A book by architect David S. Traub, Philadelphia: City of Homes, emphasizes the importance of home ownership and this has distinguished the City of Brotherly Love from its peers and contributed to its famous special character, writes Sandy Hingston for the Philadelphia Magazine.

In the introduction, Traub set out the thesis of his book: “Philadelphians want to live in a house.”

“Philadelphians like to open their front door and step out onto a sidewalk along a street,” he wrote. “It is a characteristic embedded in their urban genes.

The resulting low-built spread of single-family homes provides Philadelphia with a sense of livability that should inspire the envy of other American cities.”

Livability is so sought after these days that suburbs and exurbs throughout the nation are attempting to retrofit it into their planning, artificially creating neighborhoods that developed so naturally in Philadelphia.

Throughout the book, the author traces the history of Philadelphia’s growth via the single-family dwelling, such as the cramped rowhomes of Society Hill and South Philly, the grand brownstones of Spring Garden, and mansions in North Philly.

His arguments are illustrated with photographs of homes throughout the entire city he took himself.

Read more about the importance of home ownership in Philadelphia architect David Traub book in the Philadelphia Magazine.

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