Shawn Aiken

Retail options have greatly expanded in University City over the past decade - but not necessarily with just Penn students in mind. The stores and restaurants opening under the Radian this fall are representative of the area's growth in recent years, but some students still long for a wider range of retail offerings.

Business has been anything but usual for Tom Block lately. Block opened the Naked Chocolate Cafe near 34th and Walnut streets a little more than a week ago - but he hadn't expected that he would be almost overrun with business in such a short time. "We're having a lot of trouble keeping up," Block said.

Shaky economic times and a tumultuous housing market have not prevented new properties from springing up throughout University City in recent years. Since 2006, a number of mixed-use, luxury apartment complexes have come to call West Philadelphia home. With more construction on the way, it may seem like the area isn't feeling the pinch of the global financial crisis.

According to some Radian residents, the luxury complex has not quite lived up to its lofty price and reputation. Initially touted for its state-of-the-art accommodations and convenient location, complaints about the Radian have become more common, with many suggesting the building is unattractive, ill-equipped or generally overrated.

With the Hub retail and apartment building completed in 2006, and with plans for a second complex in the works, the developer has announced that a Hub III is also on the way. The Philadelphia-based development firm Teres Holdings has secured a contract to build the Hub III at 3939 Chestnut Street.

Domus, the eight-story, $71-million luxury apartment complex located on 34th and Chestnut streets, is up for sale - barely a year after its completion in the fall of 2007. Domus was intended to be built and then put on the market shortly after, according to a spokeswoman for the building's developer.

Students in one section of Math 104 were forced to retake an exam this month after the professor suspected cheating had occurred as students handed in their tests. According to several students in the class, the alleged cheating occurred on Wednesday, Oct.

A number of new stores and restaurants around University City are preparing for their grand openings, some as soon as the end of the month. Naked Chocolate Cafe opens later this month near 34th and Walnut streets, with Capogiro Gelato Artisans, Jimmy John's sandwich shop, CVS pharmacy and Chipotle Mexican Grill scheduled to open soon after.

Some Wharton courses have, in one sense, become paper-thin recently. A number of Wharton professors have offered course bulk packs online to students this semester. By going the paperless route, professors say they are giving students a convenient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of acquiring their course material.

Some environmentalists are at a fork in the road concerning whether urban or rural areas are tops at producing harmful pollutants in the atmosphere. A recent report from the Energy Information Administration - which provides governmental energy statistics - shows that, since 1980, industrialized areas in some states have significantly reduced their carbon footprints, and in many cases, produced fewer carbon emissions than their residential neighbors.