City Planner – Edmund N. Bacon

CharacterTowns.org regards Ed Bacon among several planners in the post-war United States who set the tone for city planning and design with long-lasting influences that still resonate.

Director of Philadelphia’s City Planning Commission from 1949-1970, Ed Bacon is the only city planner ever to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. His vision for the future of Philadelphia has strongly influenced the current form of Center City including the preservation of colonial Old City, the creation of our modern business district, Penn Center, and the development of Philadelphia’s most popular tourist destination, Independence Mall.