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The Philly Tree Plan: Sowing the Seeds of a Greener, More Sustainable City

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As cities around the world grapple with the challenges of urbanization, many are turning to nature-based solutions to create more livable, sustainable communities. Here in Philadelphia, the city has taken an ambitious step forward with the Philly Tree Plan, an initiative aimed at increasing the city’s tree canopy cover and enhancing the benefits that trees provide to residents and the environment.

Launched in 2020, the Philly Tree Plan sets out to increase tree canopy in the city to 30% by 2030. This increase in tree coverage is expected to bring a wide range of benefits, including improved air and water quality, reduced stormwater runoff, and a reduction in the urban heat island effect. ESI quantified these benefits and here is what we found:

 

Achieving the desired tree canopy goal is no small feat. It requires a coordinated effort from city officials, community organizations, and residents to plant, care for, and maintain the forestry that will form the backbone of a more sustainable city. To this end, the Philly Tree Plan includes a range of strategies to make tree planting and maintenance a citywide priority. One approach is to work with community organizations and volunteers to plant and care for trees in public spaces, such as parks, streets, and sidewalks. By engaging with local residents and community groups, the city can tap into the expertise and passion of those who are most invested in the health and well-being of their neighborhoods.

In addition, the Philly Tree Plan offers incentives for property owners to plant and care for trees on their land. This not only helps to expand the city’s tree canopy coverage but empowers residents to take an active role in creating a more environmentally-focused, livable city. Finally, the Philly Tree Plan seeks to integrate tree planting and maintenance into city planning and development projects. By prioritizing trees as a key component of urban infrastructure, the city can ensure that they are a central part of the city’s growth and development, not an afterthought.

The tens of thousands of jobs created by the Philly Tree Plan would include numerous potential employment opportunities for workers with less than a bachelor’s degree. These workers would be eligible for various direct employment opportunities related to the Plan, including numerous public-sector tree care and customer service positions. In addition, contracting work associated with the Plan could be used to support new or existing Minority, Woman, or Disabled-Owned Business Enterprises (MWDSBEs) in Philadelphia. This is a critically important opportunity in a majority-minority city where diversity, equity, and inclusion in the private sector is a core concern.

The Philly Tree Plan represents a bold, forward-thinking approach to urban sustainability that puts nature at the center of city planning and development. By sowing the seeds of a greener, more sustainable city, Philadelphia is creating a brighter future for all of its residents.

 

Melissa Wright, Associate Director

Melissa is a former director at ESI. Prior to her time at the firm, she worked for Teach for America as the Director of Performance Measurement and Evaluation. Ms. Wright currently serves as Senior Director for Data and Policy with The City of Philadelphia Commerce Department’s Office of Economic Opportunity.

 

10 for 10: Real Estate

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As part of ESI’s year-long celebration of turning ten, we are looking back on some of our projects over the years. For the month of March, we showcase 10 projects from our real estate practice. Real estate encompasses affordable housing, transit oriented or adjacent development, open space and the environment, and other related concepts. 

1. Market Analysis of the Sharswood Blumberg Housing Redevelopment 

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) and Hunt-Pennrose Sharswood, LLC are redeveloping 645 housing units in the Sharswood Choice Neighborhood of Philadelphia. As part of the redevelopment process, Hunt-Pennrose Sharswood, LLC retained ESI to complete a market study that examines the unique opportunities and challenges of the Choice Neighborhood, PHA’s mission to provide safe and quality affordable housing, and leverages the city’s population resurgence and the subsequent capital investment in new residential, office, retail, and recreation development. 

Read the full report here.

2. The Economic and Revenue Impact of Data Centers in Pennsylvania 

ESI was retained by a coalition of data center developers and suppliers to analyze the potential growth of the industry in Pennsylvania if a full data center sales and use tax exemption existed, similar to what is available in more than 20 other states. Tax incentives have been cited as a driving factor in recent data center location decisions, but Pennsylvania has fallen behind. Since 2008, the state’s share of national data center industry employment has shrunk from 3.8% to 2.8%. 

Read the report here.

3. Return on Environment: The Economic Impact of Protected Open Space in Mercer County, New Jersey 

Mercer County New Jersey’s emphasis on land preservation began over 30 years ago, resulting in a multitude of preserved parks and open spaces that reflect the diversity of Mercer County’s natural features. Protected open space provides substantial economic, environmental, and health benefits to surrounding communities, but these benefits are often overlooked or undervalued in policy debates and investment decisions. A better understanding of these benefits can demonstrate how protected open space contributes to economic development and fiscal stability and reverses the common misconception that conserved undeveloped land is non-productive and non-revenue producing. 

Read the report here.

4. The Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation Activities in Pennsylvania 

Historic preservation plays a vital role in communities across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, providing a multitude of benefits for Pennsylvania and its residents. One often overlooked category of benefits associated with historic preservation activities is economic benefits. Historic preservation efforts can have significant positive impacts throughout the Commonwealth on property values, downtown revitalization, tourism activity, job creation, and tax revenue generation. In this report, ESI calculated quantitative and qualitative impacts, both present and future, that historic preservation had within the Commonwealth.  

Read the report here.

5. Vacant Land Management in Philadelphia: The Cost of the Current System and the Benefits of Reform 

ESI, in conjunction with the Penn Institute for Urban Research, was retained by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA, formerly the RDA) and the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC) to conduct a benefit-cost analysis on the 40,000 existing vacant parcels in Philadelphia. ESI was able to quantify the devastating costs of the current system to the City and the potential benefits of a possible reform. 

Both the high costs of the current system and the significant benefits a new approach led our team to conclude that immediate action is necessary to stop the leakage in the City’s welfare, and a more strategic approach is vitally crucial in handling the vacant parcels for the City’s betterment. 

Read the report here.

6. New York City Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force 

In 2022, ESI was engaged by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to provide management and technical support to a city-council mandated task force study that provided strategic recommendations to encourage the conversion of vacant or commercially unviable office space to other uses, with an emphasis on housing. Throughout the project, the ESI team worked closely with the New York City Department of City Planning, who managed the task force. 

The Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force was convened following declines in office utilization in New York City as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing work-from-home policies. Historically high vacancy rates, paired with strong demand for housing in high-density commercial districts, suggested an opportunity to examine regulations governing conversions and evaluate the potential of financial incentives to encourage the production of affordable housing. 

Read the report here.

7. Wilmington Land Bank 

In 2015, ESI was commissioned to assist the City of Wilmington in addressing their issues of property vacancy and blight. To clarify the city’s strategy to alleviate vacancy, ESI produced a benefit-cost analysis making the financial case for a land bank in Wilmington. We also produced an operations manual and a briefing book for City Council to serve as a guideline for implementing the Land Bank. 

See what the land bank looks like today: https://wilmingtonlandbank.org/ 

8. Transforming Retail Economics of Neighborhood Development (TREND) 

Retail corridors are among the defining features of urban neighborhoods. As a result, neighborhoods are profoundly affected by changes in the character of their commercial areas. In 2014, ESI worked with RW Ventures to find new ways to define retail corridors and better understand neighborhood change in Chicago.  

Read the report here.

9. The Impacts of SEPTA Regional Rail Service on Suburban House Prices 

ESI used data on single-family house transactions over the 2005 to 2012 period in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties to estimate the property value premium that results from being located close to a Regional Rail station. Using a hedonic regression model, we found that proximity, service frequency and commuter parking all contribute strongly to suburban house values.  All told, the property value premium generated by SEPTA Regional Rail stations range from 1% for being located within one to three miles of a station that offers no or base-levels of parking and base service, to 10% for being located within one half mile of a station that provides parking for more than 100 cars and a high level of service. 

 

 Read the report here.

 

10. Academic Publications: Low Income Housing Tax Credit Studies 

Principal Richard Voith and former Associate Director Jing Liu have recently co-authored two studies regarding the impact of Low Income Housing Tax Credits, one examining the Chicago market, and the other examining Los Angeles. Factors Affecting Spillover Impacts of LIHTC Developments: An Analysis of Los Angeles has been accepted into CityScape for publication, and is also one of the ten most downloaded papers in several categories:  

  • ERN: Microeconometric Studies of Housing Markets (Topic) 
  • ERN: U.S. & Canada (Topic) 
  • Econometric Modeling: Microeconometric Studies of Health, Education, & Housing Markets eJournal.
     

Learn more about the Chicago paper here, and the Los Angeles paper here.  

 

If you need assistance in economic consulting for real estate, please reach out here.

 

Peter Angelides, President & Principal | Angelides@econsultsolutions.com

Dr. Angelides focuses his work at the intersection of economics and urban development, including real estate, economic development, city planning, transportation, tax policy, valuation, and litigation. He helps clients pursue economic development, gain entitlements, assess feasibility, and prepare grant applications, among other undertakings. He leads ESI’s Real Estate and Litigation practices, and he often presents findings in public venues, such as courtrooms or public hearings.

 

Linking Transportation and Land Use

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The planning profession often has to look ahead, to see the bigger picture, and help connect people to their destination. One principle that helps achieve this is linkage between land use and transportation. This is vital for organizing at the neighborhood, community, county, and regional scales. Transportation services and infrastructure can impact land use patterns, quality of life of an area, and the overall economic trajectory of a region.

Before going too far in describing how this principle can be applied, it is important to define three components:

Land use – The fundamental setting and context for determining application of the land use/transportation linkage principle. Are you dealing with a local neighborhood issue or something at a higher scale that may involve more agencies to consult or review a proposed solution? Are you in a semi-rural area or a dense urban setting? Both the primary project and the associated benefits may be affected.

Transportation – The key determinant that may involve greater review and comment, depending on the mode (highway, transit, vans, bicycles, etc.), scope of the project, the jurisdiction(s) involved and the level of community outreach and information required. Sometimes, however, a controversial proposal may create a level of public interaction that is beyond the initial physical scale of a project.

Linkage – The key ingredient for the principle to work as designed, in order to yield multiple benefits. Linkage can include physical connections, improved accessibility, coordination, and integration. Recognition by participants that these outcomes are important is needed to yield both direct and indirect benefits. Linkage works two ways: the project affects the geographic area, and the geographic area will affect the project. An open and participatory involvement process typically helps to keep all participants informed and maintaining a stake in the outcome.

All professions have various qualifications, standards, and principles that reflect their values and approaches to the issues that they address on a daily routine. These standards are intended to frame ethics and core education and practice requirements to ensure a fundamental level of attainment for practitioners and academics engaged.

Applying the principle

Conceptually, two examples come to mind which demonstrate how linkage can work. One way is through transit-oriented development (TOD), involving a rail or transit line, including busses. In legislation and in local ordinances, TOD usually involves development within a quarter to a half mile radius around a station. This compact area is intended to facilitate use of transit, including walking, handicap access and close-in parking for driver access. Accessibility to the station and transit platforms is also critical. If the new or existing development does not provide effective accessibility, then the result will become transit adjacent development (TAD) rather than TOD. The TOD area can also be used to provide development bonuses for locating there, as well as a rationale for financing mechanisms to capture a portion of the value of new investments to derive funds for other municipal projects. In Pennsylvania, the Transit Revitalization Investment Act (TRID) is intended to support the creation of TODs and the simultaneous funding approach for other investments.

Another way to showcase linkage is through interchange area districts involving cooperating developers, office parks, and shopping centers to create an incentive for locating around the interchange and a financing approach for needed public improvements to benefit both the community and the participants. Here in the Greater Philadelphia region, PennDOT has been an active partner with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in Chester (Rt.29 and 202) and Montgomery counties (King of Prussia/Upper Merion) have been successful in such approaches, including working with local Transportation System Management Agencies (TMAs) for supplemental van services in coordination with SEPTA where possible.

How we can help

Land use and transportation linkage works and is available for use in a variety of settings beyond the two instances that I have described. Now is a particularly critical time to identify opportunities to leverage this principle. Understanding how transit adds value to development projects and determining how it can support broader community goals and objectives is crucial for long-term success. Situations like TOD investment will play a significant role in the years to come because of the American Jobs Plan providing significant federal investment across the United States. ESI combines economic, strategic, and analytics capabilities to help clients navigate an ever-changing environment and achieve these types of objectives. Likewise, thoughtful engagement with decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public provides the foundation for sound planning, successful projects, and better communities.

 

Richard Bickel | Bickel@econsultsolutions.com

Richard Bickel is a member of ESI’s Senior Advisory Board. He has been a practicing professional planner for more than 43 years. Richard has been active in the American Planning Association, American Institute of Certified Planners, and Transportation Research Board throughout his career. He currently serves on the Legislative Committee of the Pennsylvania Chapter of APA and was President of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the APA, one of the forerunners of the current statewide chapter, and a member of the national Legislative and Policy Committee and a site visitor for the Planning Accreditation Board.

The Impact of Insufficient Retirement Savings in Pennsylvania, 2020-2035

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In an update to our 2018 report produced by ESI for the Pennsylvania Retirement Security Task Force, which undertook analysis of the statewide revenue and expenditure implications of insufficient retirement savings in Pennsylvania over the 2015-2030 period, we looked at updates to each category of statewide and county-level impacts for the years 2020-2035.

Pennsylvania’s elderly (65+) population is projected to grow from 2.49 million in 2020 to 3.04 million in 2035. This growth in the elderly population will have a variable impact on Pennsylvania’s fiscal position depending on retirees’ financial preparedness. Those with sufficient savings will rely less on many state funded programs and have more disposable income available to circulate in the state economy while those with insufficient savings will be more dependent on state programs and circulate less money through the economy resulting in less economic output for Pennsylvania and few jobs and earning opportunities in the workforce.

Pennsylvania retiree incomes in 2035 are projected to fall short of recommended replacement rates by an average of around $7,800 in 2035 for the 1.2 million elderly households with less than $75,000 in annual income. At a standard market return, enhanced savings of around $160 per month (or around $1,900 per year) over 30 years would generate sufficient additional income to address this average gap.

Program expenditures for elderly Pennsylvanians are expected to grow significantly due to the aging population and excess medical cost growth. Over this fifteen-year period, Pennsylvania’s cumulative state cost growth from insufficient savings is estimated to total $14.6 billion and a cumulative tax revenue losses total $3.2 billion over the 2020-2035 period.

To learn more about our findings and view the interactive dashboard, visit the Pew Charitable Trusts website.

Mini-Webinar Series: Critical Issues Facing the Higher Education Sector

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In April and May of 2023, ESI will host a series of weekly mini-webinars addressing critical issues currently facing the higher education sector. Topics will range from navigating supplier diversity, to understanding HBCUs and economic development, organizational leadership in uncertain times, as well as the current and future role international students will play at American institutions. These discussions will be led by a diverse group of thought leaders and industry experts.

All sessions will be moderated by Lee Huang, President of ESI and Lead Principal for ESI’s Universities and Hospitals practice.

These mini-webinars will occur every Tuesday from April 4 to May 23, 12:00-12:30 pm.

Learn more about the different topics below or register here.

April 4: Adam Glaser, Campus 2.0- Creating Lifelong Engagement with Alumni
How people gain workforce skills and credentials is fast evolving. How should institutions respond? We’ll explore what some are calling “Campus 2.0,” a complete rethink on how to organize campus footprints and create lifelong ties to students.

April 11: Bernadine Hawes, Anchoring Innovation Ecosystems
Universities are playing a greater role in driving the innovation that is powering regions’ economic resilience and competitiveness. We’ll look at how institutions’ innovation work has evolved over time and what it might look like going forward.

April 18: Angela Dowd-Burton, Supplier Diversity on Campus
A successful supplier diversity program is essential to the healthy ecosystem that surrounds a university.  How can educational institutions contribute to economic inclusion that helps to support thriving communities? Learn the key components for establishing, growing, and sustaining and supplier diversity program that works.

April 25: Dr. Jamie Green and Dr. Joseph Whittaker, HBCUs in Economic Development
Like all institutions, HBCUs are innovating in response to crisis and opportunity. Come find out how HBCUs are approaching the value proposition of college, building pathways to middle class jobs, and contribute to regional economic development.

May 2: Dr. Benjamin B. Olshin, Chinese Students in American Institutions- Past Present, and Future
Chinese students have been a prominent part of some college campuses. Geopolitical uncertainties are complicating these relationships. We’ll look into why that is and what institutions should do in response.

May 9: Dr. Curtis Gregory, Organizational Leadership in Uncertain Times
Leading a university is hard enough in calm waters. These tumultuous times tax leaders tremendously. We’ll explore research-based methods for leaders to cultivate the emotional intelligence and communications skills to succeed.

May 16: Robert Fleming and Raymond Barclay, Sustainability
Sustainability is increasingly a framework by which institutions are rethinking their operations, educational offerings, and core missions. We’ll consider the case for this paradigm shift in philosophical and practical terms.

May 23: Dan Garofalo, The Bottom-line Case for Energy Efficiency
Institutions sit at an important intersection as large utility users, thought leaders on environmental sustainability, and flashpoints for protests around energy consumption. We’ll explore energy strategies that account for all of these perspectives at scale.

Moving Cities: Pittsburgh

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Unique Public Transportation Infrastructure

Among major American cities, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania finishes in the top ten for transit ridership. Impressively, Pittsburgh’s public transit system achieved this success without a single heavy rail line: all but one of the major cities with higher transit ridership than Pittsburgh feature at least one heavy rail line (Seattle is the only exception).

Pittsburgh’s most iconic mode of public transportation is today used primarily as a tourist attraction: the Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines. These funiculars were originally built to transport workers residing at the top of the hill known as “Mount Washington” (located directly across the river from Downtown Pittsburgh) to industrial jobs along the banks of the Monongahela River, one of Pittsburgh’s three intersecting rivers. Today, while some may still use these inclines for transportation (after all, public transportation cards are accepted as payment), the inclines are best known as one of the city’s top tourist attractions, allowing visitors to access breathtaking views from Mount Washington.

Today, Pittsburgh features two light rail lines connecting the South Hills neighborhoods and Allegheny County suburbs to downtown and the city’s North Shore, an entertainment district. Free transit access is available if traveling between downtown and the North Shore.

Still, these light rail lines do not run through the city’s densest area, the East End neighborhoods including Oakland, Shadyside, and East Liberty. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the light rail lines are not the highest-ridership lines in Pittsburgh’s Port Authority system. That honor instead falls to the innovative mode of rapid transit that does serve these neighborhoods — the Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway.

The East Busway is a bus-only highway that begins in downtown Pittsburgh and runs through the densest neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, as well as a few of its eastern suburbs. It was actually the city’s second busway – the South Busway, developed in 1977, was the first Bus Rapid Transit development in the United States. It was followed by the East Busway in 1983. In a city like Pittsburgh, the busway allows for transit service that is both dependable – operating on a dedicated road – and flexible – allowing for routes that begin and terminate in different locations.

                                               Source: Port Authority of Allegheny County

The East Busway’s primary buses are seen above — routes “P1”, “P2” and “P3”, with the “P” name matching the route’s purple color on the system map. Routes P1 and P2 are the most popular in the Port Authority system. Some East Busway routes (such as P1 and P2) begin in the city’s downtown, while others (including P2) begin in Oakland, a college neighborhood in the East End that serves as the city’s “second downtown”. All pass through the East End of the city. While routes P1-P3 stop at the end of the busway in the city’s east suburbs, more than ten other routes (identified by route names beginning with “P”) speed through the city on the East Busway, then merge into regular traffic to serve far-flung suburbs and towns in eastern Allegheny County with rapid service to the East End and Downtown Pittsburgh.

There are now three busways in Pittsburgh, including the West Busway which serves both local travelers and allows rapid transportation to Pittsburgh’s airport, located in the city’s western suburbs. The city is investigating an extension of the busway to serve more of its eastern suburbs.

 

Moving Cities is a series of posts dedicated to exploring the vast diversity of cities and how their transit systems shape them. Moving Cities examines the organizational structure of transit in relation to the city, the economics of the transit system, and the role of the transit system in the economics of the city, and last, but certainly not least, the experience of the city from the perspective of the transit user. 

 

John LaVaccare | LaVaccare@econsultsolutions.com

John LaVaccare is an senior analyst at ESI. As a graduate of the Master’s in Public Policy and Management program at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, where he concentrated in Urban Development, John LaVaccare has academic knowledge in urban economic development, urban design, urban ecology, and real estate development. Prior to ESI, Mr. LaVaccare gained work experience in local government, housing policy, and stormwater management. Mr. LaVaccare also has extensive experience in academic communications research, journalism, and professional writing.