Community
Meeting the needs of residents, employees, students, and stakeholders.
NEW: Review and provide feedback on the Development chapter!
The Hill District is committed to preserving its rich African-American legacy and place keeping while continuing to become a desirable destination for living, working, and visiting. Embracing new development and economic opportunities, the master plan aims to rectify historical injustices and enhance the well-being of its current residents through equitable growth, community engagement, improved housing accessibility, and adherence to high standards of design.
What are goals?
Goals are long-term outcomes that organizations and the City of Pittsburgh will work towards by taking action on policies, projects, and programs. Goals are aspirational in nature and express the neighborhood's collective desires and values for various topics in the plan.
Goals
| D1 | All developments within the Hill District shall minimize the displacement of residents and businesses. | |
| D2 | All development plans should be designed to benefit existing and future community residents and businesses, while allowing for future growth of retail, residential, and commercial spaces. | |
| D3 | Land use, public art, and development plans should honor the historical and cultural legacy of the Hill District as a predominately African American neighborhood. Such plans should also abide by any historic preservation standards set by neighborhood preservation entities. | |
| D4 | Hill District residents should have access to secure employment and professional development opportunities resulting from new investments in the neighborhood. | |
| D5 | Displacement risks for existing residents should be mitigated and the return of formerly displaced Hill District residents should be facilitated. | |
| D6 | New development in the Lower Hill must include affordable housing to the greatest extent possible | |
| D7 | A comprehensive management strategy for vacant land and buildings in the Hill District should prioritize the stewardship of community stakeholders | |
| D8 | All plans for the Hill District should include provisions for green and sustainable development. | |
| D9 | The design of redevelopment projects enhance the social, cultural, and historic characteristics of the greater Hill District’s built and natural environment. | |
| D10 | A commercially viable and attractive experience should be created along Herron the community’s commercial corridors to benefit the Hill District and serve as connectors to neighboring communities. |
What did we get right? Please comment below.
What comments, questions, or concerns do you have about the chapter? Please include the strategy, goal, or policy number in your comment.
Introduction
By creating an open dialogue and engagement between the Greater Hill District community and the Department of City Planning, and the community of the Hill District, the Greater Hill District Master Plan can become an effective reality by making goals a reality and creating an equitable and effective use for development and thriving economic empowerment for the whole of the neighborhood.
The Development chapter of the neighborhood planning process includes:
- Land Use Policy and Regulations
- Urban Sustainable Design
- Equitable Economic Development
- Housing
Your input is essential to the planning process. Staff and the Steering Committee will use your input to update the Greater Hill District Master Plan
- Input on this page and other topic-based pages (i.e., Community, Development, Mobility, and Infrastructure) will be used to update existing goals for the plan specific to those topics. This goal language will become part of the plan, but will also be used to guide the proposals developed in the Action Teams in the year ahead.
Learn more about opportunities to be involved on the homepage.
This neighborhood planning process will update and enhance the Greater Hill District Master Plan (2011) and incorporate other community plans including the Greenprint (2009) and the Centre Avenue Redevelopment and Design Plan (2015).
Pittsburgh can meet its goals to achieve a more sustainable and equitable future through the collective action of our neighborhoods. Community input informed the creation of citywide goals that are now being translated into action through a new generation of neighborhood plans.
Pittsburgh’s neighborhood plans focus on four topics areas:
- Community: Meeting the needs of residents, employees, students, and stakeholders.
- Development: Maximizing the benefits of new development for the community.
- Mobility: Making it easier, safer, and healthier for people to get around.
- Infrastructure: Nourishing neighborhoods through new energy, stormwater, and open space systems.
Action Teams are comprised of residents, students, employees, property owners, agencies, and professionals interested in working to develop projects and programs for the neighborhood plan. They are an opportunity for building partnerships while developing feasible action items for the plan.
The Community Action Team develops proposals to serve the needs of the Hill District's existing residents, employees, students, and visitors.
Learn more about Action Teams and how to join them using the bottom on the right of this page.
Action Team Work
The materials below are notes and other documents being used by the Action Team to develop draft strategies as part of the planning process. The materials are organized into tabs for each meeting of the group. You can click "Sign Up Here!" to join the Action Team and get meeting invites. Otherwise, feel free to add your thoughts below.
Meeting 1 (10/19/2021)
Introduction and Initial Discussion
Discussion Notes for Meeting 1
Prompt: What’s working and not working with development in the Hill District? For example: What projects do you love and why? What projects do you think could be better and how? Where are things not happening at all and why? If you have any additional thoughts, please use the comment box below to add them to the record.
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Meeting 2 (11/16/2021)
Equitable Economic Development and Land Use
Discussion Notes for Meeting 2
This meeting involved participants working through activities in breakout groups using Miro boards. These boards organize graphics and other visuals alongside notes. You can find the presentation materials and the notes taken by facilitators by clicking the link above. If you have any additional thoughts, please use the comment box below to add them to the record.
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Meeting 3 (12/21/2021)
Housing and Design
Discussion Notes for Meeting 3
This meeting focused on reviewing and discussing research into the housing needs and opportunities in the Hill District, what kinds of development typologies and policy and regulatory tools might be effective, and key design considerations for new housing. If you have any additional thoughts, please use the comment box below to add them to the record.
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Meeting 4 (1/18/2022)
Discussion Notes for Meeting 4
This meeting started with a continued look at different types of housing, their feasibility, and how they can be designed to fit into the context of the Hill District. The second half of the meeting returned to previous discussions of important nodes and corridors with some draft recommendations. If you have any additional thoughts, please use the comment box below to add them to the record.
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Learn about the plan's topics and have your say:
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Development
Maximizing the benefits of new development for the community.
Mobility
Making it easier, safer, and healthier for people to get around.
Infrastructure
Nourishing neighborhoods through new energy, stormwater, and open space systems.
