Philadelphia\u2019s bike-share stations offer an easy way to get around University City, but they may figure into a larger debate about how the neighborhood is changing.<\/p>\n
Indego \u2014 the nonprofit behind the city\u2019s signature blue rental bikes \u2014 came to Penn<\/a> in 2015 and now operates eight docks on campus. While Indego claims<\/a> to expand access to cycling in \u201chistorically disinvested-from\u201d communities, Penn experts have linked the transportation infrastructure to broader patterns of gentrification.<\/p>\n University Architect Mark Kocent said in an interview that bike-share usage is highest along Civic Center Boulevard, near the Penn Museum, and on Health Services Drive. He attributed lower undergraduate usage to the walkability of Penn\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n According to Kocent, the \u201cmost frequented ridership\u201d is around the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which employees often bike to from Center City.<\/p>\n Indego\u2019s expansion<\/a> is at the center of a broader conversation on \u201cPenntrification\u201d \u2014 a term Stuart Weitzman School of Design assistant professor Xiaoxia Summer Dong described in a statement as a \u201ccatchall\u201d for the \u201cimpact on the surrounding neighborhoods of the expanding footprint of University City.\u201d<\/p>\n Get the DP delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n Sign Up<\/a><\/p>\n School of Design professor Erick Guerra also acknowledged the link between transportation investments and gentrification.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople sometimes perceive these investments as being designed primarily for newer or wealthier residents rather than existing residents,\u201d he wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n