ESI Blog: Present Value
Present Value was created as a platform for sharing ideas, discussing our interests and improving connections with our community. Each week, we invite guest contributors from the ranks of our senior advisors, industry experts, and thought leaders.
Earlier this month, SEPTA made a few big announcements about the new Key Advantage program. If you haven’t yet learned about the new initiative that’s part of a broader strategy for an inclusive post-pandemic plan for the region, Key Advantage is SEPTA’s new institutional pass program. It allows institutions to purchase passes for all their […]
Here at ESI, we’ve long amplified the point that universities and hospitals have huge economic footprints, and that the employment hubs, procurement opportunities, and tax revenue generation they represent emerge from and are driven by the fulfillment of their deepest institutional missions. It is also true that these large-scale institutions have huge environmental footprints, and […]
Among many other effects, COVID has scrambled the enrollment and experience of non-domestic students at U.S. universities. Two-plus years into the pandemic, we continue to monitor the consequence of lockdowns, travel bans, and geopolitics on what had previously been a socially dynamic (and, particularly for some schools, financially lucrative) facet of on-campus life. While we […]
What are some major points to consider, or questions that we should be asking to gauge how well we as universities and institutions here in the United States work with Chinese students? Such is the primary focus of Dr. Benajmin B. Olshin in the following video. Dr. Olshin is a consultant and former professor of […]
University Environmental Scans in an Era of Unprecedented Uncertainty Demand is up for university environmental scans because institutions need to understand the shifting landscape in which they compete. Soaring student loan debt has caused students, families, and lawmakers alike to relitigate the value proposition and financial mechanics of paying for a four-year degree. A proliferation […]
With the summer quickly winding down comes one sure fact—many internships are winding down as well, and school is starting soon! To wrap up the summer, we wanted to sit down with a number of ESI’s interns to gather their thoughts on interning at ESI these past months, and inquire about their plans and goals […]
Climate change poses challenging and potentially catastrophic disruptions with rising sea levels and consequential flooding in coastal communities around the world. Our already strained and vulnerable water systems will need to be restructured as we think about how to better prepare our cities for climate adaptation. Today in Present Value, we had the opportunity to […]
Full of life, vibrance, and history, Philadelphia has a beautiful local treasure. Where you say? Rittenhouse Square. William Penn plotted out five public squares in the 1600’s: Centre Square (City Hall), East Publick Square (Franklin Square), Southwest Square (Rittenhouse Square), and Northwest Square (Logan Square). Each of these are fantastic places to take a lunch […]
A recent Present Value post titled Prioritizing Equity in EV Infrastructure Planning with Data highlighted the unlocked potential of electric vehicles (EVs), along with some of the current pitfalls preventing the industry from being truly equitable and accessible for all. As aforementioned, the journey to cleaner and greener cities is a long one, but with […]
Last year, Econsult Solutions launched ESI Center for the Future of Cities, bringing together the firm’s thought leadership and consulting work in urban economics, strategy, and analytics. Our goal is to make cities and regions of all sizes and shapes more competitive, more livable, and more equitable. We recognized that coming out of the pandemic, […]