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Jon Geeting

@jongeeting.bsky.social
1.6K followers 627 following 254 posts

Fishtown dad, urbanist, writer, connector. Policy and Advocacy director at Build Philly Now. Co-founder @5thsq

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Reposted by Jon Geeting
5th Square Advocacy @5thsqadvocacy.org · 07/09/2026
Our organizers worked back in 2020 to cobble together a grant among transit advocacy orgs to study institutional passes for SEPTA. thephiladelphiacitizen.org/septa-free-p...
Screenshot of Philadelphia Citizen Article:
It started with college students
Conversations at SEPTA about an institutional pass concept began in 2013 and 2014. Back then, the idea was to create bulk fares for university students using Pittsburgh's successful university pass program as a model. SEPTA's pilot, however, will not include college students, even though Drexel University itself is part of the initial trio. 
The unofficial plan at SEPTA is to branch into student passes in a future phase. As it turned out, new employee benefits were relatively faster and more straightforward to stand up than new student benefits. 
But advocates who have long worked to advance the university pass concept within SEPTA — an effort that I have been closely involved with from 2014 through the present day — are not disappointed by this outcome. Instead, they are thrilled with the pilot's progress among those three large employers.
The main supporters of student transit passes have included SEPTA's Youth Advisory Council, 5th Square, the Clean Air Council and the Transit Forward Philly coalition, who worked with staff allies at SEPTA to overcome internal resistance and neutralize arguments that had long prevented the concept from advancing.These transit advocates and transportation environmentalists were inspired by success stories from Pittsburgh, Seattle, Chicago, Washington DC, Columbus, Ohio, and other cities. Greater Philadelphia possesses key ingredients. Not only do we have more higher-ed institutions, we also have a more expansive regional public transportation network than many other university pass cities. It became clear to these groups that a pass like Pittsburgh's U-Pass could be even more successful here.
SEPTA could add a truly massive number of transit riders by putting a monthly pass into the hands of every college student and university worker, from custodians to administrators to professors. According to Campus Philly's most recent annual report (2019), enrollment at their partner schools in our region was over 278,000. Add in university workers, and there's a major opportunity for growing transit ridership and revenue.
For various reasons, the student pass idea on its own generated socializing and beginning analysis — but not much action - from SEPTA under the administration of then-General Manager Jeff Kneuppel.The momentum for change
A key moment came in 2020 when advocates were able to secure, with the support of then-brand-new GM Richards and her team, a small grant from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to produce original research on applications for institutional transit passes for large employers, university students and workers, City government and residential apartment buildings.
SEPTA brought more funding to the table and contracted with Econsult to create a financial model to explore the possibilities with more rigor. This was a key step: Until that point, the financial viability had been a sticking point for advancing such a program. Financial analysis was able to clear away some of the internal barriers to SEPTA putting forth a concrete proposal. The pandemic's impact on revenue and ridership also played a catalytic role in increasing interest among SEPTA management.
Another important piece of context has been the very fluid situation around federal emergency support for transit. Also, starting this year, scheduled changes to PA transit agencies' revenue stream could make state funding - SEPTA's largest revenue source — less predictable. Decision-makers' desire for a new, stable local revenue source that can be used in flexible ways increased greatly during the pandemic.
Now that there's a framework for institutional passes in place, the sky's the limit for where this concept can go next.
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Reposted by Jon Geeting
5th Square Advocacy @5thsqadvocacy.org · 07/09/2026
Using SEPTA Key Advantage as an incentive to attract jobs to Philadelphia is a smart move and we are thrilled to have played a small part in its founding! www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
What government incentives are going to Burlington?
$30 million: How much Burlington is set to receive in grants from Pennsylvania.
$8 million: What the City of Philadelphia plans to invest in Burlington's move, including a $7 million forgivable loan and $1 million for a year of free SEPTA passes for employees.
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 07/08/2026
If you live in PA and want single-stair, fill this out. Just do your best. The important thing is to fill it out.
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Reposted by Jon Geeting
Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 07/08/2026
Anybody who has a moment should spam the RAC public comment form with accelerated adoption of the 2027 IBC single-stair provision. Doesn’t matter if you enter it wrong, a lot of submissions asking for the same thing will get the job done. (And tell them not to amend it in any way!)
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 07/08/2026
This is so low-density that it looks worse than nothing. Philadelphia is rapidly running out of vacant land, and once that happens, development is going to get a lot harder and more expensive. Wasting big blocks on low-rise housing, surface lots, and street widenings is so short-sighted.
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Pass the Driscoll/LIFT Act @bradwilhelm.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Lebron probably took one look at the newly walkable Old City and said to himself, “I must live there.”
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5th Square Advocacy @5thsqadvocacy.org · 20/07/2026
@iancoss.bsky.social's Highway Teardown Tour came to Philadelphia for an episode on I-95 with @ingasaffron.bsky.social, @dpearsonphl.bsky.social, and Leslie Richards--it's a great listen: www.wgbh.org/podcasts/big...
wgbh.org
Highway Teardown Tour | 9. Philadelphia, PA
Even as cities try to heal the damage of the interstate era, we are also continuing to expand our urban highways, continuing to turn parks and neighborhoods into new lanes and new off-ramps. So why is...
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
NIMBYs describing an outcome consistent with the plain intent of the law: look at this horrible loophole! thephiladelphiacitizen.org/guest-commen...
thephiladelphiacitizen.org
Guest Commentary: Neighborhoods Deserve Input on Historic Properties
Historic properties deserve preservation, but a zoning loophole limits nearby residents’ input, says an attorney and concerned neighbor
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Installation of Philly's first Zicla bus boarding island at 16th and JFK! Hope we get more throughout
Installation of a Zicla bus boarding island
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 26/05/2026
Mayor Mamdani has announced the Affordable & Efficient Code Reform task force, to convene later this year. The housing plan says that among other things, elevator and plumbing reform will be considered. www.nyc.gov/content/dam/... (pgs. 98-99)
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Spending time in France and Switzerland, it’s clear that the “missing middle” in North America isn’t townhouses and duplexes. It’s mid-rises. Especially mid-rise neighbourhoods. Our denser urban fabric (Montreal, Chicago, etc.) is still mostly 2-3 storeys, not 4-8 like is so common here.
Mid-rise courtyard in Lyon, France
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Fair Share Housing Center @fairsharehousing.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Good news from Trenton today: legislation making it easier to convert empty malls & office buildings into mixed-use communities — with at least 20% affordable housing required — just cleared a key Senate committee. Learn more from @njsenatedemocrats.bsky.social: www.njsendems.org/m/newsflash/...
njsendems.org
Singleton, Wimberly Bill to Convert Vacant Offices, Retail into Mixed-Use Housing Advances • New Jersey Legislative Senate Democrats, NJ
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Tiny elevators in Nice @stephenjacobsmith.com
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Mosh Lee @mosh.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Questions I have for Rich Lazer: - Can you double the parking permit fees for oversized vehicles, since they take up 2x the curb? - How could his approach to operational excellence and JFDI translate to other city depts, like L&I and Streets? - Does he want to run for Sheriff?
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Hope to see all Philly urbanist Bsky folks there, once in a lifetime opportunity!
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
PPA director Rich Lazer is our guest for BPN’s policy lunch tomorrow open.substack.com/pub/buildphi...
open.substack.com
Policy Lunch 4/10: Rich Lazer, Philadelphia Parking Authority
This Friday at Econsult Solutions
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Spooky Monorail Maoist @awildschild.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
SEPTA has acquired the cars with the 2-by-sideways seating arrangement www.inquirer.com/transportati...
inquirer.com
Regional Rail is getting some used passenger cars from Montreal
Aged 37 to 39 years, the Montreal trains are youngsters compared to the Nixon-Ford era Silverliner IVs.
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
A crane for a 3-story building in Philly @stephenjacobsmith.com
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 18/03/2026
oh look at that www.pew.org/en/research-...
pew.org
Austin’s Surge of New Housing Construction Drove Down Rents
After decades of explosive growth, Austin, Texas, in the 2010s was a victim of its own success. Lured by high-tech jobs and the city’s hip reputation, too many people were competing for too few homes....
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Reposted by Jon Geeting
Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 19/03/2026
Just to make sure there won’t be enough new housing to keep even more from closing
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Starting to dig into Philly Land Bank voting records and meeting packets with Claude Code to track LB projects. Here is a new BPN mini-site with the timeline for just one example project, showing why the process can take so darn long norrissquarettk.netlify.app
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Crazy crazy story. Times of Israel reporter ( English language Israeli news site ) gets escalating death threats to change story that’s at center of big polymarket bet. www.timesofisrael.com/gamblers-try...
timesofisrael.com
Gamblers trying to win a bet on Polymarket are vowing to kill me if I don’t rewrite an Iran missile story
Bettors are using death threats to try to get The Times of Israel's military correspondent to change his report on a missile impact in central Israel. This is his alarming account
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Also the Germantown Station development parcel mentioned in the article, that SEPTA wants to see happen, still isn't getting rezoned with the Mayor's bills! CM Bass has stalled it wwww.septa.org/initiatives/...
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Some overlay districts are huge and explicitly named after the Councilmanic District, a blatant expression of prerogative that was only introduced in 2021 first to ban ADUs whyy.org/articles/to-...
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Here is a 3D map of Center City Philadelphia--but no, it's not height! This is the number of unique zoning overlays applied to each lot, totaling up to 14 separate overlays on some lots! codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philad...
3D Aerial view of zoning overlay counts in Center City
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
I was able to create a Philly zoning overlay "skyline" out of this bsky.app/profile/bens...
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 12/03/2026
Generally I’m not one of those “eliminate two laws for every one you pass” or “the tax code should fit on an index card” people. Modern society is complicated and laws will be too. But big city zoning is getting too complicated. A lot of it came from a YIMBY place, but we need to simplify the rules.
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
CM Young’s Hahnemann revenge bill would have blocked 92% of legitimate development projects *citywide* from 2010-2025, based on a review of city permitting and construction timelines from that period
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
I wrote about my white whale, the Neighborhood Commercial Overlay in Fishtown and Northern Liberties, which doubles the amount of time it takes to open a restaurant. The ZBA approves 97% of these cases, making it more like a toll booth than a gate
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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Eye-popping margins in the Pennsylvania special elections today: —Democrats won HD94 by 63 points. (Harris won it by 30 in 2024.) —Democrats won HD42 by 35 points. (Harris won it by 17 in 2024.) [The 2024 numbers are via the essential @the-downballot.com].
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gallandguile @gallandguile.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I personally know two separate people who just won neighborhood races By Applying. Both were relatively shocked
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I wrote for @thephilacitizen.bsky.social about how uncompetitive the Philly committee person elections really are. Don’t be afraid to just go for it!
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 20/02/2026
Trump: "I can do anything I want to do to them ... I'm allowed to destroy the country."
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Running for a committee person seat in Philly, or thinking about it? I’ve been making some cool Philly CP election tools for 5th Square with Claude. Sign up on their CP interest form to get access docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
We gotta reform the PHC's exterior scope to permanant facade elements only
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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 16/02/2026
A thing that annoys me about the Axios newsletter is that the tone is consistently “I am one of the top experts on this thing I learned about five minutes ago.” Also that they have 280 sources in the White House but their only source on the left is Rep. Capitulate Middle (D).
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Denny Carter @dennycarter.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Dude is quickly climbing the ranks of Most Dangerous Man Alive
Palantir CEO Dr. Alex Karp:
"You need a higher purpose, and I think you often need a lower purpose.
@andrewrsorkin: "What's your lower purpose?"
Karp: "I love the idea of getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts that tried to screw us."
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Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Read @ninthhostage.bsky.social on last Friday’s Philadelphia Historical Commission meeting, where the Commission decided a designation case for a 1920’s movie theater in Frankford, among other things open.substack.com/pub/buildphi...
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Example interurban/intercity cases will include: Fast, rapid electric service linking Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison; Chicago-Springfield-St. Louis; Chicago-Kalamazoo-Ann Arbor-Detroit; Philadelphia-Reading; Philadelphia-Bethlehem; NY-Scranton.
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Our goals: - Create a positive vision of what investing in transit can deliver for Jersey, Philly and Chicagoland, delivering much faster commutes and much improved connectivity - Illustrate how it opens the door for modern interurban service that extend beyond the megalopolises to nearby cities
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Very excited to say that the stars have aligned and NYU Marron/Transit Costs Project have landed a grant that will fund a second edition of Momentum, which will apply the high-throughput framework to major regional rail networks beyond the NY area. Our three big new cases: - NJT - SEPTA - METRA
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Families for Safe Streets @familiesforsafestreets.org · 06/02/2026
This stat (below) really goes to show that 👏🏼traffic 👏🏼deaths 👏🏼are 👏🏼preventable 👏🏼 People who live in Philadelphia are now almost 3Xs more likely to be killed in traffic than those who live in NYC (where real progress has been made to Vision Zero goals) www.axios.com/local/philad...
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 27/01/2026
Washington, DC's City Council is hearing its single-stair building now. You can find written testimony and a link to the Zoom feed here. The Department of Buildings' testimony is *very* positive. I'll be testifying at some point as well lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hea...
lims.dccouncil.gov
DC Council Hearings Management System
View Hearings, Register to Witness, Submit Testimony
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Dr² Philip Skiba @drphilipskiba.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
After practicing in Chicago for 12 years (and in very urban settings in New Jersey before that), three things really strike me about Philadelphia. 1) I see many more people with bullets in them 2) I see many more pedestrians struck by cars 3) I see many more cyclists struck by cars
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
"Weiss is planning to tell her newsroom Tuesday that she intends to hire approximately 18 paid commentators and that she only wants top-flight performers committed to her approach to stick around. Weiss is also expected to make significant cuts to the newsroom." www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...
npr.org
After rocky start, Bari Weiss to cut staff, add commentators at CBS News
CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss came in with a mandate to reshape coverage. She is set to announce plans for newsroom cuts and the hiring of many new commentators.
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Stephanie Farr @farfarraway.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Signs about the history of slavery in the U.S. and the 9 people George Washington enslaved are being removed right now at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia, across from Independence Hall, months after the Trump administration threatend to do so. How far we have not come in 250 years.
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Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 11/01/2026
The United States has the fewest elevators in the rich world, with Canada only a bit ahead. We teamed up with @uytaelee.bsky.social of About Here Videos to investigate why, exactly, North America sucks at elevators.
youtu.be
North America's Elevator Problem
YouTube video by About Here
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Jeff Asher @jeffasher.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
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