Image above: Alliance for a Just Philadelphia hold up signs during Council’s weekly stated meeting on June 12, where they voted 15-1 on the final budget to pass. Photo courtesy of the Alliance for a Just Philadelphia On March 13, 2025, Mayor Cherelle Parker released her proposed city budget for fiscal year 2026. The […]

Philadelphia is a place that knows how to play a role in bold moments of transformation. Amid shifting cultural and capital landscapes, policy shifts, increasing climate urgency, and more, 450 people from across the United States gathered at Convene in Philadelphia on May 14–15 to learn about aligning investments with values and to connect with […]

Pennsylvania’s Chronic Underfunding of Public Schools Children being educated in closets. Students who had to wear coats in their classrooms during winter. Exposure to lead and asbestos. Crumbling infrastructure. One reading specialist per 1,000 children and one guidance counselor per hundreds of students.  These were some of the testimonies given by students, parents, and school […]

At 79, Sallie had never cooked a meal. Her husband of more than 50 years had always taken charge in the kitchen, but after his recent passing, Sallie knew it was time to learn. When her nutritionist heard about her situation, she immediately enrolled Sallie in a workshop run by Vetri Community Partnership, a non […]

Beautiful Tashya Vinson, an 11th grader at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, has lived in the shadow of gun violence since her brother’s murder in 2021.  Jabree Oliphant was 18 when he was shot and killed. Oliphant had just returned home from his job at a nearby Target and decided to walk to a […]

Headline photo credit: Human City Creative As they face similar challenges, nonprofits in the Philadelphia and the Pittsburgh regions can learn from the differences in each other’s institutional ecosystems. This article, the first in a series, focuses on the challenges of building and maintaining social infrastructure like libraries in the aftermath of the recent struggles […]

1 in 7 Philadelphians, including 1 in 3 children, face hunger. Food insecurity in the city is shaped by complex, overlapping challenges: limited access to high-nutrition foods, the prevalence of low-nutrition options, economic hardship, and a widespread lack of education on how to prepare healthy food once the ingredients are available. These intersecting issues form […]

Within the lens of human concern, Michael O’Bryan has been focused on the systemic inequities and economic challenges through his Wealth + Work Futures Lab at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation. Under his leadership, the Lab is pioneering a holistic approach to economic mobility that goes beyond traditional benchmarks to focus on the […]

The imposition of tariffs on trading partners, coupled with the deportation of food supply chain workers and government cuts to food programs for schools and food banks, is expected to increase food prices nationwide. This situation could further strain cities like Philadelphia that already face high levels of food insecurity.  Philadelphia’s long history of grappling […]

As Andrés* pulled out of the parking lot on what appeared to be another ordinary morning, he was abruptly stopped by ICE agents who forced him out of his truck. They were searching for a neighbor in Andrés’ apartment complex, but detained him instead, despite not bearing any resemblance to the person they were looking […]