Economic Development | Penn IUR

Jan 28 12:00 pm What Pandemic-Era Experiments Can Teach Us About the Future of Public Space Speakers: Josh Davidson Ariel Ben-Amos Urban Development

Jan 29 11:00 am Special Briefing: The Year Ahead for Cities Speakers: William Glasgall Susan Wachter State & Local Finance

Podcasts December 5, 2025 Special Briefing on AI in Government—More Efficiency but Fewer Workers? The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 sparked an “AI arms race” with trillions of dollars in investment and profound implications for productivity and employment. Join William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel as we discuss how generative AI and related technologies are reshaping public sector operations, workforce needs, and infrastructure planning. Panelists include Jon Hartley, Policy Fellow, Hoover Institution; Leigh Palmer, Vice President, Google Public Sector LLC; Megan Kilgore, City Auditor, City of Columbus, Ohio; Howard Neukrug, Executive Director, The Water Center at Penn and Professor of Practice, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania; and Thomas Sanchez, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University. Jon Hartley Leigh Palmer Megan Kilgore Howard Neukrug Thomas Sanchez State & Local Finance

Publication October 30, 2025 Protecting Progress: Why Sustained Discipline is Critical for Pension Stability On September 19, 2025, Cherelle L. Parker, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, led a convening on Protecting Progress: Why Sustained Discipline is Critical for Pension Stability at the Wharton School in collaboration with Penn IUR and Penn's Office of Government and Community Affairs. State & Local Finance

Article October 29, 2025 Jere R. Behrman on the Impacts of Community Infrastructure on Children’s Learning Jere R. Behrman is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics and Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, a Penn IUR Faculty Fellow, and a Research Associate at Penn’s Population Studies Center (PSC), Population Aging Research Center (PARC), and the Penn Development Research Initiative (PDRI). State & Local Finance

Article October 21, 2025 Exploring the Impact of Anchor Institutions A new graduate course, “Anchor Institutions as Agents of Change: Past, Present and Future,” explores economic impacts of anchor institutions. Eugénie L. Birch Anthony (Tony) Sorrentino Anchor Institutions

News September 12, 2025 Marketplace: The Effect of Falling Mortgage Rates Penn IUR Co-Director Susan Wachter talks with Marketplace on what falling mortgage rates represent for the economy and potential homebuyers. Housing

Fellow in Urban Leadership Zach McGrath

Penn IUR Fellow in Urban Leadership

Rapid Urbanization

Fellow in Urban Leadership Mima Kohn

Penn IUR Fellow in Urban Leadership

Fellow in Urban Leadership Mia Calvo

Penn IUR Fellow in Urban Leadership

Urban Development

News July 11, 2025 Gen Z Homeowners Suffer Property Tax Shock Housing

Article May 30, 2025 Jessie Handbury on Shifts in Urban Living Patterns Jessie Handbury’s research studies the interplay between spatial and socio-economic inequality, with a focus on the spatial distribution of retail amenities. Urban Development

Article May 28, 2025 Penn Institute for Urban Research Awarded Grant to Re-envision the University’s Role as an Anchor Institution Penn IUR's "Penn as an Anchor Institution" project has been selected for support through the University of Pennsylvania’s Draw Down the Lightning grants, a new initiative of the Office of the President and Office of the Provost. Anchor Institutions

Article May 22, 2025 Doctoral Symposium Celebrates New Urban Research at Penn The Penn Institute for Urban Research celebrated the university’s urban scholars at the 18th Annual Urban Doctoral Symposium & Poster session, highlighting the dissertation work of three newly minted urban PhDs. Urban Development

Affiliated PhD Student Stephanie Rivera-Kumar

City and Regional Planning Ph.D. Candidate and Fontaine Fellow, University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design

Urban Development

Announcement May 13, 2025 Applications Now Open: Become a 2025–2026 Penn IUR Fellow in Urban Leadership The Penn IUR Fellows in Urban Leadership Program is now accepting applications for the 2025–2026 academic year. Urban Development

Article April 14, 2025 Seventh Annual Jeremy Nowak Memorial Lecture Reunites Founders to Reflect on Roots of Mission-Driven Finance The Seventh Annual Jeremy Nowak Memorial Lecture—hosted by the Reinvestment Fund and the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR)—reunited the founders of the Reinvestment Fund to reflect on the powerful relationships, social movements, and vision that laid its foundation. Urban Development

Special Briefing on State Budgets: The Big Squeeze Speakers: Susan Wachter William Glasgall State & Local Finance

May 08 2025 Past Event Special Briefing on State Budgets: The Big Squeeze Speakers: William Glasgall Susan Wachter Emily S. Brock Shelby Kerns Vikram Rai Jonathan Womer Teryn Zmuda State & Local Finance

Article March 26, 2025 Urban Perspectives in Practice: Fellows in Urban Leadership Visit Washington, D.C. Penn IUR’s Urban Research Fellows traveled to Washington, D.C. for a day-long, immersive experience exploring the intersection of urban policy, advocacy, and community development. Urban Development

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