February 9, 2017: Litter index l Mapping out informal transit networks l N.J. Mayors demand clarity on state transportation funds

The trash talk continues. The City’s newly formed Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet will pilot a litter index in two neighborhoods this year, tracking every single piece of trash and plotting the findings using GIS.

The mayors in New Jersey want to know how the state is planning to divvy up funding from the Transportation Trust Fund. Local municipalities asked about reimbursements from Gov. Chris Christie’s shutdown of road projects last year as well as for a more transparent process.

Unlike many of its neighboring buildings in Callowhill, the Walls and Pearsall building has stayed occupied and active for 115 years. Hidden City traces the lineage of owners and businesses that have occupied the trapezoidal property at 11th and Hamilton Streets, and Ridge Avenue.

In many cities across the developing world, the informally run transit networks are crucial to getting around effectively. A Cape Town-based startup aims to integrate data from both formal and informal networks to help government officials, planners, and fare estimators troubleshoot solutions and improve access to public transport information.

Julian Francis Abele, the University of Pennsylvania’s first black architecture graduate, is not a household name. His portfolio, however, which includes the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library of Philadelphia, has been long celebrated in the design community. Curbed Philly maps out the key structures in Abele’s life and work in Philadelphia.