Signs of the Future
Prema Katari Gupta President & CEO Center City District
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For nearly 35 years, Center City District has existed to ensure that downtown Philadelphia is clean, safe, and well-managed. Every week, 100 uniformed sidewalk cleaners, 52 Community Service Representatives, and 16 members of the bike patrol work to improve the public environment. I’ll note that, so far this year, our four-person homeless outreach team has connected 181 unhoused individuals with life-saving services.
Operational excellence in the delivery of onstreet services is, and will always remain, our core function and highest priority. But being an effective operational organization also means thinking strategically about how all elements of the public realm work together to define and, ideally, elevate the sidewalk experience in Center City.
In 2025, Philadelphia was named – for the third year in a row – the #1 “most walkable city” in the USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards. This distinction was no surprise to those of us who are in Center City every day. Center City is walkable because our mixed-use downtown concentrates residential high-rises, office towers, restaurants, shops, arts, culture, and services on a relatively small footprint with flat topography. Developed largely before automobiles became dominant, Center City features interwoven pedestrian- and transit-oriented land use patterns that would never be created from scratch today. Ground-floor retail, restaurants, and businesses keep sidewalks animated and interesting, while CCD’s on-street teams provide supplemental cleaning, public safety, homeless outreach, and hospitality services to make sidewalks comfortable and inviting for all.
Our team’s long-term ambition is that Philadelphia remains undisputedly the most walkable downtown in the United States; this drives our expansion of Open Streets and our interest in animating and activating our network of alleys. We have developed an organizational obsession with the systems that undergird walkability, from William Penn and Thomas Holme’s logical street layout with regular blocks to the zoning code that enables a dense, mixed-use downtown.
Critical among these systems is wayfinding. Wayfinding isn’t just signage providing directions to landmarks; it must be a coherent system of signs, maps, and information interventions that enable pedestrians to assess and plan their journeys, navigate at street level with ease and confidence, and build reliable mental maps of a legible city.
When I joined CCD, I was astonished to learn that we are responsible for the maintenance and management of over 1,000 signs throughout downtown Philadelphia and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. These include 184 vehicular signs to direct motorists and nearly 600 Walk!Philadelphia pedestrian wayfinding signs. The stewardship of these 1,000 signs is so extensive that we employ a full-time staff member, the intrepid and diligent Samantha Rosenbaum, to monitor the system and ensure that signs remain accurate, graffiti-free, and structurally sound.
Both the vehicular system and the pedestrian wayfinding systems were designed over 30 years ago and have successfully aided millions of visitors. The vehicular system was conceived in 1985 by the Foundation for Architecture, designed by Sussman/Prejza with prototypes in 1989, installed in 1992, and maintained by CCD starting in 2002. The Walk!Philadelphia system was designed in 1995 by CCD and Joel Katz Design Associates as part of a $26 million streetscape improvement project and has been in place, largely unaltered, since 1997. These systems reinforced Philadelphia’s ambition to make cultural attractions, institutions, and neighborhoods more visible, understandable, and accessible.
Walk!Philadelphia pioneered pedestrian wayfinding in America and served Philadelphia well for nearly three decades, but Center City today is a vastly different place than it was when these systems were conceived. Notably, over the last 30 years, core Center City has increased in population by 76%. I find it difficult to visualize the Center City of 30 years ago without the Kimmel Center, Comcast Center, Constitution Center, or the Schuylkill River Trail below the Art Museum. There were no bike lanes in Center City and Uber, Lyft, and Indego didn’t exist.
Google Maps and iPhones also did not exist, which raises the question: in an era with smartphone navigation, do we even need physical wayfinding? The answer is yes, though perhaps no longer 1,000 signs. Navigation apps increasingly prioritize paid placements over accuracy, what journalist Cory Doctorow calls “enshittification,” the way digital platforms degrade over time to maximize profit. This undermines the trust pedestrians need to navigate and explore confidently. Meanwhile, reliance on a small screen distracts from the architecture, street life, and serendipitous discoveries that make walking worthwhile. Public wayfinding infrastructure offers something apps cannot: trustworthy information and a visible signal that the city cares about your journey.
Working closely with Visit Philadelphia, we commissioned City ID, a leading wayfinding consultancy, to conduct a comprehensive review of CCD’s system and help us plan for the future. Their analysis confirms what we’ve intuited: over time, the system has become outdated and difficult to maintain, and the city itself has changed to the point where the system no longer mirrors Philadelphia or reflects all it has to offer. The current system doesn’t support journey planning, orientation, or connections between walking and transit. Accessibility is a significant issue; disk maps are positioned above comfortable viewing range, type sizes don’t meet current standards, color contrast is insufficient for many users, and the system doesn’t account for people with varying physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities.
A new system would be a strategically planned network of fewer largely map-based signs positioned at key decision points, rather than the current “everything, everywhere” saturation of signs. Behind every physical sign would be sophisticated digital infrastructure: a centralized “Philadelphia Unified Map” database that can be tailored for multiple uses and updated in real-time. The signs would work at a quick glance, augmenting the mobile navigation most people carry. A phone handles the
specific address; the street infrastructure provides the spatial understanding and confidence to choose walking in the first place. Counterintuitively, better wayfinding often means fewer signs. Cities like Bristol in the UK reduced street furniture by 40% when comprehensive map-based signs consolidated information that previously required multiple directional signs. The system would also deliver place marketing impact. World-class wayfinding is a visible declaration of values, signaling that Philadelphia is worthy of exploring on foot, puts pedestrians at the heart of its priorities, cares about legibility and accessibility, and understands 21stcentury urbanism. Our wayfinding should be as distinctive as our street life, reflecting the city’s diversity of histories, identities, and perspectives rather than freezing the city in a heritage-focused past. A reimagined system will serve the city we’ve become and the city we’re still becoming, supporting our commitment to walkability, public health, sustainability, urban excellence, and inclusive placemaking.
If Philadelphia is to remain the most walkable downtown in America, we need a pedestrian wayfinding system reflective of that ambition. Better wayfinding helps residents discover new corners of their own neighborhoods, gives suburban visitors the confidence to explore beyond tourist zones, and helps businesses get found by potential customers who might otherwise walk right past. In the coming months, we’ll be developing a comprehensive implementation plan, engaging stakeholders, and exploring funding strategies for this multi-year initiative. This is an investment in infrastructure that will serve Philadelphia for decades to come.
As always, I look forward to hearing what you think.
Warmly,
Prema
’Tis the Season at Dilworth Park
For details on events: ccdparks.org
Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink
Daily through February 22
Visit dilworthpark.org for hours
Wintergarden on the Albert M. Greenfield Lawn Daily through March 15
Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market Through January 1
Sundays–Thursdays: 12–8 p.m.
Fridays & Saturdays: 12–9 p.m.
Closed on Christmas Day
Happy Hour at the Rothman Orthopaedics Cabin presented by Basil Hayden Through February 19
Mondays–Thursdays, 5–7 p.m.
College Nights presented by Temple University Through February 19
Thursdays, 5:30–9 p.m.
Breakfast with Santa Saturdays, December 13 & 20, 9 a.m.
Coming in 2026
Lunar New Year Celebration presented by Temple University Saturday, February 21, 5–7 p.m.
Free in February presented by Rothman Orthopaedics Mondays & Tuesdays, February 2–17
Host your event or promote your brand at a CCD park!
For information, contact rentals@centercityphila.org
Rothman Orthopaedics Ice
Rink at Dilworth Park
A new avenue for aspiring officers
Program launched to attract and retain safety patrol staff
CCD and Allied Universal Security Services have launched a new recruitment and training initiative designed to attract cadets from the Philadelphia Police Department’s Police Explorer program, mostly first-time job seekers who want to pursue law enforcement careers.
The Community Oriented Public Safety (COPS) program was introduced this spring in partnership with the Police Explorers program as a way to bridge the employment gap for Police Explorer graduates who are not yet 21, the minimum age for a Philadelphia police officer.
The program places those young cadets — many of whom are recent high school graduates — into roles with Center City District’s bicycle safety patrol. These positions, jointly managed by CCD and Allied, provide real-world experience to Police Explorer program graduates who are too young to begin careers with the PPD.
Employee Spotlights
30 years — and counting! — for 2 community service representatives
CCD’s team of community service representatives (CSRs) walk Center City’s sidewalks seven days a week and are trained to provide directions, administer first aid, and answer questions of all kinds. Whether it’s hot, cold, rainy, or anything in between, they serve as goodwill ambassadors and fonts of information for thousands of people each year.
This fall, CSRs Annette Baxter and Devoun Wilburn celebrated 30 years with Center City District. They’re pillars of the Center City community, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their service.
Water Orchestra delights at Dilworth Park
The interactive installation Water Orchestra at Dilworth Park turned out to be a highlight of fall in Center City, with thousands of people stepping up to the conductor’s platform to “play” the park fountain in real-time, including Philadelphia Orchestra music and artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The installation was conceived by a trio of Montreal-based creative organizations and launched by CCD in conjunction with the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 125th anniversary.
CSRs interact with over 100K people in 2025
As of November 2025, our community service representatives (CSRs) have provided directions and other information and assistance to pedestrians more than 102,000 times. Additionally, CCD’s homeless outreach teams have connected 181 unhoused individuals with essential services, emergency and long-term shelter, residential rehab and mental health services.
City Hall’s lighting receives two awards
The lighting system installed in 2024 on City Hall’s historic façade has received two awards from the prestigious Illuminating Engineering Society. CCD partnered with Center City firm The Lighting Practice on the project, which utilizes the latest LED technology to bathe City Hall’s architectural features with white light, and features colorful options for holidays and local sports events.
New look, new menus at Dilworth Park
This winter at Dilworth Park has ushered in a new partnership with Centre Square Hospitality and a reimagined Rothman Orthopaedics Cabin. The redesigned cabin has expanded significantly to add a full bar, banquet seating and sleek décor, including TVs for game days. An elevated new menu will include comforting winter dishes like tomato soup and grilled cheese, jumbo pretzel charcuterie and chicken & waffle nachos.
CCD’s long-time Vice President of Marketing retires
Vice President of Marketing & Communications Michelle Shannon has retired after more than 28 years at the helm of the Center City District marketing team.
Michelle’s passion for Philadelphia has touched every corner of Center City’s resident, visitor, and worker experiences. She and her team have created hundreds of memorable campaigns and built beloved programs like Arts on Center Stage, Restaurant Week and Sips. For decades, these traditions have worked to bring people together and support our vibrant local restaurants and retail sector, as well as Center City District’s parks. The entire CCD team, past and present, are grateful for her decades of dedication.
Retail & Restaurant Roundup
33 new openings in Center City
centercityphila.org/shop
Center City’s retail scene is heating up with the addition of 33 new retailers this fall alone, from the arrivals of Jordan’s first-ever U.S. flagship store World of Flight and the experiential space Time Mission, to the opening of Stephen Starr’s elegant new Italian restaurant Borromini and Jesse Ito’s futuristic Japanese spot Dancerobot.
Experience the latest in Center City
centercityphila.org/blog
Did you know that are new ways to have experiences in Center City beyond our worldrenowned restaurants and fabulous shopping? So-called experiential businesses provide fun ways to unwind, from simulated golf and Formula 1 racing to vintage arcade games and virtual reality games for groups. We’ve broken it all down for you on our blog “Things To Do in Center City After Work.”
CCD Restaurant Week returns in January
ccdrestaurantweek.com
Philadelphia’s world-class dining scene takes center stage with the return of Center City District Restaurant Week. From January 18 through January 31, dozens of restaurants will offer three-course dinners starting at $45 per person, with select locations offering a $60 premium option. Some restaurants will also offer two-course lunch menus for $20.
New archway greets Jewelers’ Row shoppers
An illuminated street-spanning gateway arch was unveiled in November on historic Jewelers’ Row. The overhead archway, spanning the 700 block of Sansom Street, was designed to capture the essence of the district’s rich heritage while remaining in harmony with the surrounding businesses and other streetscape elements.
A new tool for finding available retail spaces
The economic development team at Center City District has launched an online tool to assist real estate brokers, prospective businesses and current business owners who are looking for information on where to open or expand in Center City. This new interactive map showcases available retail spaces within District boundaries and includes filters for square footage, neighborhood and space type. Find the map
The latest from CCD’s economic development team
Center City Employment Report 2025
centercityphila.org/employment
Philadelphia has emerged as a standout performer in employment growth among major U.S. cities, according to this report examining 15 years of job market data. Despite ongoing challenges in the office sector, Philadelphia’s employment grew 13.6% since 2020, outperforming the 11.7% average of the nation’s 25 most populous counties.
This recovery rate significantly exceeds Philadelphia’s own historical performance and places the city ahead of major metropolitan areas including San Francisco (2.4%), Washington (7.6%), Seattle (7.7%), and Los Angeles (10.7%). Only New York’s 17.6% growth rate surpassed Philadelphia’s among cities that experienced the steepest pandemic-related job losses.
Quarterly Market Update Q3 2025
Center City Retail Report 2025
centercityphila.org/retail
This just-released report found that retail occupancy has risen in Center City over the past year, despite several high-profile closures including Macy’s, Starbucks, and Iron Hill Brewery. However, Rittenhouse Row — including Walnut and Chestnut streets west of Broad — continues to attract prominent operators and has the highest occupancy rates.
2025 saw major brands making big commitments to Center City, including Nike’s Jordan World of Flight’s first North American location, new-tomarket outposts for brands like Abercrombie & Fitch and Veronica Beard, expansions for local favorites like Mitchell & Ness, and high-profile dining and entertainment concepts from local and national operators.
centercityphila.org/research-reports/quarterly-market-update-q3-2025
Our latest Quarterly Market Update looks at the ever-shifting dynamics in Center City’s office market. The quarterly report brings together building performance with the latest research on leasing activity, office occupancy, the state of return to office, retail offerings and conversions within the West Market Office District to provide a holistic look at both the economic environment and the on-street experience for Center City workers.
Data points analyzed include leasing activity by quarter, significant deals in the office market, conversions, absorption and vacancy by class, building trades and valuations, employee recovery, and more.
Industry leaders talk employment trends
At the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation’s fall membership meeting, members of CCD’s research team — Clint Randall, Vice President of Economic Development, and Lauren Smith, Director of Research and Special Projects — presented key findings from the newly released Philadelphia Employment Report 2025. Following the presentation, a panel of industry leaders explored the current state of employment in downtown Philadelphia and emphasized the critical need to attract and retain talent in the city.
Over the past five years, Philadelphia’s job growth has outpaced the surrounding Pennsylvania collar counties and the broader metropolitan region. A key driver of this growth has been the health care and social assistance sector, which now makes up 32% of total jobs, up from 26% in 2009. Despite slow growth, Philadelphia surpassed Montgomery County in office-sector employment for the first time in 2023.
Become a member today
Business leaders who are members of the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation have access to year-round programs and events from panel discussions to behind-the-scenes hard hat tours of some of Center City’s most exciting projects.
Membership pays for research and member engagement and enables CPDC to continue to provide reliable marketplace information and enhance the competitiveness of Center City.
To learn more about CPDC and how to join, visit joincpdc.org or contact CCD Director of Research and Special Projects Lauren Smith at lsmith@centercityphila.org.
Support our work in 2026
Make your impact today at supportccdf.org
. supportccdf.org
Philadelphia will host the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration next year, and the Center City District on-street staff will be ready to meet the moment. After all, it’s what we do every day.
We know that public spaces serve as a first impression for visitors. That’s why CCD enhances streetscapes and parks through seasonal plantings, lighting installations, and public art. At Dilworth Park, we recently planted 12,000 red, white, and blue tulip and hyacinth bulbs for next spring, and we are collaborating with the City and other partners on interventions to improve the look of East Market Street.
We also know that a sense of safety is essential to creating a welcoming environment. That’s why our Community Service Representatives maintain a visible, professional presence while assisting visitors throughout Center City. Our Bike Patrol officers provide rapid response capabilities, functioning in partnership with Philadelphia police. Our Homeless Outreach team works daily with vulnerable community members, connecting them to housing and support services.
Finally, we know that clean sidewalks reflect how we feel about ourselves as a city, and how we want to present Philadelphia to others. That’s why our dedicated maintenance staff is on the job seven days a week, with teams performing manual and mechanical sweeping, power washing, and graffiti removal.
Your support will enable CCD to expand our cleaning, safety, and beautification efforts for 2026 and beyond. Contributions at any level—$100, $500, $1,000, or more—directly support our work to ensure Center City looks beautiful and feels welcoming to every Philadelphian and to our visitors from around the world.
Bike safety patrol