Can Vienna housing policy fit Philly? | Morning Newsletter

And just like that, we’re in the back half of 2024. July begins with sun, high temps around 80, and a gospel concert on Independence Mall — rescheduled to this evening due to yesterday’s heavy rainfall.

As officials seek to bring more affordable housing to Philadelphia, one City Council member thinks a certain European city could be a model. We also have the story on how a Lancaster mom convinced Gov. Josh Shapiro to increase funding for adults with disabilities.

Here’s what you need to know today.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Vienna may be known for its imperial palaces, but Austria’s capital is also a major attraction for left-leaning politicians seeking inspiration for affordable housing policy — including Philadelphia lawmakers.

🇦🇹 What Vienna does differently: The Social Democratic Party-run city has the political will and dedicated funding needed to enable affordable housing development, including government subsidies that make it easy for the private sector to get involved.

🇦🇹 Where Philly fits: City Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Kendra Brooks visited Vienna earlier this year with progressive group Local Progress to learn about its housing polices. Gauthier, who chairs Council’s housing committee, told The Inquirer she was “impressed” by the scale of the city’s work, as well as how vacant land is prioritized for the cause.

🇦🇹 One big difference: “In our city, we just want to get the land out the door,” said Gauthier, who has long advocated that the Philadelphia Land Bank reserve more land for affordable housing projects. “They are focused on saving their publicly owned lands for housing developments to make sure that people are housing secure.”

So, could such a model work here?

Commercial real estate reporter Jake Blumgart explains why Vienna has been historically committed to municipally owned housing and what American policymakers can learn from it.

For Pennsylvania families taking care of adults with disabilities, quality caregivers can be hard to find. Advocates blame an industry worker shortage exacerbated by the pandemic, and rallied last year in Harrisburg for funding to better subsidize caregiver pay.

Now, more support appears to be on the way.

By the numbers: The more than $2 billion state system that offers home- and community-based services has a 13,000-person waiting list, leaving many families without help.

Support incoming: Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed boosting funding for the system by hundreds of million of dollars to expand capacity and allow service providers contracted by the state to raise wages from $15 per hour to $17. It’s expected to pass as part of a budget deal soon.

Words of wisdom: Shapiro credits Lancaster County resident Cindy Jennings, who acts as the main caretaker for her adult son, for inspiring him to push for more funding.

State government reporter Gillian McGoldrick has the story on how Jennings got Shapiro’s attention.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts will close its historic landmark building at North Broad and Cherry Streets for the next year as it undergoes renovation work. Which famous architect codesigned the building?

A) Frank Furness

B) Frank Lloyd Wright

C) Frank Gehry

D) Edmund Bacon

Think you know? Check your answer.

🏳️‍🌈 Remembering: The Stonewall riots alongside LGBTQ activist Mark Segal.

🏒 Celebrating: The founder of Philadelphia Blind Hockey named an NHL award finalist.

🍧 Applauding: The Philly couple making Louisville a water ice city, one scoop at a time.

This local nonprofit promotes literacy among children in Philadelphia, Kennett Square, New Jersey — and now, the U.S.-Mexico border.

GRITTER WHIMSY

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Maryellen Glackin, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Sheryl Lee Ralph. The Philly star is straying from her straight-laced Abbott Elementary roots to bring the heat and humor to the silver screen this summer in The Fabulous Four.

📬 Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from Inquirer columnist Stephanie Farr, who remembers a moment of quiet encouragement (adapted from her 2020 column about kindness between strangers):

When I came from a small town in central Pennsylvania for my interview with the Philadelphia Daily News in 2007, the papers were still at the Inquirer building at 400 N. Broad St.

I had no fashion sense then (I still don’t), but I’d gotten the best suit I could at my local JCPenney — a black blazer-and-skirt combo that got drenched with muddy water on my way in because I (like a fool) drove on the Schuylkill with my window down after a rainstorm.

As I paced the 300 block of North Broad, nervously awaiting the start of my interview, a woman in her 50s or 60s stopped me.

”You look really nice today,” she said.

”Thank you. I’m interviewing for a job today,” I told her.

”You’re going to get it,” she said, as she patted me on the shoulder and walked away.

And I did. And I still think about that woman all the time. She was the first person to welcome me to Philadelphia and the first to help me believe that I could make my way here. I don’t know her name and I don’t know if I’d recognize her if I saw her again, but I will never forget that moment.

Wishing you a kind moment of your own today. See you back here again tomorrow morning.

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