Wilkinsburg Urban Design Strategies

URBAN DESIGN STRATEGIES Studio Report Spring 2017

Master of Urban Design Carnegie Mellon University

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Final presentation model and drawings

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Introduction Midterm Review

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Final Presentation Matrix

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Midterm Review Discussion

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Final Review Discussion

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Final Presentation

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Final Presentation

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URBAN DESIGN STRATEGIES Studio Report Spring 2017

Master of Urban Design Carnegie Mellon University

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Professors Steve Quick Stefan Gruber Master of Urban Design Students Ernest Bellamy Tamara Cartwright Yidan Gong Paul Moscoso Riofrio Ankita Patel Chun Zheng Lu Zhu In cooperation with Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation (WCDC)

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Wilkinsburg contains pockets of vacant lots and buildings which can be reframed through strategic interventions to aid the community.

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CONTENTS Foreword .............................................................................................. 22 Introduction ........................................................................................... 24 Process History Voices of Wilkinsburg Impressions of Wilkinsburg Current Initiatives of Wilkinsburg Opportunities of Wilkinsburg Where to Start Intervention ........................................................................................... 94 Building the Community Strategic Interventions Building New Market Established Matrix MasterPlan and Zoom-ins Envision ............................................................................................... 154 Vision Lessons We Learned Acknowledgments ............................................................................... 165 21

Foreword The Urban Systems Studio builds on the knowledge and skills developed during the first semester’s Placemaking Studio of Carnegie Mellon’s Master of Urban Design Program. From the basics of urban form, placemaking, and fundamental urban design processes, the second studio introduces the role of urban systems and systems processes in the context of a large portion of a city, a full town or borough, or a significant component of regional infrastructure. During this second of two fundamental urban design studios, elements of sustainability are introduced as are methods of evaluating their performance.

supplemented by a series of studio lectures and seminars that included systems methodologies and processes, tactical and holistic strategies, practice management tools, and storytelling. Urban design was approached from different perspectives of observation, emotional response, data analytics, acupuncture and tactical urbanism, and holistic sequential strategies which provided the studio with a range of design tools to approach complex situations.

Student presentations included informal pin-ups, team presentations, and two full-studio formal presentations to Wilkinsburg stakeholders and faculty.

The 2017 Urban Systems Studio began with the premise of envisioning Penn Avenue, the local main street corridor of Wilkinsburg, as the catalyst for regenerating this independent borough of 15,000 residents located at the edge of the City of Pittsburgh. Wilkinsburg has been undergoing a continuous disinvestment since 1960 and today is one-half the population of its heyday. The scale of the project quickly expanded to include the full Borough to understand the Avenue’s broader context as well as the effects and causes of the disinvestment process. Through analysis of the Borough’s attributes and present-day situation, the studio began to see that the problems were not merely physical, but also a combination of social, economic, and environmental factors that led to the Borough’s current condition. From this basis, the studio envisioned a robust series of actions to bring back this community. Rather than starting from the typical streetscape beautification scenario, the students developed a four-sequence strategy that begins with building the sense of community for all of its stakeholders before introducing strategic and catalytic actions that range from placemaking to create identity to a network of resident-led programs that strengthen community relationships.

We trust that you will enjoy the thoughtfulness of this graduate work and appreciate the strategic thinking behind this integrated approach to regenerating Wilkinsburg.

Stephen Quick Adjunct Professor Spring 2017

The studio experience was designed to also engage the graduate students in a variety of realistic project situations, from working individually to small teams to the entire studio functioning as a single team. The Wilkinsburg project was

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Stefan Gruber Assistant Professor

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Introduction The first chapter of our work will focus on giving an overall understanding to the borough of Wilkinsburg, our challenge presented by our client, WCDC (Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation), and our general observations from our walking tours and analysis of the borough..

The subsections in this chapter are - Process - History - Voices of Wilkinsburg - Impressions of Wilkinsburg - Current Initiatives of Wilkinsburg - Opportunities of Wilkinsburg - Where to Start

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Process The present work is the result of a semester long studio project at the Carnegie Mellon’s School of Architecture, MUD (Master of Urban Design) program. The given site, Wilkinsburg, is a practical exercise picked by Studio Professors Steve Quick and Stefan Gruber and assigned to the students the very first week of classes. The following section explores the different parts, assignments and work developed before presenting the final result.

learn and discover from experiences and similar outcomes in the post industrial city. That was an incredible opportunity to get in close contact with city officials, private developers, academics, artist and regular citizens that could share their understandings and point of views of how the Motor City went from being one of the most robust economic centers of the mid twentieth century to the current condition after years of decay until recent efforts to bring the city back.

We explored the many vacant lots, saw the community’s engagement and heard from the planning department of strategies they have implemented to revive the city.

During the first weeks of the semester the studio approached the engagement and study of Wilkinsburg through individual explorations on site in order to gain an understanding of unique perceptions and visions when visiting the borough for the first time. Additionally, the group conducted site analysis through interviews, GIS data mining, and frequent visits. Afterward, there was a construction of a conceptual framework around the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach, the subsequent work was divided between three groups that were assigned to gather and synthesize information according to the three branches of TBL; social, economic and ecologic. An extra approach, the research about the history of Wilkinsburg and the express busway, was also part. Studying these components allowed us to begin framing a design response that is respectful and cognizant of the historical context of Wilkinsburg, as well as one that is preparing it to be more sustainable in the future.

The rest of the semester developed as a single team work project starting from the feedback and recapitulation of the first half, and envision one single outcome by the end of the spring. The assignments of this part were part of an interest in refining details and uniting comprehensively elements that were explored previously.

The last month of classes, a pre-Final Review with faculty was established as a way to prepare the final work. This round of feedback helped to devoted the last weeks to fully organize the final proposal and the presentation. We began understanding the implications of the project, and learned about the many resources available to the community to fulfill our vision. In addition, two of our classmates, Tamara and Paul attended the National Main Street Conference, where they were able to discuss our plans with professionals, hear feedback, and learn about other successful Main Streets around the U.S.

Before the Mid-term Review, the class elaborated a framework with all the inputs generated. There were two different possible scenarios to be discussed in the review: a centralized Transit Oriented Development (TOD) scheme, and a decentralized grassroots approach. The intent of the mid semester evaluation was to generate a broad discussion between students, faculty and stakeholders of Wilkinsburg in order to gain a better understanding of which proposal is better suited for Wilkinsburg’s current state.

Finally, the work was condensed into one single set of chapters and sections which replicate the final project of four months of work. This work is also a result of other classes that in parallel add effort to develop a single proposal, in addition to numerous guest speakers, lectures, pin-ups and debates inside the class and several off-class activities that helped to spark the enthusiasm and initiative of all.

As part of the decompress process after the first half of the semester, the class took a field trip to Detroit in order to

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Eastern Market, Detroit

Artists playing under the open shed of the Eastern Market.

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History of Wilkinsburg Wilkinsburg originally settled in the mid 1700’s and was formed as a community in 1812. The borough was founded and developed by highly religious European immigrants. The borough has a remarkably high concentration of churches, mostly Protestant in denomination. After a brief period of independence Wilkinsburg was annexed into the City of Pittsburgh in 1868. After the merger, many residents felt uncomfortable with the city services, and new regulations. Almost immediately Wikinsburgers began advocating for independence in order to provide better control over municipal services, and to maintain the moral integrity of the community. During this same time Wilkinsburg was declared a legally dry community, and, with its proliferation of religious congregations the borough became known colloquially as “The Holy City” and “The City of Churches”. In 1887, a new independence was granted.

rise to the businesses. The commuter railway played a major in the growth of the business. Family owned businesses flourished through years, bustling with visiting shoppers. Most Wilkinsburg residents worked outside of the borough, making it historically a place for commuting workers.

The borough’s decline Wilkinsburg grew non-stop until late the 1950s, when it reached a population of more than 30,000 residents.

After the completion of the Parkway East (I-376), a limited-access freeway,the area’s commuters began taking the new, faster artery into and out of the city, significantly reducing the traffic flow on Penn Avenue through Wilkinsburg. With better transportation and access and relatively new and inexpensive real estate development catering to the middle class began to occur in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. At this same time Wilkinsburg’s white working class also began buying new homes in the suburbs, this marked the beginning of Wilkinsburg’s population decline which continues today.

Wilkinsburg`s first train rumbled through the village in 1852 and streetcars arrived in the early 1890s connecting points east to the Borough and with convenient and rapid access for its residents to downtown Pittsburgh.

The Population of the Borough began to increase dramatically as new residential areas were developed year after year.

As with many of other communities in Allegheny County, from the 1960s onward the region began a disinvestment period that has lasted over 50 years. The region’s corporate and manufacturing base began losing its vitality as local business moved to the South and Southwest where labor was less expensive. Pittsburgh’s economic foundation based mostly on heavy manufacturing was significantly eroded, and the Pittsburgh area witnessed a 25 percent loss of its population, particularly after the 1982 collapse of Pittsburgh’s steel industry. Residential settlement patterns shifted as well. The population of Wilkinsburg was hit harder than most communities as its residential population decreased by more than a half.

And along with the flight to the suburbs, Wilkinsburg’s demographics changed from majority white to 2/3 Black.

Elevating of the railroad tracks in 1916 was a significant event for Wilkinsburg, as the original tracks had been at grade and accidents were frequent. A new train station was also inaugurated that same year, and became the pride of the community Many municipal improvements were undertaken during this time, such as, paved streets, underground utilities, and establishing fire and police departments. A Thriving sense of pride enveloped the Borough.

Wilkinsburg good connectivity with the regional business hub’s of East Liberty and Downtown Pittsburgh, gave

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Second Presbytarian Church, 1919

Center St. and Wallace Ave, 1909

Rail road street level, 1911

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Map of Wilkinsburg, 1903

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The Borough lost its robust public transit connectivity with the eastern suburbs and Downtown when the streetcars and the train station ceased operations in 1967 and 1964 respectively. The automobile dominance of the era turned parts of Penn Avenue into an auto-oriented environment, particularly west of today’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr./East Busway. Subsequently, the business and retail sector also changed as the automobile’s convenience created new types of commercial development, such as the East Hills Shopping Mall and the Monroeville Mall that also contributed to the borough’s retail disinvestment.

In recent years, though, there’s been hope.

Federal, State, County and local agencies have been working on several initiatives for reinvestment. For example, the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation, founded in 2008, is now working to bring positive change to Wilkinsburg by helping local businesses locate within the borough, spreading the word about ongoing events, and bringing the people of Wilkinsburg together. Many other physical and business efforts are being made as well. The work of this Studio, with its observations and analysis of the Borough, may, hopefully, contribute to its future

At the same time, changes in the residential community, as families became more prosperous and moved to other areas in Allegheny County, resulted in vacant properties and areas of blight. Wilkinsburg still has strong pockets of middle and upper-middle-class families, but also began to have large pockets of lower-income transitional families, creating pockets of segregation with different social and economic characteristics.

Civic unrest and school strikes further destabilized the population. Tax increases, caused by a shrinking residential and commercial tax base, helped to further deteriorate the urban fabric by creating pockets of vacant properties and abandoned buildings scattered throughout most of the borough and the contemplation of a full school district merger with the City of Pittsburgh.

The 1983 opening of the Martin Luther King, Jr./East Busway reestablished Wilkinsburg’s former rail and streetcar node connection to Downtown and some of the Eastern suburbs. With public buses serving as the preferred mode of public transport, this vital connection facilitated the beginning of reinvestment in the East End. However, Wilkinsburg has yet to experience the promise of reinvestment, such as the transit-oriented development recently seen in East Liberty

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Old streetcars at Wood St, 1960s

Old Penn Hotel demolished in 2014

Fire of abandon houses

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Voices of Wilkinsburg At the beginning of the Wilkinsburg Urban Design Strategies planning process, the studio visited the borough, walked around the neighborhood and talked with a number of residents and shop owners for their opinions on the borough. Through these observations and conversations, the studio learned about the boroughs’ strengthens and challenges. Most of them were individuals who invested in the community or were local residents.

The studio heard the voices of local residents talking about “lots of vacant properties in the main street district”, “high taxation”, “not enough supportive room for children to grow in the borough”, “limited amenities to support vibrant community life within the borough.”

The studio also heard from the group of people who live outside the borough, but they have certain social and economic connection with the borough about “not enough localized visible investment in the main street district, and the difficulty in seeing the activities beyond Penn Avenue”, “the borough has a low homeownership rate” and “a bad perception of community living in Wilkinsburg makes [eateries] scared to deliver food during the night.”

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Local residents walking along Penn Avenue

Local youth crossing Wood Street .

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Impressions of Wilkinsburg Architectural Context Besides listening to Wilkinsburg people, the studio walked around the business district and its surrounding residential areas. With these field trips, either with the studio professors or individually, the studio observed that the business district is still rich in architectural context, such as the Asian Market building on Penn Avenue, the Pennsylvania Railroad Station next to the Busway, and the local bank building on Wood Street.

Many of Wilkinsburg’s residential buildings are majestic structures and the Borough’s typical brick residences would command six-figure valuations if located in other neighborhoods.

The borough’s former train station sits unutilized today.

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Historical buildings have been used for local financial services and public services.

Ross Ave is an important street within the Central Business District

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Auto-Centric Uses However, the Studio felt that Wilkinsburg’s newer commercial developments on Penn Avenue are more auto-centric and less vibrant with respect to creating an active street life on many weekdays, with the exception of the 700 block of Penn Avenue. As the photographs tell, many auto-oriented businesses, such as the fast food drive-through businesses, face this regional corridor having replaced former street and pedestrian-oriented storefronts. Unlike the vibrant street life of the 1960s, today’s Penn Avenue main street corridor is now marked with many vacant lots and long blocks that are much less attractive for pedestrian foot traffic.

Many auto oriented services attract vehicular traffic to the borough.

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Drive-through food services provides convenience for drivers, however, they decreases pedestrian traffic.

Wilkinsburg contains numerous convenience stores and fast food establishments catered to vehicular traffic.

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Vacancy Due to impacts of freeway construction and suburbanization, depopulation within the Borough led to the lack of commercial investment. This process of commercial disinvestment paired with population loss compounded to leave many vacant commercial properties, residential lots, and homes in the borough.

Many buildings along Penn Avenue sit vacant and in poor condition.

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Vacant lot along Penn Avenue.

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Penn Avenue Streetscape Improvements The studio noticed the streetscape improvements implemented in the 1990s along Penn Avenue, which included street lighting and new wayfinding signage; however, it is hard to see these improvements without paying close attention. Several buildings have been demolished and vacant lots have been grassed. One parcel contains a gazebo for programed events and vacant-lot tree planting has visually improved the appearance along the Avenue.

Decorative street lighting and signage along Penn Avenue

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New street furniture on Penn Avenue

The borough has a vast collection of Mural Art completed by numerous artists over the years.

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Travel Modes Besides the many auto-oriented businesses, the studio determined that vehicular travel is the most dominated travel mode in the Main Street Business District. Other modes were observed, such as bike, pedestrian traffic and bus transit. These tend to group at the busway station; but are not visible from Penn Avenue.

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Current Initiatives of Wilkinsburg Besides these observations, the Studio also investigated the Borough’s current planning and other initiatives currently underway. From researching these efforts and talking with the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation (WCDC), the studio understood the combined efforts to be targeted at borough revitalization in several ways since 2010. They include deploying transit-oriented development to strengthen the Borough’s main commercial streets (Penn Avenue and Wood Street), including a facade improvement program, a main street beautification plan, and renovating the historic railroad station adjacent to the Busway (at Hay Street and Ross Avenue). Other rebuilding programs include building renovations and instituting community gardens.

800 Penn Avenue A focus on improving the 800 Block of Penn Avenue to demonstrate large-scale redevelopment.

Wood Street Identification of Wood Street as a recognized example of multi-use redevelopment.

Future Residential Developments High priority, complementary residential redevelopment.

Wilkinsburg School District Advocacy for school district improvements.

Green Building and energy conservation

Additionally, increased interest in sustainable measures for a more resilient borough has led to initiatives that prevent sewage overflow and downstream flooding in the Nine Mile Run watershed. And on-site stormwater management strategies have been implemented as selfinitiated sustainable measures.

Funding for free/low-cost residential renovations for area homeowners Zoning Ordinance updating Wilkinsburg vacant home tour

Current Borough initiatives include: Two-Way Street conversion Conversion of the One-way Avenues that parallel Penn Avenue.

Streetscape improvements Including street furniture and wayfinding improvements.

Adopting the TreeVitalize Program To increase the number of street trees throughout the borough.

Storefront facade renovation That focuses on Penn Avenue and Wood Street.

Train Station renovation proposal Penn Lincoln Hotel site development Identification of the Penn Lincoln Hotel property site as a keystone development and anchor for future Penn Avenue projects.

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Sidewalk renovation efforts.

Urban farming initiatives.

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Early exploration of the MUD studio throughout Wilkinsburg.

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Wood Street looking north from South Avenue

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Penn Avenue looking west from the mid-700 block

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Ross Avenue looking west along the 900 block

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Interpretations of Wilkinsburg With an initial understanding of Penn Avenue and its surrounding area through listening to individuals and site observations, the studio also researched demographic, economic, and ecological data to better understand the neighborhood context before developing a framework for several redevelopment strategies.

To facilitate the creation of a vision, the studio produced a series of diagrams which paired our analysis of the borough with other systems based analytics (social, economic, environmental), in order to reveal deeper understandings to the challenges the borough has and continues to face.

From these diagrams, the studio identified key factors that were not so apparent at first glimpse, that stood out as a means to forge a holistic concept moving forward.

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Social

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Amenities Wilkinsburg possess rich assets ranging from local food businesses and schools anchoring different sections of the borough. The abundance of neighborhood churches, an asset of “the City of Churches,� provide many programs for young children and seniors; however, due to the declining residential population, they do not appear to be collaborating with social service organizations to sustain a strong presence in the community’s revitalization.

Grocery store / markets Fast food / snacks Retail Beauty Healthcare Education Church

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Income Distribution The borough has a wide range of income levels; however, the central core’s median household income is fairly low compared to areas close to the periphery of the borough.

Additionally, high taxation compared to the City of Pittsburgh has kept away many potential new residents and is a deterrent to current residents.

<$50,000 <$32,000 <$28,000 >$20,000

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Segregation The borough has an assortment of ethnicities.

The boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two most dominant ethnic groups are blacks and whites, comprising of 67% and 28% of the population respectively, per 2010 U.S.. census data. These two groups are disassociated with one another due to physical boundaries such as the busway, and economic disparities.

Predominantly white Predominantly black Each $20,000

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Economic

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Property Value The income distribution also reflects property values.

Property values east of the Busway are relatively low compared to the Busway’s west side and the borough’s central business core has a high rate of tax delinquency. This information shows a very unhealthy property value downward spiral: foreclosures and abandonment decrease nearby property values, with each instance fueling the spiraling effect and a greater number of tax delinquencies.

The borough’s household tax delinquency is now as high as 25 percent. With Wilkinsburg’s low homeownership rate compared to the City of Pittsburgh, the effect creates a bad perception for future home ownership throughout the eastern part of the Borough.

Median property value $155,000 $75,000 $32,500 $26,000 $23,000 $17,000 $5,000 Property tax delinquency +50% 30-40% -15%

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Building Condition The central business district has a very high concentration of buildings in poor condition Most of them appear to have been vacant for a long time, making it difficult to attract new businesses and investors to purchase and renovate these properties, particularly when there is not a vibrant community life in the Main Street Business District.

Unoccupied or partially unoccupied Vacant lot Building in poor condition

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Regional Competition Wilkinsburgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Main Street Business District, located along the regional Penn Avenue corridor, is not competing with the other commercial centers. On the other hand, the boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic employment and business location along the East Busway has not resulted in enough economic development and job opportunities for the community to become selfsustaining.

Regional employment center

Five minutes driving radius Five minutes walking radius M.L.K. Jr. East Busway Penn Ave.

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Commuter Flow The Wilkinsburg Busway Station has the highest ridership of all Busway stops, except for Downtown Pittsburgh, and a high volume of commuter traffic continues to use Penn Avenue in both directions.

However, these groups of people are just passing through the neighborhood. With the Busway stationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location set away and not visible from Penn Avenue and the deterioration of the Penn Avenue corridor with its little street life, there is little incentive for commuter traffic to contribute to Wilkinsburgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic benefit.

Number of commuters Bus route Annual daily traffic

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Informal Businesses When traditional businesses have difficulty keeping their doors open, the economic situation often leads to development of an Informal economy and the studio found this to true in Wilkinsburg.

Jitney services observed at Wood Street and Penn Avenue provide many Wilkinsburg unemployed residents with the ability to make some cash ferrying residents throughout the Wilkinsburg and neighboring Homewood communities. A local soul food business run by a traditional American food kitchen owner, Hosea Ghafoor, has worked with his wife over many years to cook for parties or provide on-demand catering services for other catering businesses located outside Wilkinsburg. Another example is Kontara Morphis, a local dancing competition winner, who started teaching dancing for kids in Homewood. She found low-priced rental space in the St. Stephenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Community Church and now the majority of her students are from Wilkinsburg families.

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Environmental

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Pollution In the ecological analysis, Wilkinsburg experiences high air pollution concentrations along the two major regional corridors, Penn Avenue and the Parkway East, due to the boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location and its auto-oriented services, which is bad for residents living near these two arteries.

Pollution level

Good

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Not so good

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Topography The flat topography along the main street business district provides good development potential and the Boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proximity to regional green assets provides great living amenities for its residents. However, these green assets are not well connected nor apparent within the borough.

Public parks Historical watershed Current watershed Contour line

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Impervious Surface Impervious surfaces are abundant due to the many downtown parking lots, including the 700+ space Busway commuter parking lot, and the tree canopy and landscaping coverage in the Main Street District is sparse and not well maintained.

While the parking lots are supposed to capture revenue for the borough, they remain relatively unused, and the lack of street trees is a deterrent to encouraging an active pedestrian experience.

Trees in public green space Trees along streets Trees in residential areas Trees in parking lots Pervious surface Pervious surface in parking lots Pervious pavement Impervious pavement

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Opportunities of Wilkinsburg From the data analysis of the borough, the studio saw a lot of opportunities and identified a series of goals to assist with creating different design approaches to form the strategies and vision of the community.

For the overall concept, two general nodes and an overall strategic pattern became apparent for the Wilkinsburg Community; Civic Commons, Strategic Development, and the Neighborhood Network.

In the following are listed a few observations and strategies to support design goals, sorted into triple bottom line social, economic, and environmental categories.

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1 The borough has a great deal of vacant spaces capable of potential activities. Beyond the traditional proposals for large capital investment and existing strategies being explored by WCDC, the studio is proposing a bottom up revitalization process.

Opportunity Vacant spaces.

Goal

The redevelopment framework encourages the entire community of residents to take an active role in managing vacant spaces. The upkeep of these spaces will in turn increase their equity in the neighborhood. In this manner, residents could fully engage with the development process and help reprogram borough spaces through their talents, allowing for a shift away from instances of blight and towards a more welcoming communal atmosphere.

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Encourage whole community to lead in reprogramming borough spaces.

Why? Increase visibility of existing efforts and reframe perception of blight to spaces of opportunities.

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2 Within the Borough we see a great amount of civic assets currently existent amongst community and religious institutions. Instead of building new, we identified we can strengthen the connections between whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already existing.

Opportunity Abundant existing places of assembly, including churches and schools.

Goal

In order to establish a more complete and functional community services, the redevelopment framework will strengthen these local institutional connections, and help form a network of relationships to encourage these assets working together and complementary each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s uses.

Strengthen the institutional connection, and form a network of relationships.

Why? Complete community service functions through utilize the existing civic assets.

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3 The borough has a good mix of housing stock and a wide range of citizens with varied incomes, most of which near poverty. In order to retain the existing residents and attract future residents, the borough should provide and support a diverse range of housing options.

Opportunity Good neighborhood housing stock.

Goal

Instead of building new at the early stage of revitalization process, the redevelopment framework will maintain housing stock and affordability for both local residents and future residents through transforming these housing stock to diverse and attractive housing options.

Maintain housing stock and affordability.

Why? Retain existing residents and attract new residents through diverse housing options.

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4 Wilkinsburg is located at the intersection of two major regional corridors - M.L.K. Jr. East Busway and Penn Avenue. The Importance of the intersection of Penn Avenue and the Busway should be capitalized on as a catalyst for creating connections between local and regional flows

Opportunity Intersection of major corridors - M.L.K. Busway and Penn Ave. Goal

The redevelopment framework will take advantage of its regional position through attracting mixed capital investments to the adjacent area of the interaction and create sufficient impact on Main Street Business District.

Take advantage of this regional location.

Furthermore, the design should improve local accessibility for commuters to locals

Why? Maximize economic potential through local access.

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5 With a prime location within the East End and along the Busway, Wilkinsburg hosts a high volume of the regional commuter population. This population could potentially serve as a major component of the consumer base for the borough.

Opportunity High commuter traffic.

Goal

The redevelopment framework will capture the commuter flow for local economic growth, in this manner, the borough can create a diverse business portfolio and attract more residents to relocate to the borough.

Capture commuter flow for economic benefits.

Why? Increase consumer base and exposure to community life.

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6 Wilkinsburg contains a lot of entrepreneurial spirit and an abundance of informal businesses of which serves an important part of its overall economic backbone. The redevelopment framework seeks to improve means of engagement and incentives for these enterprises, providing them spaces for operating and incentives to be formally established. By doing this, Wilkinsburg will have a better capacity to encourage business growth and localization.

Opportunity Diverse economy and many informal businesses.

Goal Encourage business growth and localization.

Furthermore, with a healthy and diverse economic portfolio, Wilkinsburg could increase the local tax base and build economic resilience to neighboring and regional business districts.

Why? Increase tax base and economic resilience.

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7 Beyond providing avenues for residents to control and manage adjacent lots to their private properties, the redevelopment framework will look to utilize strategic locations of open space for the fulfilling of ecological purposes of green infrastructure and also urban agriculture.

Opportunity Vacant lots.

Goal

In this manner, Wilkinsburg could increase local climate resilience and grow quality local food for the residents.

Preserve open/green spaces for ecological resilience.

Why? Reduce risks of storm water overflow and grow quality food locally.

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8 Wilkinsburg is adjacent to many regional recreational and business destinations, however, none are well connected.

Opportunity Proximity to regional recreation and business destinations.

The redevelopment framework will provide better pedestrian and bicycle connections to these regional assets. Providing a robust framework of alternative connections will allow the borough to reduce its carbon footprint and add additional travel modes for local residents, further, create a healthy lifestyle in Wilkinsburg.

Goal Increase pedestrian and bicycle connections.

Why? Reduce carbon footprint and provide additional travel modes.

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9 Wilkinsburgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Main Street district has close adjacencies to the boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major community resources. However, the walkability amongst these resources leaves little to desire. The redevelopment framework will capitalize on the proximity of these community resources, allowing for a pleasant walk and avenues for connectivity between resources.

Opportunity Walkable neighborhood.

Goal Improve pedestrian experiences.

Improving the physical environment is paramount to creating a vibrant street life; improving the perception of safety, and furthermore, provide better air quality to improve the pedestrian experience.

Why? Create street vibrancy, safety, and air quality.

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Interventions To understand the myriad of interventions happening throughout the network of the borough, the studio devised six separate programs to function across four distinct sequences, allowing for growth to occur in an organic framework.

The Four Sequences - Building Community - Strategic Interventions - Building New - Market Established The Six Programs - Housing - Schools/Civic Service - Church - Green Space & Farms - Parking - Strategic Development While structured the programs within the matrix need not happen in a sequential order, within their set sequence.

This allows and assures the development envisioned to occur simultaneously.

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Building the Community While existing assets within the borough are robust, they have been underutilized for decades resulting in a decreasing of quality of life. Beginning with these assets as the foundation for eventual revitalization, the first intervention begins by capturing and developing thee nearby social services to create synergies among them as the means to accentuate the vibrancy of the borough..

Items performed perforrmed during p g this time - Borough pauses paauses vacant buildings demolition - Community Center (former Wilkinsburg H.S.) - Daycare - Community Schools - Commencee evening adult education classes - Church/Sch Church/School hool coalitions on vacant lot programmingg - Land Bank/ Bank/Trust /Trust - Retention & development of vacant lots - Side lot program begins

While the Borough views vacant building demolition as a means of ending blight and providing property for future development, the studio perceives it differently as the loss of sound housing stock that can eventually be saved. ed.

The Studio suggests discontinuing the vacant building demolition program unless there is the possibility of structural collapse.

Vacant Buildings and Lots already cleared of derelict buildings will fall into the ownership of the newly minted Wilkinsburg community Lank Bank & Trust, a dual agency capable of preserving lands and offering lands for development With these agencies in place current residents can have the ability to claim ownership of vacant parcels adjacent to their lot, adding equity to theirr home, and neighborhood by having the power to maintain ain or develop more land.

In a partnership between Schools and Churches, near adjacent vacant lots can be put into community use, such ch as community gardens.

In utilizing existing infrastructure of the Elementary Schools, Wilkinsburg can provide the community skills training by transforming them into community schools, capable of educating the public after the traditional school hours. In doing so, residents can learn about ld options for maintaining lots via urban farming or skill build entrepreneurial talents into new formalized jobs.

A concluding gesture will provide a Community Center at the former High School. Opening up this strategically located space allows us the opportunity for expanded and complementary services next door at the adjacent Hosanna House open to all of the community year-roundd and capable of services all age ranges

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Strategic Interventions Diverse housing strategies will be introduced during this sequence. With a focus on an overall reuse of existing assets, a focus on strengthening the businesses along the 800 block of Penn Avenue will occur through incentivizing new businesses to enter the borough while also offering tax breaks to those small business owners from the borough, to make informal business activities formal with a storefront shop.

Churches and schools continue to utilize vacant lots surrounding them, growing their urban farm and activated community spaces as needed. The new Community Center, at the former Wilkinsburg High School, gains more social services Churches, start to allow supplementary use of the religious buildings available within the borough for reuse during non-service days and hours, for community meetings, event rental space, co-working, and more.

The Port Authority starts to get engaged in the renewed measures in the borough And works with the Borough Parking Authority to strategically relocate parking to existing borough lots, allowing for the development of the Port Authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s park and ride lot.

Given this incentive the Port Authority pursues relocating their Busway stop to Penn Avenue and capping off the Busway Station with a Pavilion. This new development will allow for redevelopment of the area of the station, opening up the viaduct to allow for a more porous and welcoming experience for all passengers to enjoy.

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Items performed during uring g this time - Land Trust - Churches and Schools ols use use vacant lots as urban farms, and educational agriculture culturre training/learning - Penn Avenue new businesses busineesses (via subsidized measures) ures)) - 800 block bldg. renovation ovatioon - Community Center (former (form mer Wilkinsburg H.S.), re-programming for more social service - Churches - Job Training, After school choool care - Port Authority Parking ng Lot Loot reduction - CBD Parking Lot Incentive centivve - New Busway Stationn Construction - Co-Housing

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Building New With the repositioning of resources and growing identities taking foot, new investment in the vision forward commences with new construction and programming Within the neighborhoods of the Borough Co-Housing pilot projects begin across a demonstrative blocks, infilling blocks primed for redevelopment with affordable and market rate homes. Valuable development land for mixed use and diverse residential homes, commences around the TOD development. Further development of lands happen as the market finds them suitable. The creation of a secondary daycare and constructing a parking garage to service all the new destinations within the TOD area happen as relationships with the existing co-working and light manufacturing spaces begin to be created.

Items performed during this time - Co-Housing - Pilot Blocks across 3 blocks - Subsidized Senior Living - Busway Station - Parking Lot TOD Development continues - TOD Preschool/ commuter daycare opens - Underpass connecting west industrial corridor with Susquehanna project - Strengthen industrial â&#x20AC;&#x153;maker-spaceâ&#x20AC;? identity West of Busway to Susquehanna Form community connections with surrounding neighborhoods

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Market Established As the market begins to understand the catalyst effect and the borough starts to grow by itself, the business climate starts to re-engage the borough, redevelopment of other open parcels will commence With lands head in the stewardship of the Land Bank and Trust start to attract development attention, further infilling of homes via Co-Housing takes off across the borough. Existing buildings primed for renovation and conversion take off. Notably the former Allison School is converted into mixed income housing and the 900 Block of Penn begins to redevelop into mix-use as well. With interest for development fervent, the 700 Block begins to fill in its gaps with new development while supporting services for all the new businesses and residents take off borough-wide. From an extensive bike lane network to pedestrian trails and a system of community farm plots across the borough.

The last portions of the Port Authority lands infill with new development as a defined industrial/office corridor takes shape in and around the TOD. Associations across the Busway to the existing co-working space available within the Susquehanna Building and the Western light Industrial spaces of the borough begin to dissolve the physical barriers between them.

Items performed during this time - Infilling vacant lots/renovating vacant homes - Bike lanes & trail network - Allison School residential conversion - 900 block mixed-use development - 700 Penn Ave + Westside of Busway - Co-Housing spreads throughout borough - Community Farming - Fully develop urban farm system (ripple effect) - Partly renovation of the watershed with green infrastructure - Preserve green pockets along Penn Ave - Identify & promote entrepreneurs to infill vacant bldgs/lots

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Matrix structure

Programs

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pages 116 - 117

Strategic Interventions

pages 110 - 111

pages 118 - 119

Building New

Schools/Civic Service

pages 108 - 109

pages 110 - 111

Market Established

Sequences

Housing

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pages 112 - 113

Churches

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Green Space & Farms

Parking

Strategic Development

pages 126 - 127

pages 126 - 127

pages 130 - 131

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pages 130 - 131

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pages 136 - 137

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Housing: current situation The perception of continued decline throughout the borough is heightened by very low density, high vacancy rates and blight taking over the neighborhood. Homes are passed down through generations and often end up in the hands of someone uninterested in living/ investing within the borough. This ultimately results in lack of proper care, absentee landlords, and many tax delinquent properties. Subsequently, there is less revenue to spend on improving the overall quality of the Borough, making it an undesirable place to live in comparison to surrounding neighborhoods with a similar housing stock.

Medium house/condo value $79,500 92.3% Tax Delinquent 10% Owner Occupied 90% Renter Occupied

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Housing: building community Through the use of a newly established Community Land Trust, vacant parcels and properties can be preserved from future speculation. Current residents can improve the affordability of their properties while also adding value by participating in Side Yard leases, allowing for the ability to lease lots adjacent.

Once the neighborhood can sustain more residents these vacant parcels can be converted into new developments, at an affordable rate, below market prices.

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Hosanna House

Center St.

High School

Penn Ave

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Housing: strategic interventions + building new Strategic interventions: Identify different places for diverse housing projects according to geographic strategies and housing conditions.

Building new (zoom in): Senior Housing adding diversity to the activities on Penn Ave. Pilot co-housing served as a prototype.

Low rent catalytic program New development + Affodable housing Housing renovation

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Housing: market established Diverse and stable market for housing established through the use of newer housing strategies: Sideyard leases, Co-housing developments, and multifamily housing pilot blocks

Potential infill multifamily housing pilot projects Co-housing Sideyard lease

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Schools/Civic Service: current situation With the transition of Wilkinsburg High School students being bussed to Pittsburgh, there is an opportunity to create a civic commons connection between Hosanna House and new social services being offered in the former High School building. Additionally, the elementary schools throughout the borough will adopt an â&#x20AC;&#x153;open schoolâ&#x20AC;? model, providing spaces for further education, social networking, and job training opportunities after hours to young adults and single parents. Currently, Hosanna House and the areas churches/mosques offer many services for seniors and younger kids, the civic commons will service the gaps in between of their coverage.

90.8% of population has only a high school education 1/3 of households are single-parent led #28 of single-parent households in the U.S $33,200 median household income Most common occupation: food preparation & service

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Schools/Civic Service: building community The vacant building of the former Wilkinsburg High School will work in partnership with Hosanna House.

The existing Turner School and Kelly Schools will serve as communal points for the surrounding neighborhoods of the borough

School

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Schools/Civic Service: strategic interventions

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Churches: current situation Wilkinsburg, once known as the city of churches, has many religious institutions that are both active and inactive throughout the borough. We see the role of the church as a key component to reviving the sense of community throughout the borough for those who may or may not be religious.

Because of its strong congregational support, the churches hold the potential to have the greatest, most visible impact of change within the community.

90% of churches are not in use after 3pm

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Zoom in

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Churches: building community Tapping into the momentum of active churches throughout Wilkinsburg will help build community and strengthen social services through the activation of common spaces.

Active churches

Less active churches

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Green Space & Farms: current situation With many â&#x20AC;&#x153;missing teethâ&#x20AC;? throughout the Borough there is the potential to convert a chain of vacant lots into a pedestrian and bike corridor, linking the neighborhood to the TOD station, 9 mile run, and Frick Park. Vacant lots provide areas for communal spaces, team building exercises, and sustainable improvements. They are a low cost, but big impact asset to the community that will help to improve the overall look of the borough.

19% Vacant Land <1.5 grocery stores per 10,000 residents Lack of access to healthy, affordable food options

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Green Space & Farms: building community + building new Building community (zoom in): Surface Improvement of Vacant lots around Hosanna House and residential lots.

Mobilizing Community for urban farm/green spaces and churches.

Building new: Urban gardens, preserve areas and trails contribute to the holistic system of ecology.

Preserve areafor sustainability Urban garden Trail and bike routes

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Parking: current situation With many parking lots throughout the borough being underutilized, the borough has the potential to capture the activity of the 700 cars that park and ride daily at the Port Authority lot. It is best to partner with Port Authority to offer free parking throughout the borough and begin charging riders to park at the 700 parking lot (which will eventually be phased out). This will increase the activity along the main street district, and create a sense of safety, security, and constant activity along the main commercial corridors.

There is no need for a 1:1 replacement of parking spots as we envision a more localized community that increasingly uses public transportation.

700 capacity at the park&ride lot owned by the Port Authority.

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Parking: strategic interventions + building new Strategic interventions (blue): Port Authority Parking Lot reduction and relocation throughout the borough to strategic locations that improve walkability and storefront exposure CBD Parking Lot Incentive/ Street Parking time penalty.

Building new (red): Parking extended through current Rite Aid Pharmacy parking lot, back of the 401 Penn Building, South Ave UMC Market Plaza, and the 700 block Wallace Ave parking lot.

The Port Authority park & ride sold for TOD housing development.

Relocation parking lot at Strategic Interventions Relocation parking lot at Building New Pedestrian route to Busway Station Surface lot at Strategic Interventions Surface lot at Building New

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Strategic Development: current situation With many â&#x20AC;&#x153;missing teethâ&#x20AC;? throughout the borough there is the potential to convert a chain of vacant lots into a pedestrian and bike corridor, linking the neighborhood to the TOD station, 9 mile run, and Frick Park. Vacant lots provide areas for communal spaces, team building exercises, and sustainable improvements. They are a low cost, but big impact asset to the community that will help to improve the overall look of the borough.

2,800 riders per day #94 in US cities with the highest amount of residents taking public transit to work Retail trade industry composes only 8% of the current market >15% unemployment rate

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Strategic Development: strategic interventions + building new Strategic interventions (red): Penn Ave new business investments, Widening of Busway Underpass, New Busway station opens at Penn Ave along with Plaza, 800 Block Building Renovation, Food vendors & pop-up street activity, East End Food Coop Relocation to 401 Penn Ave. Building new (yellow): Pedestrian ramp from industrial core to Susquehanna to complete pedestrian loop.

Park & Ride residential development starts.

TOD Preschool / daycare opens.

Mixed -use development along Penn Ave provides density and masks large surface parking lots.

Relocation East End Food Coop and underpass connection to Susquehanna Opening of underpass Commercial development Residential Mix-Use development

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Strategic Development: market established Identify and promote entrepreneurs to infill vacant buildings and lots, specifically identified, along CBD to complete blocks.

Strengthened industrial â&#x20AC;&#x153;maker-spaceâ&#x20AC;? identity is formed West of Busway to Susquehanna as vacant warehouses are purchased and converted into shared spaces/ galleries.

Form community connections with surrounding neighborhoods: Homewood, Penn Hills, Church Hill.

Potential area of influx for commercial

Potential area of influx for industrial

Commercial infill development Maker-space infill

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Master Plan

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Civic Center

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Civic center model view.

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The section from Hosanna House to the South Avenue United Methodist Church (South Ave UMC) has the most gathering spaces and has the best visibility of the Civic Center area along Penn Avenue north and south. The tactical changes begin within this space. The streets are painted and temporary planter boxes are placed along new bike lanes. As a result of the added amenities more residents start to use low-cost materials and tools to make subtle interventions. People acquire all kinds of information and share resources by engaging in community events hosted in newly activated vacant lots. Civic center begins using spaces in unique ways to create more flexible program space, and improving civic presence. The community and social programs housed within the former Wilkinsburg High School complement the array housed in Hosanna House. Both centers work in hand with the adjacent religious institutions to provide safe indoor activity spaces to kids and adequate outdoor space by using the vacant lots, with flexible programming such as outdoor classrooms, playgrounds, basketball fields and street chess games. The existing schools expand their service to support the whole person and engage a broader audience.

With the story of Jennifer, who is a single mother living in the neighborhood, we can have a sense of the life experienced by residents utilizing the City Center. Jennifer’s morning starts from dropping off her oldest son, Kevin, at Turner Elementary School.

She then drives down to the former high school which is now repurposed and programmed with a daycare center on the first floor. Her youngest son, Chris, spends the day here with other kids and the church next to the high school serves as indoor playground for kids so the younger kids won’t need to cross the busy street for playgrounds. Jennifer parks for free in the parking lot in front of the high school, then walks through the pocket garden cleaned and greened from it’s former disuse as a vacant lot.

She grabs her breakfast at the restaurant next to the garden and walks along Penn Avenue to the bus station to take the bus to downtown. Later in the afternoon, after dismissal Kevin leaves Turner School and takes the bus circulator to Hosanna House for after-school programs. Jennifer comes back from work to either coteach the kids or take further education courses via adult education classes . With the knowledge gain within the borough’s expanded educational offerings, Jennifer is able to apply new skills first hand managing the community kitchen and farm next to the South Ave UMC. By attending the events in the church, Jennifer has the chance to meet another single mom and they makes an agreement to rotate babysitting their kids so that they both have free time to run errands and shop at the new Market along Penn Avenue.

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Commons plaza

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Strategic Development

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New Busway Station Model view

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The new mixed-income residential section within the strategic development area is a place where new residents, families, and existing Wilkinsburgers can engage with the borough.

Taking advantage of the location of the station, and the services and amenities that the station has to offer, residents in the new areas of the strategic development can benefit from living within walking distance of multiple options for commuting to work.

The new iconic station with itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accentuated canopy, will heighten the highly used station and signify a new plaza surrounding it. The plaza will help facilitate the capacity for increased ridership as the neighborhood grows. Within the plaza will be support services like a daycare, and breakout space for food trucks and cafes to service the scores of people crossing paths from business to home.

Working with developers, the acquisition and repurposing of the 401 Penn Avenue building, adjacent to the busway, into a mixed industries building with a new market as its anchor tenant will create a destination point along the busway to travel to, for those in search for fresh food options within the East End. Within the Plaza space for the TOD station, the opening up of the viaduct of the busway and rail line allows for more visual and physical spatial connections to other sides of the busway feel more natural. Thanks to the porousness, the plaza will inspire an atmosphere that invites commuters and locals to linger and interact.

The renovated historic train station and the western edge of the CBD become capable of blending seamlessly with the new busway station, ensuring the sites are connected with several points of attractions and serves as a model for the development of the whole area.

With the story of Thomas, who is a younger adult living with his family in one of the new residential developments we have a sense of the typical life of a resident within the strategic development site. Thomas works nearby and usually walks his kids to school before continuing on to work, while his wife commutes downtown from the station. The busway station becomes the final gathering point for the family as they grab breakfast before continuing on their daily routines. During the afternoon or weekend, the station is again the spot of interactions where ones can meet friends, or make new connections.

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New Busway Station plaza at Penn Ave.

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Envision The Way forward for Wilkinsburg is through itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Community. Using the community as a Catalyst for change to occur will always be pivotal for any future development. In recognizing, respecting, and rejuvenating the community, a change in the dynamics of what Wilkinsburg is will come.

Wilkinsburg has the potential to beâ&#x20AC;Ś A community of urban farms which will feed 10% of the population.

The next community to house tech startups and maker spaces The community with strong community centers capable of reeducating the population at every stage of their lives.

A community that takes care of seniors and provides a welcoming atmosphere for them to thrive.

The Borough known for the a Great Marketplace.

The Borough known for an active civic life.

The Borough where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d want to live, work, and play.

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Yidan: We shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait until large investment comes. To start from the tactical changes is realistic and feasible.

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Chun: To provide good education resource to kids is the key to attracting families.

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Ernest: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really important that the schools can serve different age groups of people and become a civic center to blur the invisible boundary.

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Ankita: To embrace history doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean we need to renovate everything but to take advantage of the history and help people building community pride.

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Paul: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important that the busway serves its commute purpose, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also important to not only think of the users as commuters but to capture them as well.

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Lu: I find the vacant lots canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work alone, once they are connected with community assets, they have the power to bring the community alive.

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Tamara: Sometimes, the design strategy is not physical interventions, but rather design can occur from the inside-out.

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THANKS Thank you to both the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation, and to all the residents of the Borough for the opportunity to explore academic solutions to the Main Street corridor of Penn Avenue.

We hope that our goals and visions for the area have successfully aligned with those of the community; sparking excitement for future development and internal growth.

Please use this report as a toolkit to advocate for change towards a more ecological, social and economically sustainable community.

Additionally, we especially thank our Guest speakers throughout the semester, to whom we owe much of our new found knowledge; as well as the critics who attended our reviews and provided great feedback that pushed our design further each time.

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Professors Steve Quick Stefan Gruber Master of Urban Design Students Ernest Bellamy Tamara Cartwright Yidan Gong Paul Moscoso Riofrio Ankita Patel Chun Zheng Lu Zhu In cooperation with Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation (WCDC)