My prior work on the Philly311 system described the system and focussed on some of the areas where it failed. This series instead focusses on the things that Philly311 (and the operational departments behind it) do well. Six pieces, read in order.
Following After You Call, six pieces on what Philly311 does well — the codes where it over-delivers, the agencies that keep their promises.
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Philadelphians pay a hidden time tax on permits, licenses, and code compliance — the second-largest tax in the city, just not in dollars.
Redoing the 1,248-problematic-ballot analysis with better data invalidates one analysis from my prior works and provides stronger evidence for the other.
The city’s 1,248-name deficiency list is primarily undeliverable ballots, which themselves are awkwardly defined
The Good Side of 311 · Part 1 of 6
813,081 of 1.4M Philadelphia 311 records are phone calls into a single contact center, open 60 hours a week. 94.5% of calls close in under a minute.
A Love Letter to Fairmount · Part 1 of 5
Bennett is the guy everyone in Fairmount knows — from college students to 80-year-olds walking their dogs. He has been running around the neighborhood for twenty years.
A Love Letter to Fairmount · Part 2 of 5
Eastern State Penitentiary at Halloween — five haunted houses for one admission, a glowstick that opts you in to being grabbed, and the night my wife disappeared into a dentist chair.
A Love Letter to Fairmount · Part 3 of 5
The wading pool at Sister Cities Park in Philadelphia: a square, a stream, and a toddler in a shark swimsuit who won't share.
A Love Letter to Fairmount · Part 4 of 5
I run with my son to the Art Museum steps in the stroller most days that it isn't raining. The Rodin Museum is on the way home, with the original Gates of Hell out front — one of only two pieces of fine art I have ever liked.
A Love Letter to Fairmount · Part 5 of 5
The Schuylkill Banks trail at 6:30 — Boat House Row, the rowers, the bridges, the light on the water, and the stroller-friendly path.
68,553 Philadelphia block party permits from 2006-2016, mapped block by block. Find yours on the interactive map.
I expected the library to be a library (a place full of books, y'know). Instead it's basically a giant rec center with resources I hadn't envisioned as part of a library. Thank you to the city for this awesome resource
The Office That Tripled · Part 8 of 8
SDP's roster grew 40% while enrollment fell 13%. The District roster now lists 1 position for every 9 students, up from 1 in 14.
The Office That Tripled · Part 6 of 8
SDP payroll grew 27% over eleven years — under inflation. School-based, central admin, and central operations each tell a different story.
The Office That Tripled · Part 7 of 8
In SDP's central office women earn 21% more than men at the median; in schools they earn 10% less. The 99-cent overall ratio hides both.
The Office That Tripled · Part 5 of 8
SDP's 26,433 positions split into ten role families. School support, per-diem, and central office drove 98.8% of growth.
The Office That Tripled · Part 4 of 8
SDP's 21,543 salaried positions span three pay bands: ~14,000 earn $40K-$120K, ~700 earn $120K-$200K, 23 earn more — plus 6,559 below $40K.
The Office That Tripled · Part 3 of 8
SDP's operations workforce fell from 1,589 to 572 in 11 years. 562 were genuinely cut; 425 moved to contractors.
A massive playground with potato sack slides, the art museum steps since before he could walk, and the Broad Street Line that refuses to let me on.
On a Sunday morning walk with my son I found two orange stick figures scratched into a dirt patch in Fairmount. I had no idea what they were. Reddit did: stikman, who has been putting them on the street since 1992.
The Office That Tripled · Part 2 of 8
SDP's $175K+ tier grew from 5 to 53 in eleven years. 19 of the 53 are Assistant Superintendents, one per Learning Network.