Inga Saffron
@ingasaffron.bsky.social
Pulitzer Prize-winning Arch. Critic phillyinquirer & author “Becoming Philadelphia”, 20 years of columns, from rutgersupress Lotsa buildings on IG.
Urbanists talk a lot about reducing car use and increasing bike and transit use, but they rarely tell you how to make that work in your life. So I figured it was time for an easy step-by-step guide on how to give up your car. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
How to give up your car (sometimes), save money, and save the planet
It’s a big life change, so take things one step at a time.
inquirer.com
It’s a lovely summer day in Philadelphia, my windows are open and a pick-up truck has been running its engine for the last 45 minutes. Can anything be done to stop this? It’s becoming almost a daily occurrence.
This hits close to home. I lived in Philly 1982-2006. I knew William Way, the Center's namesake. I was there at the Center's opening. I even remember the building's firmer life as the Engineer's Club. The building was never perfect, but its legacy is unmistakable.
Inga Saffron@ingasaffron.bsky.social · last mo.What would Philly’s Gayborhood be without William Way? The decision to demolish the center was made abruptly without consulting those who consider it their beloved third place and would destroy an LGBTQ landmark. My column looks at what’s at stake for Philadelphia. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
What would Philly’s Gayborhood be without William Way? The decision to demolish the center was made abruptly without consulting those who consider it their beloved third place and would destroy an LGBTQ landmark. My column looks at what’s at stake for Philadelphia. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
William Way center’s proposed demolition would erase an important Philly landmark
What’s the Gayborhood without the William Way LGBT Community Center’s historic home?
inquirer.com
‘Bout time New Jersey got its own rock museum. @cookfox did the design. My piece on what it means: www.inquirer.com/columnists/b...
The new Bruce Springsteen museum is a giant scrapbook that validates New Jersey’s role as a music incubator
It’s the latest pilgrimage site on New Jersey’s rock-and-roll trail.
inquirer.com
Thanks @pasenatorsaval.com and @ingasaffron.bsky.social for joining us at our LIFE AFTER CARS live show in Philadelphia! And thank you @5thsqadvocacy.org and @bikeaction.org for hosting us. And thanks to everyone who came to the show. Philly was our 30th city since we kicked things off in October!
This is not cute. It undercuts @amtrak financially and pushes up prices for regular travelers. Manipulating fares should be a crime. www.inquirer.com/sixers/amtra...
A Sixers fan is taking extreme measures to keep Knicks fans from Philly — by trying to mess with Amtrak’s pricing model
A fan from Fishtown cannot stomach the notion of an orange and blue takeover in South Philly.
inquirer.com
Up next on the LIFE AFTER CARS book tour: Philadelphia! We'll be there for a big show on Thursday, May 14th with @5thsqadvocacy.org @bikeaction.org @ingasaffron.bsky.social @pasenatorsaval.com. It should be a blast, as one would expect in Philly! Get tickets: 5thsq.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/ne...
The first experiments to bring neighborhood-style retail to Market East are starting this week. Can they change the way we think about this struggling corridor and help transition it to residential?Today’s column:
Meet the architect who’s trying to revive Market East with retail pop-ups
This summer’s experiment could help Philadelphia develop a strategy to counter the retail apocalypse.
inquirer.com
Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone?
Inga Saffron@ingasaffron.bsky.social · 5mo agoUnlike other cities squeezed by high housing costs, Philly has plenty of land for construction, even in its transit-rich downtown. I recently counted two dozen surface parking lots, many 70 years old. Here’s some ideas to put them into productive use. www.inquirer.com/columnists/c...
Lessons in transit-oriented communities for #Cleveland and #Akron. Cleveland has great rail it's barely using. bsky.app/profile/beac...
Inga Saffron@ingasaffron.bsky.social · 5mo agoUnlike other cities squeezed by high housing costs, Philly has plenty of land for construction, even in its transit-rich downtown. I recently counted two dozen surface parking lots, many 70 years old. Here’s some ideas to put them into productive use. www.inquirer.com/columnists/c...
Unlike other cities squeezed by high housing costs, Philly has plenty of land for construction, even in its transit-rich downtown. I recently counted two dozen surface parking lots, many 70 years old. Here’s some ideas to put them into productive use. www.inquirer.com/columnists/c...
Philadelphia needs more housing. So why does Center City still have so many parking lots?
More than two dozen sites continue to be used for public parking in Center City, one of Philadelphia’s most desirable residential areas. Those lots are a valuable, untapped resource.
inquirer.com
As much as I hate to lose neighborhood schools, @PhillyInquirer Paul Davies’ column pushing back against the idea that all Philly’s underused school buildings can be kept open is really smart. www.inquirer.com/opinion/phil...
Objections to the public school closure plan are plentiful. Viable alternatives? Not so much. | Paul Davies
School Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. acknowledges criticism of his plan to close 18 school buildings. But he argues it does “the greatest good for the greatest number” of students.
inquirer.com
Solari, or split flap, boards, in the words of @ingasaffron.bsky.social, are the "physical manifestation of motion. You are traveling even before you’ve left the station." open.substack.com/pub/byerusse...
The block where the William Way center is located is a mostly intact stretch of Civil War-era buildings. Now that the Washington Square West Historic District has been overturned, there will be no design oversight for what gets built in its place.  www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
William Way will demolish its historic LGBT Community Center and construct a building with affordable apartments
Plans have become clear after months of confusion over the building's future.
inquirer.com
Philadelphia! Pre-sale tickets are now on sale for our LIFE AFTER CARS live show on May 14, featuring moderator @ingasaffron.bsky.social & guest @councilmemberjg.bsky.social. Become a Patreon member or support @bikeaction.org & @5thsqadvocacy.org for presale access. www.patreon.com/posts/152168...
Historic preservation is not the villain! My column (which I wrote before yesterday’s devastating news that a judge had overturned the WSW historic District) shows how we can preserve our heritage and still make sure everyone has housing. www.inquirer.com/columnists/h...
Historic preservation isn’t the villain in the debate over housing affordability
By practicing ‘gentle density,’ these architects create more housing for less money, using fewer natural resources.
inquirer.com
What a tragedy to lose the @curbed digital archives. We saved hundreds of years of newspaper archives. We need to value and preserve our digital production, too, especially in a time of AI and so much disinformation. www.archpaper.com/2026/02/curb...
archpaper.com
Shakes fist at sky (aka Vox Media): "thousands of now-historic regional urbanism stories are not readable, linkable, and searchable." (They haven't given me my clips yet either) www.archpaper.com/2026/02/curb...
This. 👇
Inga Saffron@ingasaffron.bsky.social · 8mo agoSelling Rocky merch from a shipping container. The takeover of the Fairmont Water Works. And now the elevation of the Rocky statue to a prime perch overlooking the Parkway. Today’s column looks at Philly’s zeal to monetize the art museum’s landscaped grounds. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
The common denominator in all these privatization moves, including FDR Park is Kathryn Ott Lovell. I understand our Mayors and Council have continuously underfunded Parks & Rec, but these measly revenues ($200K/yr for Water Works!!) are not worth the loss in access and just lower support for funding
Inga Saffron@ingasaffron.bsky.social · 8mo agoSelling Rocky merch from a shipping container. The takeover of the Fairmont Water Works. And now the elevation of the Rocky statue to a prime perch overlooking the Parkway. Today’s column looks at Philly’s zeal to monetize the art museum’s landscaped grounds. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
1/ This museum and its leadership are a laughingstock. 2/ This "old movie prop" is not art, but the embarrassing director and curatorial leadership of the PMA, which did not object, don't seem to know that. Big, big problem.
Inga Saffron@ingasaffron.bsky.social · 8mo agoSelling Rocky merch from a shipping container. The takeover of the Fairmont Water Works. And now the elevation of the Rocky statue to a prime perch overlooking the Parkway. Today’s column looks at Philly’s zeal to monetize the art museum’s landscaped grounds. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
Also is Stallone really who we should be valorizing at this moment? It all feels rather pathetic, like we can't imagine Philadelphia beyond a pop culture reference from the 70s. Imagine if Boston moved the Cheers bar to the middle of the Public Garden! We'd rightly call them pathetic.
Selling Rocky merch from a shipping container. The takeover of the Fairmont Water Works. And now the elevation of the Rocky statue to a prime perch overlooking the Parkway. Today’s column looks at Philly’s zeal to monetize the art museum’s landscaped grounds. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
Yo, Philly! There’s no need to move the Rocky statue
Relocating the statue to the top of the museum steps is part of the creeping privatization of the Art Museum grounds.
inquirer.com
The best thing about this viral spat between a conservative influencer and a WHYY intern is that it happened on a SEPTA bus. In what other city could that happen! whyy.org/articles/sep...
Altercation on bus with conservative influencer and former WHYY intern goes viral
The two participants, including a former WHYY intern, in the chaotic scene knew each other during their time at Community College of Philadelphia. Elon Musk chimed in on X.
whyy.org
How insane does a bill have to be for Philly’s City Council not to vote on lockstep? Where does Jay Young think those commercial office tenants are coming from? www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
City Council bill would ban housing from former Hahnemann University Hospital area
Councilmember Jeffrey Young said the goal is commercial preservation and creating jobs in that part of his district.
inquirer.com
Consider the arch. And how it’s reappearing in new buildings all over Philly and beyond. My latest architecture column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
Grids are out, brick is back, and Philadelphia architects have rediscovered the arch
The urge for the curve extends to interior design, furniture and restaurants.
inquirer.com
