Originally laid out by William Penn as one of the city's five public squares, Logan Square (center) is part of the grand procession of the Ben Franklin Parkway, the diagonal axis between City Hall and the Philadelphia Musuem of Art (top).		Few cities offer a greater range of opportunities for studying urbanism than Philadelphia, the fifth largest city in America. Located in a metropolitan area of five million, the City of Brotherly Love has a strong urban tradition. It traces its origins to its seventeenth-century founding as a planned settlement whose structure underlies today's metropolis. The city is centered on City Hall, and the core of the city is divided into quadrants, each of which is anchored by a public square. The annexation of independent suburbs from the mid-nineteenth century through the 1930s form today's distinct neighborhoods surrounding what is now known as Center City. Although Philadelphia is among the nation's most populous cities, its physical organization allows for easy comprehension of smaller areas.

In the mid- to late-twentieth century, Philadelphians worked to adapt their city to reflect the changing needs and demands of its residents. They added rapid transit and regional rail lines; expanded parks and landscaped parkways; and constructed new buildings for working and living as well as reused older, obsolete structures. They accommodated new populations, developed a strong economic base, supported nationally significant cultural and educational institutions, and cultivated a rich network of local and regional community organizations. They have grown a ring of suburbs in two states and confronted a wide variety of metropolitan issues including de-concentration, inner city revitalization, and suburban sprawl. They have shaped a place of uncommon strength and adaptability.

Philadelphia is one of the nation's oldest cities and home to many diverse and distinctive neighborhoods.		From Lancaster County to Atlantic City, the Greater Philadelphia region is a laboratory for studying issues linked to population change, sprawl, growth management, economic development, inner-city poverty, urban design, historic preservation, downtown revitalization, brownfield remediation, and transportation and infrastructure investment. Old and new suburbs, edge cities, rural areas, and coastal resources provide an interesting balance with and contrast to the urban experience. The diversity of Philadelphia and its region provides limitless opportunities and resources to enrich the academic training of a city planning student.