Prototyping Place: How Experimentation Shapes University City: A Conversation with Nate Hommel

In this episode of The Commons, host Thomas Osha talks with Nate Hommel, Director of Planning and Design at University City District (UCD) in Philadelphia — a place where experimentation, partnership, and humility redefine what public space can do.

Unlike most business improvement districts, UCD operates as a voluntary collaboration among universities, hospitals, developers, and neighbors within just two and a half square miles of West Philadelphia. It’s a compact but complex ecosystem — home to research towers and historic rowhomes, students and long-time residents, innovation and inequity — and it’s exactly that mix that fuels Nate’s approach to design.

Nate and his team see the city as a prototype, not a finished product. Through projects like The Porch at 30th Street Station and The Lawn at UCity Square, they test ideas with temporary materials — moveable furniture, container bleachers, and pop-up decks — to learn what truly works for the community before making anything permanent.

Thomas and Nate explore how iteration, listening, and trust can transform a construction site into a commons, a district into a community, and a set of buildings into a place of belonging. It’s a conversation about designing with, not for, and how the most vibrant cities grow not from grand plans, but from the everyday act of trying, learning, and doing better together.