November 17: Enthused and confident | Affordable housing inventory | Open strollers op-eds

Econsult Solutions’ Philadelphia Housing Index this month looks at the city’s affordable housing inventory and its spatial distribution. The analysis used metrics such as down payment, property tax, and homeowner insurance and found a concentration of affordable housing stock in neighborhoods in North and West Philadelphia, like Tioga and Strawberry Mansion, and in the Lower Northeast, like Tacony and Frankford. The authors note, however, that the analysis is non-exhaustive; it hadn’t taken into consideration household size, ability to save for a down payment, initial rental deposit, or households with the lowest income bracket.

Jon Geeting writes about walking and taking SEPTA as a parent in Philadelphia: in an opinion piece for Philly.com, Geeting discusses sidewalk maintenance, mobility, SEPTA’s new open stroller policy, and enforcement by the PPA and police department in response to illegal parking in front of ADA curb cuts or parking up on the sidewalk.

From another perspective, Angela Showell writes, as a parent, about why an unfolded stroller on a bus is a terrible idea. Also in an opinion piece for Philly.com, Showell sees the issue as a first world problem. Furthermore, she points out safety issues without a protocol for drivers to secure strollers and the potential to encourage “decidedly unneighborly actions.”

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Corporation DVRPC has released an interactive map that indicates bike stress in traffic throughout the region, Curbed Philadelphia’s Melissa Romero writes. The comfort levels highlight kid-friendliness and interest levels from “concerned” to “enthused and confident.”

More foot action: Billy Penn maps out where Philly’s 275 new foot-pedal Bigbelly trash cans are located.

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