

Hayden says his team hopes to implement Liberty Bike Share in two phases, with the first concentrating on Center and University Cities and the second extending the program up to Temple. Liberty has two companies in mind, Alta and B-Cycle, to operate the bike share. Alta operates the bike sharing programs in New York City, D.C., and Boston, while B-Cycle is responsible for bike sharing in Spartanburg, Chicago, Denver, and elsewhere. Hayden envisions charging members an annual fee of anywhere between $75 and $90.

The UPenn team hopes Liberty Bike Share will complement mass transit in Philadelphia. “We’re looking to deal with last-mile issues,” says Hayden, who’s talking about the distance between a transit or rail stop and someone’s final destination. Indeed, the Penn senior envisions a future where someone can (as an example) take a train to Market East Station and share a bike to get to their final destination. Hayden hopes to work with SEPTA to incorporate bike sharing in with their upcoming New Payment Technology.

Locally, only one borough offers bike sharing. That would be Pottstown, a borough with around 22,000 people in Western Montgomery County. Bike Pottstown, Pottstown's bike sharing program, is run by Zagster, which launched its bike sharing consultancy in Philadelphia under the name CityRyde before moving to Cambridge, Mass last year. Bike Pottstown is a free bike share, which has filled the streets of the borough with 15 eye-snatching yellow bicycles. 

Hayden is unequivocal about the benefits of bike sharing. “Bike sharing is a policy Swiss army knife,” he says. By this, he means it ameliorates a host of policy issues, including healthcare, sustainability, and mobility. He also says that the city already has much of the infrastructure in place to support bike sharing, including the 215 miles of bike lanes he cites. Bike sharing would provide Philadelphia an opportunity to catch up to other American cities, large and small.  

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Dylan Hayden, Liberty Bike Share

It's simply amazing the juggernaut that Facebook has become, as you can now check into businesses, comment on Flying Kite articles, and reconnect with (or laugh at) long-lost family and friends. Yet, there's even more, especially for university students in Philadelphia. Campus Apartments, which holds properties in University City, now allows its student tenants to pay their rent through Facebook Connect. Campus Apartments unveiled this service in late January, and is excited with the response, albeit a little afraid of being poked.

Campus Apartments is able to utilize Facebook through a partnership between their existing online payment system, SmartClick, and the social network. Previously, the only way to access SmartClick was by inputting an e-mail address and password, says John Ailor, senior Director of Web and Wireless Technologies at Campus Apartments. Yet, in a sign of how ubiquitous Facebook has become, Campus Apartments decided it would be easier for many residents to simply remain on Facebook to pay their rent.  

Ailor outlines all that students can do via Facebook. They can "make payments, view (the) tenant ledger and submit service requests easily and more quickly than before,” he remarks. Ailor assures that it's far from a complicated process to sign up for the privilege of Facebook rent payment, as it should drag on no longer than a minute. 

While the Facebook perk came only went live just a couple of weeks ago, Ailor boasts that already a few hundred residents used it to pay their February rent. No word on how many of these social networkers live in Campus Apartments' Philadelphia properties. According to Ailor, these several hundred users are among 27,363 active SmartClickers across the country. SmartClick also allows students to pay rent through their app on Android phones. 

Campus Apartments has over a hundred apartments in University City that house pupils at Penn, Drexel, USciences, the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill, and the JNA Institute of the Culinary Arts. Nationwide, Campus Apartments offers student housing in 23 states, including California, Texas, and Michigan. 

The student housing provider reports no complaints about Facebook Connect among the few hundred who have used it so far. For the student Luddites among us, Campus Apartments still offers residents the chance to pay rent by check. Expect to see other student housing firms follow suit with a Facebook payment option. No dislike button needed for this. 

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: John Ailor, Campus Apartments