David Bowie and Mick Jagger approved.
"Philadelphia is a block party city," according to Jon Geeting, and it's no accident. "The city offers residents a very lightweight process for closing their streets for a weekend day of community fun: Pay an affordable $25 permit fee, and get the approval of 75% of the neighbors."
A block party culture has resulted from the ease of closing streets in Philadelphia, and given the city's role in allowing it all to happen, there's also a lot of data available about where and when the parties do down.
According to Geeting, "thanks to a new city dataset obtained by PlanPhilly, and mapped by GIS analyst Shrobona Karkun, the last ten years of block party data are available for our perusal." Thus, we have one of the funnest maps of all time, available at the article linked below, showing every block party hosted in the city of Philadelphia between 2006 and June 2016.
FULL STORY: Mapping 10 years of Philadelphia block parties

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.

California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.

HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
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