Newsletter: 🏘️ Legalize ADUs Statewide / 🌉 Next Tuesday: SRT Bridge Tour / 🍻 South Street Meetup
October 20, 2026
Weekly Newsletter #47 · October 20, 2026
5th Square Advocacy is an urbanist organization of grassroots advocates building a coalition for better transportation, housing, and public space in Philadelphia. Thanks to our growing network of sustaining members
for making this work possible.
🏘️ LEGALIZE ADUS STATEWIDE
Legislation to legalize ADUs statewide passed the PA House with bipartisan support, but the bill is stalled in the Senate and will need to be reintroduced if it's not voted on by tomorrow!
PA needs more homes to tackle our housing shortage and lower housing costs. ADUs like backyard cottages, in-law suites, and basement/backyard apartments, provide a flexible, low-cost option to expand our housing supply.
They empower homeowners to create smaller homes for aging parents, adult children, or caregivers, seamlessly fitting into communities without altering their look or feel.
Our tour will be led by two construction engineers from the city’s Department of Streets and Transportation who will share what it took to design and build these new crossings.
We'll meet at Nikki Lopez at 6pm for a data-driven presentation from Eleanor Ingersoll, Executive Director of the South Street Headhouse District, and Brandon Engelhardt, author of the Saving South Street study.
They'll discuss more than 50 years of South Street’s economic history and how its vacancy and corridor-health trends compare with East Passyunk, as well as what could improve the corridor’s vibrancy, from parklets and a pedestrian plaza to upzoning and new ways to reinvest in empty storefronts.
And as the election comes up, it's important that we get transit riders to the polls, because when we vote, we win! So help out by canvassing transit riders:
We're thrilled to report that the City Hall bike lane is now only a mayoral signature away from being made permanent!
After more than a year of delay, City Council voted unanimously to approve the lane.
Our executive director, Corinne Lagermasini, was at City Hall for the bill's passage and her testimony was quoted by the Inquirer, Philly Voice, and 95.7 BEN FM!
Thank you to everyone who has already joined as a member! Our members fuel our grassroots work
for a more accessible, sustainable, and equitable Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission's Philadelphia2050
plan will shape the future ofhousing, transportation, and public spaces in our city. Take their survey here
and show your support for more housing, safer streets, and better public spaces!
Council Bill 260699 would weaken our city's lifesaving speed camera program by cutting speed camera fines, even for reckless drivers going 30+ mph over the speed limit--tell Council: Say NO to Bill 260699!
When transit riders vote, we win. Canvass Cornwells Heights Station to help transit riders make a plan to vote in the November 3rd election. We'll share resources for voter registration, requesting a mail ballot, and finding your polling location on election day.
2:30 to 6:30 PM · Penn Museum, Widener Lecture Hall, 3260 South St
Transportation Initiative at Penn is hosting an event designed to connect transportation-focused public agencies with faculty and staff at the University of Pennsylvania to collaborate on applied research projects. Public agency staff are invited to give low-stakes, two-minute pitches on short-term, high-impact projects that could benefit from external expert support.
Attend the free world premiere of Car Brain, a feature documentary about parking and the crisis around car ownership in Philly. The film covers the PPA, the activists of Philly Bike action, and a host of eccentric Philadelphians
6:00 to 8:00 PM · Nikki Lopez, 304 South St, 2nd Floor
Join us for our November social meetup, focused on South Street! We're hosing a data-driven look at more than 50 years of South Street’s economic history and how its vacancy and corridor-health trends compare with East Passyunk, featuring special guests Eleanor Ingersoll, Executive Director of the South Street Headhouse District, and Brandon Engelhardt, author of the Saving South Street study.
5:30 PM · DVRPC office (190 N Independence Mall W, 8th Fl) or Zoom
DVRPC’s Public Participation Task Force is hosting a hybrid meeting about how SEPTA and NJ Transit are supporting the creation of livable and walkable places near transit stations.
Design Advocacy Group will host SEPTA GM Scott Sauer for a virtual presentation on the agency's Accelerate plan. They'll discuss plans for new trolley and subway fleets, more frequent service, and bringing high-quality transit within reach of millions more residents and jobs.
11:00 AM · Butler Triangle (between Germantown Ave, Broad St, W Butler St)
Join us to honor those who have lost their lives or been impacted by roadway crashes. We will hear from local elected officials, city staff, community leaders, and families who have lost their loved ones to traffic violence.
5th Square Advocacy is a grassroots nonprofit organization driven to advance a vision for a more accessible, sustainable, equitable Philadelphia for all residents. Donations are not tax deductible.
November Social Meetup - Saving South Street
