February 2020
News + Updates
In This Issue
February Spotlight
Planning and Design Expertise
Featured Project Highlight
The State of North Broad 2020
Upcoming Events
Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce City Council Reception
Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Legislative Reception
News from the Lab
Thoughtnomics 2020 Q1 edition
Economic Insights for Planning and Urban Design
The economic lens Econsult Solutions focuses on land use planning and design runs the gamut from comprehensive planning to transportation impact analysis. We have worked on strategic economic development plans, redevelopment scenario evaluations, public and land use policy analyses, infrastructure investment alternatives, and more. Review our full suite of services in this sector.
Highlights
ESI proud to have assisted The North Broad Renaissance with completing The State of North Broad 2020. The report details the demographics, assets, and development trends in this important and dynamic area of Philadelphia. #ThinkBroad
ESI developed The Pennsylvania Economic Competitiveness Dashboard for Team Pennsylvania, which takes a look at the commonwealth's performance in five separate categories: Economy, Talent, Place, Governance, and Quality of Life.
In partnership with Fourth Economy Consulting, ESI performed the analysis and stakeholder engagement process to evaluate how Pennsylvania compares with other states in entrepreneurship and innovation. Read the full report.
Welcoming ANBOUND to the United States!
Ms. Yi Wang, Head of Global Development for ANBOUND, visited ESI's office the week of Jan. 27 to discuss future US-China plans for ESI and ANBOUND.
Senior Advisor Networking

On Jan. 24, ESI hosted a Senior Advisor Breakfast for networking and a presentation of the ESI ThoughtLab thought leadership research initiative Building a Hyperconnected City.
Building a Hyperconnected City Presentation in Philadelphia

ESI and the  Penn Institute for Urban Research  held an interactive half-day session on the impact of smart city solutions on Jan. 30. ESI President Richard Voith welcomed Honorable Martin O'Malley, former Mayor of Baltimore, and former Governor of Maryland who spoke about the smart city initiatives he implemented during his tenure. ESI Vice President Daniel Miles provided an overview of Building a Hyperconnected City, exploring how cities are using technology to generate return on investment. A Q&A session followed, moderated by PennIUR's Eugenie Birch with distinguished experts including:

  • Richard Voith, President & Principal, ESI
  • Daniel Miles, Vice President & Associate Principal, ESI
  • Eugenie L. Birch, Co-Director, Penn IUR
  • William Baver, VP Smart World Team, NTT DATA
  • Ana B. Moreno, Director, Tomorrow.City
  • Martin O'Malley, Former Mayor of Baltimore and Former Governor of Maryland
  • Piyush Pandey, Managing Director, Cyber Risk Services, Deloitte
  • Joseph Viscuso, Senior VP and Director of Strategic Growth, Pennoni
Upcoming Events and Sponsorships

Attending
PHL Diversity Business Opportunity Luncheon
Proud Sponsor
Preservation Zoning Reform Seminar


Proud Sponsor
City Council Reception
Staff and Senior Advisor Updates
Hilary Jay is now the Director of Education for Society for Experiential Graphic Design, congratulations!
Dan Connelly gave a webinar presentation on Multi-Year Financial Planning for the PA Municipal League, Jan. 28.
We welcome Julia Flanagan, Analyst to the ESI Team! Julia recently graduated from Temple University with a BA in Math Economics.
Soon to be announced by Community Design Collaborative (but we're too beaming happy to hold back) Gina Lavery will be recognized with a Best Supporting Actor Award for her work with The Graves-MEE Mercy Douglass Community Wellness Center's Programming and Feasibility Study. Well done!
Lily Ho's work on a Community Design Collaborative in-process design grant has been acknowledged as "invaluable" and we look forward to the project results. We appreciate her contributions to the community, and are pleased to have her talents on our team.
Peter Angelides will be a panelist on Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia's seminar: Preservation Zoning Reform, Feb 27.
David Boonin's " Curing the Analytical Bias-Replacing Discount Rate NPV with IRR Analysis" was published in the Jan 2020 edition of Public Utilities Fortnightly.
Michael Golden retired from the Jenkintown, PA Borough Council after five terms. His accomplishments include: spearheading economic development; establishing a non-profit for the historic Hiway Theatre, raising $1.3M for restoration; founding a multi-municipal taskforce to address cooperative initiatives; bond refinancing for $100K+ in tax payer savings; and more, all the while fighting for the rights of residents to be integral to the process.
Bernard Markstein has contributed current economic analyses and forecasts of the construction industry to AIA, Recycling Today, Associated Building and Contractors, AZ Big Media, NH Business Review, Construction & Demolition Recycling, and The American Surveyor. All-in-all, slow continued growth is anticipated.
News from the Lab
Thoughtnomics
Thoughnomics 2020 Q1 hit inboxes last week.


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U.S. - China Research
Long-Term Mechanism Should be the Primary Object of US-China Trade Negotiations
From our Beijing-based think tank partners, ANBOUND: "The establishment of a long-term mechanism should be the primary goal of China's future trade negotiations with the U.S." Learn more.
Present Value
by the ESI ThoughtLab Team
by Angela Dowd-Burton
by Lindsay Durkalec
by Gina Lavery
Client Spotlight
ESI's report with Temple University Fox School of Business on PA Agriculture: A Look at the Economic Impact and Future Trends was featured in Farm and Daily.
A belated congratulations to North Broad Renaissance Executive Director Shalimar Thomas for being recognized as a 2019 Power 100 by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Project HOME has teamed with AmeriHealth Caritas and Independence Blue Cross to improve life expectancy and reduce infant mortality in North Philadelphia with a newly created program "Keystone Connections to Wellness". Philadelphia Business Journal reports the details.
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