Northshore Development

The Northside community in Pittsburgh is made up of 18 individual neighborhoods. These communities have been devastated by 50 years of urban renewal and redevelopment projects. Projects like Allegheny Center, Interstate 279 with its massive interchange, and the Three Rivers Stadium, did not benefit the people of the Northside and in fact contributed to decline of this once vital, growing and independent area.  Those developments went forward without, or in spite of, the input, involvement or voices of Northsiders.  

Northside renewal and redevelopment projects forced the relocation of poor, working class and minority communities.  The projects destroyed vibrant urban neighborhoods.  Once thriving neighborhoods were plagued by redlining, segregation, vacant buildings and lots, changed traffic patterns and urban pedestrian malls that blocked vehicular street access. Now the poor are concentrated in isolated housing projects. Those who could afford it have moved away, undermining the tax base. Commuters bypass the existing and struggling commercial districts. Overall development has destabilized one of Pittsburgh’s major urban centers.

The North Shore represents a huge opportunity for the Northside. The large public investment in infrastructure, tax payer subsidies, and cut rate land prices demands a huge return to the people who live in those Northside neighborhoods that have been decimated by previous development projects.  Northside United is bringing together a broad coalition of community groups and residents to advocate for these benefits.  They know Northside best and what the neighborhoods need to make them be the best they can be.

Click here to read the complete Northside United White Paper.