PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and other city leaders announced a new 20-year development plan for the city: Forging Pittsburgh.
Director of City Planning Andrew Dash said the plan will be developed over the next year and will include the opinions of people in the city. Dash said it will involve taking a look at how zoning decisions are made and how various pieces of land are used in the city. Dash said the plan will also be used to help create opportunities for people in areas that are the most vulnerable.
City leaders said there will also be a two year COVID-19 recovery plan, as well.
People will have the chance to weigh in on neighborhood affordability, transportation improvements, areas they’d like to see developed, and what activities they’d like to see in the city. The plan will also include taking a look at the current and future housing market and how affordable homes are in the city.
“We can put into our urban plans a model that breaks away from generations of disinvestments in our Black communities,” Mayor Peduto said during the news conference.
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Part of the data collected by the city found that planning over the last 100 years has hurt some neighborhoods and people in those areas, Pittsburgh is one of the most segregated cities “due to decades of redlining and other institutionalized oppression,” and new planning efforts need to be focused on building equity. The data showed the city has emerged from a long period of decline, and leaders want to make sure future plans benefit everyone.
The plan will also include taking a look at the current and future housing market and how affordable homes are in the city. Peduto said there are areas of the city seeing explosive demand for housing and the city is one of the hottest housing markets in the country currently. To that end, he said there need to be plans in place to keep low-income housing in those areas, in turn keeping the tax base which funds city services.
CLICK HERE to see the city’s plan for yourself!
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