News
URBS Alum Rachel Diller featured on Good Dirt Podcast
Rachel Diller, a Penn Urban Studies alum, is featured on the Good Dirt commercial real estate podcast.
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URBS Seventh Ward Course Featured in the Inquirer
Our First Year Seminar Course Investigating the Old Seventh Ward students Noah Kocher and Isha Mankar are featured in a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Check it out!
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2023 Kenneth Jackson Award for Best Book in North American Urban History
Congratulations to URBS Professor Domenic Vitiello for receiving the Kenneth Jackson Award for Best Book in North American Urban History for his 2022 publication The Sanctuary City.
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Broken School Buildings
Alisa Ghura (URBS ’23), researched safety hazards in school buildings in low-income school districts and barriers to change.
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URBS Students Doing The Most This Spring
As we wrap up the year, the URBS department wants to give a shout-out to our wonderful students:
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URBS graduate makes 100 most influential Philly list
Big congrats to Michael Banks (URBS '14) on being one of Philly Mag's 100 Most Influential People in Philadelphia!
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The Statue Podcast
Paul Farber, Monument Lab co-founder and Design faculty, reveals the history and meaning of Philadelphia's Rocky Statue as only an URBS alum can. Listen to the podcast using the link below, or go to…
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Don’t let Philly homes get abandoned. Fix them up instead.
Brand new Urban Studies major Layla Sayed got an op-ed published in the Philadephia Inquirer. Impressive! The idea: Low-income homeowners are losing their homes because they can't afford basic…
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Two college buds spent 19 hours riding 10 NJ Transit buses across NJ
Armed with Cheez-Its, pretzels and a whiteboard to track their journey and fares, Jeremy Zorek and Miles Taylor attempted what few — perhaps no one, at least not voluntarily — have done before.
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New Article from Professor Smith
Capital-Star Opinion Editorial on how PA’s incarcerated are doing their part to fight gun violence from the inside out. Tens of thousands of Americans with criminal records are fighting to restore…
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Welcome to Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts & Sciences. It draws on faculty and resources across the university and the city to offer students a multi-faceted approach to the study of urban trends.
Spotlight
Anthony Andre Zarate
“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” - Aristotle
Jay Rosner
"What a long, strange trip it's been …"
Julia Hansen
“What is the city but the people?” – William Shakespeare
Marcus Goodwin
“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?” -Robert Browning
Alexander Jacobson
"I shall pass this way but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." - Stephen Grellet