Frequently Asked Questions

We hope these FAQs help answer your questions about Philadelphia2050 and how to get involved. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, feel free to reach out to us at Phila2050@phila.gov. We’d love to hear from you!

Comprehensive Planning

What is a comprehensive plan and why do we need one?

A comprehensive plan is a blueprint that guides the long-term physical, social, and economic development of a city. It includes plans for land use, transportation, housing, environmental protection, and other issues impacted by the built environment. A comprehensive plan in Philadelphia is a way to ensure our city’s growth is sustainable, our quality of life improves, and economic stability and prosperity is achievable for all. It aligns development with goals to protect natural resources. IBy engaging with our communities, the plan reflects the needs and desires of residents. Overall, it helps create a well-organized, resilient, and thriving city.

What will the Comprehensive Plan cover and what will it not cover?

As the plan for Philadelphia's future, the comprehensive plan will cover a variety of topics including housing, transportation, neighborhoods and community facilities, economic development, health and safety, climate resilience, land use, and more.

Comprehensive plans focus on guiding principles and long-term objectives for growth and development. They typically do not contain detailed plans for individual projects or

developments.

General Questions

What happened to the old comprehensive plan(s)?

Philadelphia2035 continues to be the City’s comprehensive plan, at least until Philadelphia2050 is adopted. Much of Philadelphia2035 is still relevant and could, after public engagement and review, be carried into Philadelphia2050.

When did this comprehensive plan start?

Planning is a continuous process. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission began to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current comprehensive plan in 2021; around that time the Planning Commission also began to strategize around an update to the plan. We plan to officially launch the Philadelphia2050 process in fall of 2025.

What time period does this comprehensive plan cover?

The update to the Comprehensive Plan looks all the way to 2050, but it includes steps along the way to get to 2050. This is the same period that the Planning Commission used for Philadelphia2035.

Why are we updating the Comprehensive Plan now?

Since 2010, when we first started to make Philadelphia2035, the city experienced many events and changes that no one could have predicted. The pandemic, population fluctuations, increased development, and economic change all contributed to shaping the Philadelphia we live in today. Just as things are continually changing, we must continually plan. This comprehensive plan update is a checkpoint for Philadelphians to make sure the City is on track to build the Philadelphia we want to live in. This checkpoint gives us the chance to adjust that vision now that we know more about our world.

Who are you? (DPD vs PCPC)

We are city planners for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC). We support the mayor-appointed board of Commissioners who advise the Mayor on planning decisions in Philadelphia. Our team is part of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD). DPD also includes the Philadelphia Art Commission, Division of Development Services, Division of Housing and Community Development, the Philadelphia Historical Commission, and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. All these agencies work in collaboration with communities to guide the growth and development of our city.

Our staff are licensed planners with experience in urban design, architecture, and working with communities to navigate the rules of land use and development. We are also Philadelphians—we all live in Philadelphia.

The Comprehensive Plan is one of the main responsibilities of the Planning Commission. In fact, this responsibility is written into the laws of our city. Among other duties, the Planning Commission oversees zoning ordinances, maps, and amendments, the capital program and budget, streets and land subdivisions, and makes recommendations to lawmakers related to zoning and development legislation.

What’s the final product of the Comprehensive Plan? Is it a document, a law, a program?

The final product will be a document used to guide long-term growth of the city. Philadelphia2050 will serve as a guide for policy makers, residents, business owners, investors and program administrators. It will advise on policy, programs, and capital improvements needed over the next 25 years.

Philadelphia2035

What has been accomplished since the Philadelphia2035 plan?

Since the adoption of Philadelphia2035, the City has completed a citywide remapping process tied to the zoning code rewrite, aligning zoning with existing land uses and long-term planning goals. The plan also shifted development from a largely transactional process to one that is more transparent and predictable for communities, developers, and city agencies. Additionally, it fostered greater collaboration among departments to collectively address community-identified priorities. City Planners track this progress (called “implementation progress”) and produce annual reports, found here.

How is this process different from Philadelphia2035?

The most significant differences are the range of topics the plan covers and the way we gather input from Philadelphians. Topics like public safety and education will be included for the first time. Climate change, environmental justice, and public health will be covered in more depth than in the Philadelphia2035 plan. Plan engagement will be done in coordination with Community Partners. The engagement strategy and methods will be shaped by community representatives on steering committees and in working groups. The Philadelphia2050: Planning Together process aims to reach beyond the residents and stakeholders who typically participate in planning and development work to include the perspectives and concerns of those most impacted by development and most sensitive to changes in public facilities and resources.

What does an update mean?

Any plan update would be presented by Planning Commission staff to the Mayor-appointed Philadelphia City Planning Commissioners to be adopted as the official Comprehensive Plan. Any new recommendations that conflict with 2035 recommendations will supersede the older recommendations. Beyond the recommendations, the research and engagement process for the Philadelphia2050 plan aims to provide more recent and relevant data, both quantitative and qualitative, to inform city investment and policy decisions.

General Community Engagement

What opportunities are there for members of the public to add their thoughts and opinions about what the plan should prioritize?

The online Engagement Hub will show opportunities for events, mapping input, surveys, and other ways to get involved. A one-page visual “map” of the process will show every point at which public involvement and comment will be invited throughout the Comp Plan process. We will also be reaching out to community liaisons in neighborhoods to help us get the word out about those opportunities. Additionally, we will be creating in-person engagement stations located in publicly accessible spaces across the city to engage even more residents in the visioning process.

Who are you hoping will participate in this process?

We hope Philadelphia residents from all neighborhoods and backgrounds contribute in the community engagement process because planning impacts people's lives in every corner of our city. We know expertise are everywhere- people are experts about their neighborhoods.

Partnerships

Who are you partnering with to create Philadelphia2050?

The Planning Commission is partnering with people listed in the groups below. To learn more about them, you can view the Our Partners page.

Philadelphia Residents
Community Groups
Community Partners
Steering Committee
Exchange Committee

How are City agencies working together on Philadelphia2050?

The Planning Commission staff hosts regular Exchange Meetings with staff from Departments such as Streets, and Parks and Recreation, where we bring City departments together to discuss comprehensive planning. We update and share our progress, address questions and concerns, and seek feedback from our colleagues.

Who are the community partners in this effort?

The Community Partners are compensated community groups that will help us connect with residents that are uniquely impacted by planning decisions. These communities can be geographic, like a particular neighborhood or demographic, like an ethnic or cultural group. Through these discussions, the communities called in will be able to share their stories, envision their future, and ensure that their ideas are included in the City’s updated Comprehensive Plan.

What are their roles?

Community Partners will be tasked with various responsibilities including:

Learning about comprehensive planning through our Citizens Planning Institute course.
Sharing information with their communities.
Host story sharing and community visioning engagements.
Analyzing community visions.
Sharing learnings with their communities.
18-month partners will also be tasked with reviewing and sharing feedback for the draft of Philadelphia2050.

How did you choose them?

Community Partners were chosen based on many factors, including their connections to their community(ies) and the creativity of their outreach strategies. They show adaptability in how they communicate with and engage in their community(ies). Additionally, Community Partners were chosen based on their ability to demonstrate that they either have skills in getting input from their community(ies) or have a strong appetite to learn how to engage their community(ies) for this project.