In South Philly and Kensington, new food co-ops try to balance business needs and community desires. Alex Vuocolo explores the issues at play

With another round of church closings coming, the Archdiocese struggles to build a strategy for the disposition, sale, and reuse of its massive property inventory. Alex Vuocolo reports on a planning process that raises more questions than it answers

Neighbors wonder why the city suddenly wishes to enforce a 1869 street plan. Their community built park and backyards are threatened

Faced with major sources of mostly unmonitored air pollution, Port Richmond residents, empowered by the Clean Air Council, have taken to “citizen science,” monitoring for serious pollutants themselves. The aim, says new contributor Alex Vuocolo, is to create a more localized system for understanding hidden threats to public health