October 26, 2007 | Volume 4, Issue 2
Memorandum on Pittsburgh’s Vacant Land Problem
The neglect of vacant land is a pressing issue. The City of Pittsburgh must develop a comprehensive strategy in order to combat the social, economic, and environmental drain caused by the presence of vacant land. This strategy should include streamlining the process for obtaining this land, mobilizing existing resources by creating a citywide taskforce, and designing and implementing green solutions to this problem.
Background
The City of Pittsburgh has 14,102 vacant lots.1 These parcels represent both the cause and manifestation of the social, environmental, and economic drain mentioned above. According to the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, neighborhood blocks with a high concentration of vacant land experienced decreased property values of close to eighteen percent. On the contrary, cleaning and greening vacant lots can increase adjacent property values by as much as thirty percent.2 The statistics for crime and environmental degradation associated with vacant land are equally as stark. Therefore, the government must address this issue in order to increase community pride, promote economic development, and reduce crime.
Development Strategy
1. Streamlining the process
Currently, the process for obtaining vacant land is complex. This process varies depending on both the landowner and potential purchaser. Individuals, community development corporations, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority all follow different processes to acquire vacant land. The City of Pittsburgh must streamline this process by taking the following steps.
First, the government must clearly define vacant land. Some city departments classify it as any land that has no structure, while others define it by whether there are residents living on it or not. There is no unified database to classify land that is neglected or not part of a park or greenway. This ambiguity creates confusion not only among city officials, but also among developers and individual citizens who want to purchase this land.
Second, once a definition is established, the city must create a comprehensive, well-publicized clearinghouse of information for those interested in purchasing vacant land. Earlier this year, the City of Pittsburgh purchased the tax liens on 11,000 parcels of vacant land from the private, for-profit collection agency Capital Assets Research Corporation (CARC) for $6.5 million, approximately ten percent the original cost.3 City officials should catalogue these vacant properties and organize the information in a citywide database in order to enable businesses, community development corporations, and citizens to effectively and efficiently navigate the acquisition process.
2. Mobilizing Resources
After streamlining the process, the government must organize the wide range of stakeholders involved in vacant land redevelopment by creating a citywide taskforce that coordinates their collective efforts. Community development corporations, private developers, foundations, universities, the environmental community, and concerned citizens all have a vested interest in this issue.
Each group represents a crucial piece of the solution. Foundations and private enterprises provide funding. The universities supply intellectual capital in the form of urban design and renewal expertise. Community development corporations deliver resources and knowledge based on current projects. Individual citizens identify problem lots and rally their neighbors to address their concerns. Creating a taskforce would facilitate cooperation across sectors, resulting in the mobilization of resources through joint projects.
The efforts of this taskforce will need to be publicized. Presently, the average citizen is largely unaware of the citywide scope of this problem. Change must not only occur from the top down, but also on a grassroots level. Therefore, the community must be educated about the problem, the resources that are available to address the problem, and the opportunities they have to make a difference.
3. Greening the City
Environmental challenges underlie the issue of vacant land redevelopment. The primary challenge of this type is the remediation of contaminated lots. In order to develop and implement solutions to these challenges, the government must rely on the technical expertise of community partners.
Growth Through Energy and Community Health, or GTECH, is an organization established this past year by a team of Carnegie Mellon University Heinz School of Public Policy graduates. This group is developing a strategy to grow plants that will remove contaminants on vacant land, while also serving as a source of biofuel. The government should incorporate these innovative techniques into its plan for addressing the environmental issues associated with redeveloping vacant land.
The government will also need technical assistance in implementing green strategies. The Pittsburgh Urban Ecology Collaborative is comprised of leaders of local environmental organizations, such as the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Grow Pittsburgh, for example, who possess considerable expertise in this area. These organizations should serve as a resource and provide technical support to the City as it begins the green strategy implementation process.
Implementation
The Mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl, has taken several steps towards addressing vacant land issues in the City. In particular, he recently hired a sustainable design coordinator at the Urban Redevelopment Authority to begin investigating how the government might enhance its green practices. The Mayor’s office also unveiled its intention to compile a Comprehensive Vacant Lot Master Plan, which will serve as blueprint for achieving long-term sustainability in its greening efforts.4
The implementation of these strategies will be costly in the short-run. Finding the initial capital will pose the greatest challenge to initiating these recommendations. Nevertheless, the long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term costs. If this problem is addressed now, property values will rise, civic pride will increase, and social ills will be mitigated in the future. The Mayor’s office has an opportunity to continue leading the effort to address the problem by:
- Further streamlining the process for obtaining vacant land
- Mobilizing existing resources by creating a citywide taskforce
- Designing and implementing green solutions
These steps provide a concrete strategy for addressing vacant land redevelopment in Pittsburgh.
Footnotes
1 Pittsburgh Green Forum Report. Greening Vacant Land for Pittsburgh’s Sustainable Neighborhood Revitalization. H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University. Page 2. November 2006.
2 Wachter, Susan M. The Determinants of Neighborhood Transformation in Philadelphia: Identification and Analysis – The New Kensington Pilot Study. The Wharton School. The University of Pennsylvania. 12 July 2004.
3 Mayor’s Initiatives. Mayor’s Neighborhoods First Handbook. Office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. City of Pittsburgh. Page 12.
4 Lord, Rich. “Mayor unveils ‘Green Up’ drive.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 23 October 2007.