📍Where does South Philly begin? | Morning Newsletter

Happy Wednesday. In the iconic words of Rob Thomas, “Man, it’s a hot one,” with sun and temps in the high 80s.

Where does South Philly start, really? It seems like a straightforward question — until you start asking around. Try out The Inquirer’s new interactive map to help settle the score.

In other news, a collaborative of environmental advocacy groups is hoping that the Schuylkill could someday be clean enough to swim in. Find those stories and many more below.

P.S. This weather has us all in the mood for a beach trip — which is well-timed with the return of The Inquirer’s beloved Down the Shore newsletter. Sign up for free to get the latest news, tips, and hacks for your summer travels, starting this Thursday.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

South Philly is a microcosm of the city at-large. Or, as Inquirer developer Dain Saint puts it: “South Philly is a quilt of tight streets, big attitudes, and good food, where grandmas from every nation on Earth tell me I better not be stealing their parking space.”

But where does it begin? South Street? Washington Ave? Snyder Ave? Ask three different Philadelphians, and they might all tell you something different.

📍 The Inquirer’s design team, including Saint and his colleague Charmaine Runes, is here to help us figure it out. Drag the slider on our interactive map to mark the east-to-west street where you think South Philly begins, then find out if you align with other Philadelphians.

📍 The map’s creation was inspired by common confusion.

📍 “The idea came from us seeing the question asked on the r/philadelphia Reddit every six months,” interactive editor Sam Morris told me, “and then us having a debate about what South Philly meant, given how some areas that would have been considered South Philly a few decades ago are now very different. So the answer depends on whether you’re answering geographically or culturally.”

So, what do you think? Help us settle this debate, once and for all.

Think “Schuylkill,” and you probably don’t follow that thought with “let’s splash around.” A crew of environmental nonprofits wants to change that — someday.

First, why isn’t the Schuylkill swimmable? In a word, sewage. The city’s aging sewer system can’t always handle the excess of water from big storms, sending pollution and bacteria into the river.

What do they want to do about it? A municipal program called Green City Clean Rivers has been working for more than a decade to reduce pollution, but advocates want to see more. Some suggest tapping federal dollars for water treatment improvements or to replace the city’s vast network of underground pipes, or using nets to trap solids near outflows.

Why does this idea matter? A cleaner Schuylkill River means more opportunities for recreation for Philly residents. “Philadelphia is a river city,” the head of a conservation org for coastal areas told The Inquirer. “We’ve done a disservice to the river by turning our backs on it.”

Environment reporter Frank Kummer has the full story on their efforts.

Nittany Lions, this one’s for you: How much does Penn State plan to spend to renovate Beaver Stadium?

A) $10 million

B) $100 million

C) $700 million

D) $2 billion

Think you know? Check your answer.

🐕 Mourning: Savannah, the South Jersey dog that was the first to walk around the world.

🎸 Buying: Tix to this fall’s Philly Music Fest, featuring a TBA mystery headliner.

🍕 Hoping: Pizza Brain stays in the neighborhood.

The local sports-bar chain famous for Maryland-reminiscent fries.

ICEPICKS & THESE

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Alexander Ingham, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Atlantic City. Check out The Inquirer’s new local’s guide to the Jersey Shore town, featuring things to do, restaurants, bars, yoga studios, and more.

Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. See you again tomorrow!

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.