July 25: Invisible segregation | Old City’s old schoolers | Grapple: Millbourne, PA

Old bones, old school artists, and Northeast Corridor Future in today’s news roundup:

Why, even in places that achieve a racial balance, do benefits accrue to the white and affluent? PlanPhilly’s Jake Blumgart, contributing to Slate Magazine, looks at the complexities of integration and microsegregation in Mount Airy, Philadelphia and Mount Rainier, Maryland.

A Philadelphia judge has given PMC Properties ten days to come up with a better plan to excavate, transfer and rebury the historic human remains that were discovered at the former site of the First Baptist Church Burial Ground, WHYY’s Elana Gordon reports.

Without federal investment, the Federal Railroad Administration’s Northeast Corridor Future plan may not get beyond a drafting table, writes Jason Laughlin. PennDOT’s Richard Kirkpatrick, the City of Philadelphia’s Mike Dunn, and Congressman Brendan Boyle say that while local and state officials will work to improve regional access on the Northeast Corridor, infrastructure funding is a federal responsibility. Last week, Pedestrian Observations’ Alon Levy, contributing to PlanPhilly, dug deep into the cost-effectiveness of the plan’s chosen alternative.

Life after Sears: episode 11 of Keystone Crossroads’ Grapple podcast focuses on Millbourne, an inner-ring suburb of Philadelphia that is still reeling from the department store’s 1988 closure. The still-vacant property, which takes up almost a third of the borough, has never been redeveloped. Keystone Crossroads looks at the new kids on the block—immigrants primarily from Southeast Asia who came to Millbourne for its affordable housing and convenient transit access and whose businesses bring crucial revenue to the formerly financially distressed municipality.

Old City’s old school arts community is finding its way in the veritable arts and design district that it helped create, writes Curbed Philly’s Karen Chernick. Some established galleries, such as the Clay Studio, are moving to Northern Liberties, Fishtown, and Kensington for affordable space, while others including Snyderman-Works Gallery and Rosenfeld Gallery are closing altogether as their owners retire. Old City District’s Job Itzkowitz discusses the business improvement district’s work to maintain the artistic focus of the neighborhood.

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