Sunday, December 07, 2003

By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mulugetta Birru, executive director of Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority who also teaches urban planning, wasn't surprised at a statewide study by the Brookings Institution that showed the Pittsburgh region was struggling even more than other parts of the state.

Birru said he strongly agreed with the study's conclusions that the state has spent its economic development money to encourage development in outlying areas at the expense of cities and older towns. The clearest sign of the results of that practice, he said, was the construction of Interstate 279 into the North Hills, which sharply increased development in northern Allegheny and southern Butler counties.

"All of these things are encouraged by the government building highways," said Birru, who also previously was in charge of Allegheny County's development programs.

The study, released today, found that, at the same time the population in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties declined by 1.5 percent, the area developed new land at a staggering rate, and that people moved to outlying areas. From 1990 to 2000, the population in cities, boroughs and first-class townships, usually the older communities closer to the bigger cities, declined by 4.6 percent, but the number of people living in outlying, second-class townships grew by 6.5 percent.

That follows state trends of outward migration and a lack of investment in established cities and boroughs.

The sprawl into outlying areas at a time of declining population resulted in the area developing 201,800 acres of previously undeveloped land.

That translates to 8.5 acres for each new resident of the region, more than six times the national average of 1.3 acres.

The shift from a manufacturing-based economy to service industries also has been dramatic. Manufacturing has dropped from 28 percent of the region's jobs in 1970 to 10 percent in 2000, while service industries grew from 21 percent to 36 percent.

Birru and James Hassinger, executive director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, said the region was shifting its emphasis to reinvesting in existing communities and doing more joint planning.

"It is an area the region is pretty keenly aware of," said Hassinger, whose agency oversees development projects in a 10-county region. He said the agency had recommended that about 80 percent of its resources for highway and community development through 2030 be spent in existing areas.

Birru said Pittsburgh was concentrating efforts on developing more housing Downtown and in surrounding areas, places the study says would be attractive to young, new residents. The city is in the process of developing 300 apartments on the North Shore between Heinz Field and PNC Park and 350 as part of the South Side Works development. Another 115 are included in the final planning stage for the cultural district and 500 more are expected to be included in the plan to redevelop Fifth and Forbes avenues, Downtown.

"We have been fortunate in Pittsburgh that when we have built houses, people have come," Birru said, noting the quick sale of housing on Washington's Landing and Somerset at Frick.

As far as regional planning, Birru said he had been encouraged by joint zoning and tax sharing among Munhall, Homestead and West Homestead for The Waterfront development and a similar arrangement among the city, Penn Hills and Wilkinsburg for redevelopment of the former East Hills shopping center.

"I think it's a question of leadership," Birru said. "I think if you show people the benefits of working together and give them the right incentives, they will do the right thing."

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