In his role as the inaugural Philadelphia Fellow, Richard Florida examined strategies for building a more prosperous Philadelphia in ways which include all communities. His report, Philadelphia's Next Challenge: From Urban Revitalization to Inclusive Prosperity (pdf), was released October 17, 2019 at the Venture Cafe at the University City Science Center. 

The first event in this series, The Case for Inclusive Prosperity in Philadelphia, was held on March 26th at Thomas Jefferson University, where Florida set the table for his initial research in developing a blueprint to support inclusive prosperity in the city.  

The second event was May 16th at 6pm at Drexel where Florida participated in a panel with Drexel President John Fry focused on national trends in inclusive innovation related to workforce development, followed by an overview of data from the New Urban Crisis Index from Steven Pedigo of the Creative Class Group, and a panel of local respondents, including Harold Epps, City Commerce Director; Deborah Diamond, CampusPhilly; and Claire Greenwood, CEO Council for Growth, moderated by Lindy Institute Distinguished Fellow Alan Greenberger.

The Philadelphia Fellowship was created as a collaboration of Drexel University, Thomas Jefferson University and the University City Science Center to bring scholars to the city for year-long research engagements focused on pressing urban issues. Richard Florida, PhD, was selected as the first recipient because of his groundbreaking research on urban demographic changes and his books, The Rise of the Creative Class and The New Urban Crisis.