Preservation of Atlanta’s Pittsburgh Neighborhood
Once it was home to so many industrial jobs that it reminded the neighbors of smoky northern cities, so they took to calling this part of Atlanta “Pittsburgh.” Neighborhoods like this one are revitalized step by step by many people; planning allows the public and private effort to be coordinated in a great neighborhood building enterprise with some idea of what the whole is meant to become as it evolves. At the urging of a spinoff nonprofit from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, in 2012 the Dover-Kohl design team helped establish community consensus and restore the community’s expectations, through hands-on design exercises with citizens. That shared vision laid the groundwork for the future public support necessary for both preservation and redevelopment. The results so far are laid out in an extensive Annie E. Casey Foundation report, “Affordable Housing in Pittsburgh” (published July 2020).
The plan crystallizes the desires of Pittsburgh’s citizenry into build-able, functional visions, and provides doable instructions for the non-profit organizations, residents, governments, and private investors.
Balance, above all, is the theme; the many authors of this plan struggled to find equilibrium between equally important goals of historic preservation and a spirit of newness. The team insisted that the plan include basics upfront like cleaning up vacant lots, preserving affordability, and improving safety while working toward the desired urban image for the heart of the community.
