MUSA Lunch Series: Geospatial Analytics in Urban Redevelopment and the Philadelphia Land Bank

For our December MUSA lunch session Guy Thigpen (MUSA ’10), Director of Analytic Services at the Philadelphia Land Bank, joined Penn IUR to discuss his work with the City’s newly created land bank, and the role that spatial modeling and GIS analyses serve in the pricing, management, and redevelopment of real estate in the city. Guy previously spent 5 years working as Assistant Director for the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, where he headed the research and development of the analytic methods and models used in the City’s recent vacant land reforms, including the development of a mass appraisal model, an enterprise land management system, and the parcel reconciliation project.  This session addressed various urban issues related to real estate, economic development, and community development concerns with a focus on GIS methods and applications. The Philadelphia Lank Bank proves to be an exciting prospect for Philadlephia’s vacancy problems and provides opportunities for planners and geographers to think about maximizing space and sustainability within the city.