The City of Pittsburgh is embarking on its first ever Comprehensive Plan.
PLANPGH will be Pittsburgh's gameplan for growth over the next 25 years.
PLANPGH is an open and inclusive process focused on public participation.
PLANPGH is all about finding common threads among people and the places they care about.
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Planning for the optimal use of Pittsburgh's open space, parks, and recreation
Open space is everywhere. It includes parks, vacant lots, hillsides, and other natural features. It can be a place that provides us with recreation, food, and the air we breathe.
OPENSPACEPGH will address issues of ownership, management, maintenance, and connectivity of Pittsburgh's open space systems.
OPENSPACEPGH will provide the City a clear direction in land use and infrastructure decisions by identifying the best use of Pittsburgh's vacant, green, and recreational spaces and their associated programming.
- Pittsburgh has 8.3 acres of park space for every 1000 residents.
- The City's first formal public park, Allegheny Commons, was dedicated in 1873--the same year as Central Park in New York City.
- The largest vintage sportscar race in the USA takes place on the winding roads of Schenley Park each summer.
Planning for the preservation of Pittsburgh's cultural and historic assets
Pittsburgh has a rich heritage. It shows in our buildings, public spaces, and our people. Our historic assets give Pittsburgh a sense of place like no other—we must protect these assets if we want future Pittsburghers to know our story.
PRESERVEPGH will provide the city with a working document that holistically identifies historic and cultural assets, giving consideration to the issues, problems, and opportunities associated with those resources.
PRESERVEPGH will develop goals, policies, and strategies for the appropriate use, conservation, preservation and protection of our historic and cultural assets.
- Route 28 was named in honor of the World War I veterans who served in the 28th Division of the U.S. Army. The insignia on their uniforms was a red keystone.
- The pull-tab on cans was developed by Alcoa and first used by Iron City Brewery in 1962.
- The term Golden Triangle first received national attention in 1914 when it appeared in a Saturday Evening Post article describing Pittsburgh's downtown.
Planning for the future of Pittsburgh's transportation system
Urban transportation is all about moving people. Residents, commuters, and visitors need to get around efficiently for Pittsburgh's economy to keep moving. Walking, biking, driving, transit, waterways...they all have to work together.
MOVEPGH will provide a blueprint for livable communities and sustainable systems, and what kind of transportation network we need to keep them moving.
MOVEPGH will coordinate and prioritize investments that impact transportation, land use and the environment.
MOVEPGH will guide a complete multi-modal transportation system for our future.
- Of the total working age population of the City, 45% commute to work in ways other than driving alone (carpool, transit, bike, walk, etc.).
- With about 1434 miles of streets in the City, that's about 22.7 feet for each resident.
- There are over 700 sets of City steps, many of which are shown on maps as streets. The nearly 44,000 step treads add up to a vertical rise of almost 5 miles!
Planning for Pittsburgh's art in Public Places
Public art creates a sense of civic pride and identity, attracts positive attention to the city, and connects artists with residents in their daily lives.
ARTPGH will assess and augment City policy and establish a new framework with which the City of Pittsburgh will facilitate commissions of new artwork and care for its extensive collection.
ARTPGH will create a strategy for the City to engage local, regional, and national artists in new commissions of art and involvement of artists in public space, facility, and infrastructure design.
- The City of Pittsburgh has 110 pieces of public art in its collection?
- The City will create its first artist-designed pedestrian bridge (designed by former Pittsburgher Sheila Klein) in East Liberty in 2011?
- Victor David Brenner, sculptor of A Song to Nature in Schenley Park, was also well known for his design of the Lincoln penny?
Planning for the future of Pittsburgh's economic development
A strong, vibrant, and diverse economy is essential for the well-being of Pittsburghers. With a well-developed Pittsburgh as its core, our region will be in a better and more economically competitive position for the future.
WORKPGH will guide Pittsburgh in diversifying its economy over the next 25 years—where the job centers should be and how people will get there.
WORKPGH will assess current economic development policies and find the best ways to retain current employers and to attract new ones.
- Many major corporations such as Google, American Eagle Outfitters, and BNY Mellon have headquarters or major operations in Pittsburgh.
- Pittsburgh is consistently ranked as one of the most balanced and strong economies for major cities in the United States.
- Pittsburgh has an "Ed's and Med's" workforce by having almost 30% of Pittsburgh's jobs in the Educational, health and social services sectors.
Planning For the future of Pittsburgh's housing development
A house is home. A house is a basic need. Quality housing is a key element to the City's success. Every person in Pittsburgh has the right to live in a home that's safe, clean, and meets their family's needs. Getting the right mix of size, affordability, and accessibility is critical to meeting our City's housing needs into the future.
LIVEPGH will inventory our current housing stock to understand what types of housing work well in certain locations, which ones don't, and why.
LIVEPGH will create policies that can coordinate the development of new or renovated housing by location, type, price, and ownership status.
LIVEPGH will be a guide for the development of Pittsburgh's housing stock over the next 25 years.
- 52% of Pittsburgh homes are owner-occupied.
- The median home price in Pittsburgh has risen 25% between 2000 and 2008.
- 50.7% of Pittsburgh's homes were built before 1939.
- The average Pittsburgh household has lived in their current home for 13.5 years.
Planning for the future maintenance of Pittsburgh's infrastructure services
Though much of it is hidden, we have a network of pipes, wires, and other infrastructure resources that keep our city running. We may take it for granted, but our infrastructure system is vital to Pittsburgh's future—it needs our attention.
SERVICESPGH will assess our current infrastructure network, its age, its condition, and where the biggest problems and opportunities are.
SERVICESPGH will outline priorities for capital improvements that will keep our infrastructure network running—it will also help to prioritize future investments for new development.
- The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority treats over 70 million gallons of water each day—over 100 million can be treated under current capacity.
- Even rainfalls of less than a quarter of an inch can cause combined sewer systems to overflow, causing sewage to leak into our waterways.
Planning for the effective and efficient use of City buildings and services
The City of Pittsburgh owns a number of buildings of varying ages and in varying conditions. Many buildings support vital services for our City. Since buildings cost lots of money to maintain, we need to figure out which ones serve residents most efficiently, and which ones don't.
FACILITIESPGH will assess and inventory existing City facilities: public safety, recreation, engineering, and parks & recreation buildings.
FACILITIESPGH will create a strategic plan for keeping valuable assets or discarding those that are not.
FACILITIESPGH will determine the optimum use of the "keeper" facilities and create a 5-to-20-year maintenance and asset protection plan for them.
- The City of Pittsburgh owns over 300 buildings ranging from police stations to community centers and public pools.
- The Market House, once a major trade center in the Southside is now home to a Senior Center.
- The City-County Building is the largest structure owned by the City at just over 250,000 square feet.
Planning for the future of Pittsburgh's built environment
Urban Design is the overall pattern and scale of development of both natural and man-made environments within an urban context.
DESIGNPGH will examine the relationship between the built environment and the open spaces in the City of Pittsburgh.
DESIGNPGH will consider an overall urban design configuration for Pittsburgh, while the public outreach process will examine which building forms work best for each neighborhood.
DESIGNPGH will be the basis for new policies and guidelines related to the design, scale, and placement for future development in Pittsburgh.
- 90 neighborhoods reflect varied topography, an industrial past, and many cultural identities that create Pittsburgh's unique urban design.
- Pittsburgh is home to buildings from world-renowned architects such as Phillip Johnson, Robert Venturi, Walter Gropius, and Richard Meier.
- Mellon Square was named one of America's Great Public Spaces by the American Planning Association in 2008.
Planning for the future of Pittsburgh's educational network
A quality education system is the lifeblood of every city. In Pittsburgh, we're fortunate to have a very diverse educational network—from pre-school to post-graduate, there are outstanding programs for every student here. If our economy is to grow in the future, having a strong and well-coordinated educational system is critical.
LEARNPGH will engage Pittsburgh's various public & private schools, colleges and universities to craft a working plan that strengthens their partnerships with the City.
LEARNPGH will create a plan that links infrastructure, transportation and land use policies together, ensuring that students, faculty, and employees of all ages can thrive.
- The "Pittsburgh Promise" will pay up to $5,000 each year for up to four years to help with college costs in an accredited program for all eligible PGH Public School grads.
- 26.2% of City residents are college graduates—of those college grads, almost half of them (48%) went on to get a postgraduate degree.
- The University of Pittsburgh was a private college for most of its history, becoming a state-related university in 1966.
Planning for the future of Pittsburgh's energy use and creation
Energy keeps Pittsburgh plugged into the world. Our energy system's capacity will need to grow in order to sustain and grow our economy. The form it will take and the mix of sources fueling it must balance the needs of our economy with the health of our people.
POWERPGH will study Pittsburgh's energy system in order to determine the most efficient methods for delivering and producing energy.
POWERPGH will examine all forms of energy; renewable (solar, wind, etc.) and conventional (coal, nuclear, and natural gas).
POWERPGH will be the energy roadmap for Pittsburgh's into the future.
- The City of Pittsburgh is currently installing both solar hot water and solar photovoltaic systems on buildings throughout the City.
- Pittsburgh was chosen by the U.S. Dept. of Energy as a Solar America City in 2007.
- Sunflowers are currently being grown and turned into biodiesel in many locations throughout the City of Pittsburgh.
Integrating PLANPGH components into a land use vision for the future
Land use planning is all about determining the uses for land that are most efficient physically, socially, and economically. It is the blueprint for Pittsburgh's future growth.
LAND USEPGH will be the culminating component of PLANPGH, bringing together all the policies that influence land use from the other eleven components.
LAND USEPGH will give Pittsburghers a strong voice in what their neighborhoods will look like in the future.
LAND USEPGH will be a strategic vision for Pittsburgh's growth, and it will outline new zoning policies that can help to make that vision a reality.
- Almost 49% of all land in Pittsburgh is zoned for residential uses.
- Pittsburgh has 142,796 parcels of land contained in an area just over 55 square miles.
- Of all the parcels in the City, 19.4% of them are tax exempt.
- 29% of Pittsburgh's land is protected by either Park/Open Space or Hillside zoning.
City of Pittsburgh | Department of City Planning
200 Ross St, 4th Floor | Pittsburgh, PA 15219
©2010 City of Pittsburgh