The future of Pittsburgh’s landscape
Peduto administration unveils 20- year plan for citywide land use
What does the city of Pittsburgh envision for growth over the next two decades?
The answer: Driving development in the direction of equity by seeking what residents in all 90 neighborhoods want, according to a plan unveiled by Mayor Bill Peduto and City Planning on Tuesday.
As part of the new citywide ForgingPGH Comprehensive Plan, the administration will collect resident feedback for 12 months before developing policies and zoning regulations that will guide the city’s economic development for the next 20 years.
The plan is a “historical marker” and “absolutely necessary for the Pittsburgh we’re at today,” Mr. Peduto said at a morning news conference outside of Council Chambers — the first to be held indoors by the administration since the COVID- 19 shutdown precautions began in March.
“We approached this kind of planning back in the 1920s, and we did it again in the 1960s, and part of the reason I think that we haven’t really looked holistically, especially at land use neighborhood by neighborhood, is because during the 1980s, 1990s, beginning of the 2000s, there wasn’t much investment happening. We were playing defense. We were trying to save our city,” Mr. Peduto said.
The story is different now, he said, noting that Pittsburgh is among the top real estate markets in the U. S.
“Investment is happening all over
the city,” he said. “We can choose to continue to play the defensive model of urban planning where we wait for a developer to come into a neighborhood with a plan ... or we can change, and we can change the way we do urban planning in the city of Pittsburgh. We can play offense.”
One so- called defensive example is the Penn Plaza development in East Liberty, Mr. Peduto said.
Roughly 200 people were displaced from affordable apartments in 2015 when the owner, LG Realty, decided to develop the site into office and retail space, including a Whole Foods Market anchor store.
The razing of the former apartment buildings was met with outcry and protests over Pittsburgh’s affordable housing issues.
Developing a 20- year plan “the right way, you take the bumps and bruises on the front end so that there’s a plan that everyone agrees on and you can move forward. The other side of it is Penn Plaza, where you sit and don’t have a plan and then somebody comes in with their own plan, and you go through that process at the back end. I’d much rather do it at the front end,” Mr. Peduto said.
The plan — 18 months in the making — will take into account housing, businesses, stormwater issues and other environmental and equitable factors, according to planning officials.
A “Conditions and Trends” report released simultaneously with the land use plan divides the analysis of development according to people, planet, place and performance — what the administration refers to as the “4Ps” framework.
The report lists a history of redlining, racial segregation, uneven development across neighborhoods and poor air quality as challenges, and cites the September 2019 Gender Equity Commission study that found Black individuals experience poorer health and economic outcomes in Pittsburgh compared with other similar U. S. cities.
The “4P” model will “break away from generations of disinvestment in our Black communities,” Mr. Peduto said.
The report highlights planned investment in the city’s neighborhood parks — though the parks tax narrowly passed by voters in November remains stalled in City Council. Forthcoming components of the land use plan will include an economic and market trends analysis, including a two- year economic recovery plan following COVID- 19, said Stephanie Joy Everett, senior planner.
The administration anticipates working “hand in hand” with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the city’s housing authority and registered community organizations, said Andrew Dash, City Planning director.
Mr. Peduto added that his work with Councilmen Ricky Burgess and Daniel Lavelle on a project called “Avenues of Hope” will be included to spark economic development on main thoroughfares in neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment, including Homewood and Centre avenues in Homewood and the Hill District, respectively
Two requests for proposals will be released this week seeking consultants to assist the city in updating the 2015 housing needs assessment and to develop economic development strategies. The city is looking to spend roughly $ 100,000 for each, Mr. Dash said.
Residents can find online public workshops, upcoming informational open houses and other information on the plan at forgingpgh. org/ get- involved.