Skyline Stories: Philly’s Income Gap, Shane’s Candies, Inquirer Building

Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs have seen among the largest change in income segregation since 1970. / Image via NYT.

Stunning maps in the Times — illustrating how the Philadelphia metropolitan region has the highest rate of income inequality and segregation since 1970. Hard to believe, especially as Philly has faced gentrification over the past 20 years…but wow, it’s amazing to see how the rich have fled to Old City/Center City, but even more so to the outer-ring suburbs and exurbs. (NYT)

In Old City, Franklin Fountain’s Berley Brothers continue their cultural — just renovated the historic Shane’s Candies and it sounds amazing! Hard to believe that before the Ben Franklin Bridge opened in 1926, 20,000 people walked past the store every day after crossing the Delaware River on ferry. (PlanPhilly and Philly.com)

Dreary East Market Street may be reactivated with the surprise move of the Inky/DN/Philly.com from their stunning North Broad Street skyscraper (the “shining white knight” looming over City Hall, per Inky architecture critic Inga Saffron) to the renovated former Strawbridge and Clothier building. (Philly.com: One and
Two, Naked Philly and That’s the Press, Baby) … What other buildings are endangered? Check out SOS’ annual list. (PlanPhilly)

In transit news, SEPTA chose ACS to design its new $130 million contactless fare payment system, slated for 2013. (Philly.com) They’ve also done EZ-Pass and as I covered previously, are working on Abu Dhabi’s upcoming payment system. Meanwhile PATCO hired a new GM, choosing longtime internal candidate John Rink, a Camden County mayor who would oversee possible expansion on Delaware Avenue, renovating the Franklin Square station and rebuilding the trains. (Philly.com)

Philly hasn’t removed the Occupy Philly protestors yet…but they are stalling the exciting renovations to Dilworth Plaza (Philly.com), which the Center City District just awarded to Keating (PlanPhilly). But it’s disappointing that the City Planning Commission approved SugarHouse Casino’s expansion. (PlanPhilly) …Surprisingly, Philly tops the country in best clean water through a variety of programs. (The Atlantic: Cities)

Shane's Candies recently reopened after a stunning renovation by the Berley Brothers, owners of the nearby Franklin Fountain. / Image via PlanPhilly.

Circling back to suburban sprawl, nationwide it’s destroying communities — from Florida (Streetsblog: DC) to Phoenix (Design Observer) to New England (The Atlantic: Cities). Now 1/3 of Americans live in or near poverty, with half of them trapped in suburbs. (NYT)

But solutions are slow or not there — the federal budget eliminated funding for high speed rail and sustainable communities, rail cut big, but at least New Starts and TIGER were saved. (Streetsblog D.C.) Times highlights great ideas for improving mass transit: residents plan routes to connect houses to job centers, van pools and nationwide commuting bank in which you gain credits for car-sharing. (NYT: Opinionator) The era of owning houses should end, too. (The Atlantic: Cities)

Maybe we just need more women planners, who tend to think small-scale rather than large-scale. (The Atlantic: Cities)

In Brooklyn…the Municipal Arts Society (MAS) is tackling public housing in Brownsville, where a century ago my ancestors lived. (MAS), and the recently opened Brooklyn Navy Yard sounds really cool! (L Magazine)

Worldwide…
Urban planners from Venice and the Netherlands are helping Thailand protect its ancient city of Ayutthaya recover from flood waters. (AP)

France’s southern port city of Marseille has a cool mix of cultures. (Times Magazine) … Fight to save the historic old neighborhood of Panama City. (The Atlantic: Cities) … Post-apartheid Soweto is slowly healing the spatial gaps. (Design Observer) … Great photos of 9/11 at the ICP. (ICP)

Abu Dhabi: Improving road safety thru crackdowns on texting while driving, pedestrian crossings, contactless fare payments.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Driving safety has been a big theme lately — especially after the UAE-Baniyas football star Theyab Awana was killed in a car crash recently, which his father and friends are almost certain was caused by texting while driving. (The National)

Awana Ahmad Al Mosabi, left, has asked motorists not to use mobile devices such as BlackBerry smartphones while driving following the death of his talented footballer son. / Image via The National.

Hard to believe, but the UAE places in the Top 10 worldwide in the ignominious category of highest car crash (3rd) and traffic death rates (8th) in the world, and when RIM’s Blackberry network went down, accidents dropped by 40 percent in Abu Dhabi. (Wired)

So what is the UAE doing to improve this? The police say they’re cracking down on texting while driving, and it’s good to see that the Urban Planning Council is going to put streets on “road diets” to enhance pedestrian crossings. (Gulf News)

Increasing mass transit options will also decrease car use, and Abu Dhabi is expecting to see a five-fold increase in transit use over the next 20 years. As a result, they’re joining a growing list of global cities in offering contactless fare payment on buses (and I imagine the metro, trams and water taxis when they’re built), thanks to Xerox’s ACS company. The bus fleet is expected to triple to nearly 1,500 over the next two years. (Smart Card Alliance)

As the MTA’s video shows above, contactless fares would replace the dirham dropbox (bus fares are only AED 1-2, or $0.27-0.54; less with an Ojra card), and would speed up fare payment by simply tapping your debit card or a separate fare card like London’s Oyster card.

Shorter distances are expected to be easier too, as Al Ain is finishing up infrastructure improvements that included bike lanes. (Construction Week)

For longer distances, there are finally dates for the ambitious GCC rail network: construction is expected to start in 2014 and finish by 2017-2018. The rail line is also slated to go through Oman into Yemen. (Construction Week)

Elsewhere in the region…
Doha, Qatar’s metro will be 212 km (130 mi) long, triple the length of Dubai’s metro and nearly as long as New York’s, and is expected to be completed by 2020 and in time for the 2022 World Cup. (Construction Week)

Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council is partnering with the Seychelles to develop the master plan of its capital Victoria. (Seychelles Nation) Skidmore, Owings and Merrill will make the master plan for Oman’s Duqm City. (Oman Observer)

Oman awarded the contracts to Turner and Townsend to expand the Muscat and Salalah airports. (Construction Week)

Could the UAE really be waste-free by 2015? Recycling bins in Sharjah are a start. (Construction Week) Liquid of Life is also helping improve water filtration efforts to cut down on bottled water. (AME Info)

Waldorf Astoria is planning its $272 million new hotel on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah islands, while Hilton Worldwide has 40 hotels in the MENA pipeline, including two new ones in Beirut. (Construction Week)