Public-Private Partnerships for Neighborhood Renewal

Abstract

The city of Pittsburgh is used as a case study in this article to show how an older industrial area has been able to maintain healthy neighborhoods despite a significant transformation in its economic base and more than three decades of population loss. The particular elements of Pittsburgh's approach that are generalizable to other industrial cities include strategies that are flexible enough to be tailored to the unique needs of individual neighborhoods; comprehensive strategies that include housing, community development, infrastructure, and institution-building elements; significant involvement of the private and nonprofit sectors, thereby leveraging public resources; and a commitment to increasing the capacity of local groups to respond to their own needs. A key ingredient of neighborhood renewal in the Pittsburgh model is the strong leadership provided by the city government. This is particularly crucial to the development and maintenance of many of the public-private partnerships that have formed the core of the city's neighborhood strategy.

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References

Gene F. Summers, ed., The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 475, Deindustrialization: Restructuring the Economy (Sept. 1984).

Howard W. Hallman , Neighborhoods: Their Place in Urban Life (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1984).

Ahlbrandt , Neighborhoods, People, and Community.

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5. The population figures were obtained from various unpublished working papers prepared by the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, Pittsburgh, PA.

6. The survey is described in Ahlbrandt , Neighborhoods, People, and Community.

7. Ibid.

additional information provided by Robert Lurcott, director, Department of City Planning, Pittsburgh, PA, 18 Feb. 1986.

9. Roy Lubove , Twentieth Century Pittsburgh: Government, Business and Environmental Change (New York: John Wiley, 1969).

10.

10. Shelby Stewman and Joel A. Tarr , “Four Decades of Public-Private Partnerships in Pittsburgh,” in Public-Private Partnerships in American Cities: Seven Case Studies, ed. R. Scott Fosler and Renée A. Berger (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1982).

11.

Pittsburgh, Department of City Planning , 1986-1991 Six Year Development Program: Draft for Discussion, pp. 1-2 (Pittsburgh, PA: Department of City Planning, 1985). The early history was confirmed by Jane Downing, assistant director, Department of City Planning, Pittsburgh, PA, 17 Feb. 1986.

12.

12. 1986-1991 Six Year Development Program, chaps. 1, 2, 8, and 10.

13.

13. Ibid., chap. 10.

14.

14. Ibid., p. 9; the figure was corroborated by Jane Downing, assistant director, Department of City Planning, Pittsburgh, PA, 17 Feb. 1986.

15.

corroborated by Jane Downing, assistant director, Department of City Planning, Pittsburgh, PA, 17 Feb. 1986.

16.

16. See Reilly and Brophy , “Comprehensive Housing Strategies.”

17.

17. Pittsburgh Neighborhood Alliance , Pittsburgh Neighborhood Handbook (Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh Neighborhood Alliance, 1982).

18.

18. See Jon Schmitz and Ellen M. Perlmutter , “Lucky 5 Neighborhood Groups Top Fund Race,” Pittsburgh Press, 1 Dec. 1985.

19.

19. “Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development” (Unpublished report, Howard Heinz Endowment, 1984).

20.

20. Information provided by Robert Lurcott, director, Department of City Planning, Pittsburgh, PA, 18 Feb. 1986. See also 1986-1991 Six Year Development Program, chap. 8.

21.

and Mellon Bank Corporation , Community Affairs Annual Report (Pittsburgh, Mellon Bank, 1983, 1984, 1985).

22.

22. Jan Stokley , “Local Government Support of CED,” Economic Development & Law Center Report, pp. 2-8 (Mar.-June 1985).

23.

23. Pittsburgh, Department of City Planning , “Recommendations for Citizen Participation Conference, Funding Neighborhood Groups Task Force” (Unpublished report, Department of City Planning, 1979).

24.

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25.

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26.

26. For a detailed description of the LISC program, see Mitchell Sviridoff , “Neighborhood Revitalization: The Role of LISC,” Journal of Community Action, 1(3):5-8 (1982).

27.

27. LISC-Pittsburgh , “Report on the First Two Years” (Unpublished report, LISC-Pittsburgh, 1984).

28.

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29.

29. 1986-1991 Six Year Development Program, p. 34.

30.

30. Pittsburgh, Department of City Planning and University of Pittsburgh, Center for Social and Urban Research , “Survey on Neighborhood Conditions and Services” (Unpublished report, Department of City Planning and Center for Social and Urban Research, 1985).

31.

31. “Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development.”

32.

32. Pittsburgh, Department of City Planning , Neighborhood Residential Trend Report (Pittsburgh, PA: Department of City Planning, 1985).

33.

33. Richard Boyer and David Savageau , Places Rated Almanac (New York: Rand McNally, 1985).

34.

34. Ahlbrandt , Neighborhoods, People, and Community, chaps. 8 and 9.