A people-driven, long-term, land-planning effort is an excellent concept for the city. However, their current comprehensive plan is very unlikely to succeed because there has not been adequate guidance of the process.
The city of Pittsburgh wanted to figure out what to do as far as land planning over the next twenty years. The plan they settled on includes recommendations for #zoning changes, housing strategies, development priorities, and storm water suggestions for all of the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. According to former Mayor Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh needed to create a comprehensive plan to give its citizens an upper hand in future development as opposed to just standing by and waiting for developers to come and make decisions.
This is the first comprehensive planning effort in our city in 50 years, and residents of Pittsburgh were invited to participate in the plan's creation in 2020. They were asked to give input regarding selected topics such as areas they would like to see developed further, and other goals for the city such as improvements in transportation.
The community-driven long-term land-plan has some good recommendations, but there is a complete lack of guidance on how the goals will come to reality. This problem is the biggest threat to its future. For instance: the plan recommends zoning changes, but unfortunately there are no specific zoning change proposals or definitive suggestions for neighborhood priorities. City neighborhoods and other stakeholders would be responsible for reaching out to developers on their own.
Andrew Dash, Pittsburgh planning director, said he wanted to focus on "centering this plan in equity.” In other words, land use decisions would help combat inequalities discovered in other city reports. Despite his assertion, no land decisions are currently being considered with the specific goal of combating these issues. Most of the city's decisions were based on the results of a 2021 survey of Pittsburgh residents. But the last time I checked, no one living in my neighborhood has experience working as a city planner.
With this kind of open field, it is no wonder that Pittsburgh is finding it difficult to come to a consensus on how rezoning land will help combat the prevailing problems. The best way would have been for the city to deliberate on possible best practices to solve the current land challenges, then propose the different solutions so that the residents could have a point of reference. Presenting the citizens with an opportunity to contribute, but no guidance in making their choices, is not the way to get actual workable solutions.
Pennsylvania municipalities have the power to control and regulate how land is developed. Mayors, planning commissions, and city councils basically guide all the development municipalities. When this model is actually followed, it works perfectly well because the planning is guided. Residents are not left to decide on everything that happens simply because it is a people-centered plan.
Even though Pittsburgh’s comprehensive plan emphasizes resident input, there must be substantial investment in the growth and development of the city's economic resources. For instance, there is a need to put up market-rate housing to increase housing supply, and eventually lower the demand that is currently contributing to skyrocketing rents. New development is also essential to help Pittsburgh evade its continuing population decline, which can result in closing community assets such as schools, leading to an even greater amount of people moving away from Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh needs to set guidelines on how different goals in the plan will be achieved. Residents need to contribute, and in order for their contributions to be actionable, it is necessary to help them become mindful of what they are contributing and why. Without guidance, it is only a matter of time before this plan gets derailed.
