Our first community plan, A Vision for East Liberty, produced in 1999, helped guide our neighborhood’s recovery from failed urban renewal efforts of the past. Recognizing the success that followed the 1999 plan, we decided to come together again to include new and old neighbors and expand and refine our vision. Through a process of community meetings, a broad range of people who live, work, shop, play, worship, and invest in East Liberty shared our love for the neighborhood, our concerns, and our dreams for its future.
The guiding principles that emerged from these meetings guide residents, developers, organizers, and stakeholders through the ever-evolving process of planning and development toward our community’s goals.
The 2010 East Liberty Community Plan
The 2010 East Liberty Community Plan is a long-term framework for revitalization. Its purpose, building upon the 1999 East Liberty Community Plan, A Vision for East Liberty, is to guide the development process. Capturing many voices to drive neighborhood change, this plan sets our community’s goals and ensures that we do not stray from our core principles. It is a living document to be re-examined, revised, and updated regularly.
Community Plan Themes
The clear themes that emerged from this plan will guide residents, developers, organizers, and stakeholders toward our community’s goals:
- Sustainability–Ensure change is economically viable, benefits community members equitably, and protects our environment.
- Collaboration–Address community-wide and regional issues comprehensively with a coordinated vision and strategy.
- Information Sharing–Improve neighborhood-wide awareness of programs and services, events, and development plans.
- Image and Identity–Encourage a positive perception of East Liberty and pride among community members by improving the look and feel of the neighborhood and celebrating our history and culture.
Community Plan Action Steps
Working in eight task forces, community members outlined solutions to the problems facing East Liberty and called for the following primary action steps:
- Neighborhood Stabilization–Continue a comprehensive housing strategy that reweaves neighborhood fabric through a variety of mixed-income alternatives to provide housing for all.
- Commercial Core Revitalization–Reinforce East Liberty’s commercial heart as a unique “Town in a City” that serves both nearby residents and regional markets by providing a mix of national and local products, services, and entertainment.
- Connectivity–Improve transportation infrastructure and connectivity to drive development. Priorities include: pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, bicycling amenities, street grid reconnections, intuitive parking, transit-oriented development, and Penn Circle two-way conversion.
- Greening— Prioritize green projects and sustainability in every neighborhood development.
- Workforce–Unify workforce development initiatives into one comprehensive strategy that addresses employers’ and job seekers’ needs.
- Youth Engagement–Engage youth in community decision-making and sharing information about healthy activities. Engage youth with jobs and career preparation. Promote collaboration among youth service providers.
- Community Engagement–Improve and create comprehensive systems of collaboration and communication among service providers, neighborhood safety initiatives,small business advocates, block groups, and tenant councils.
Other ELDI Plans & Studies
1999 Community Plan
Larimer Vision Plan
Streetworks Presentation and Market Plan
Bakery Row Plan
Saints Peter and Paul Church Feasibility Study
East Liberty Circulation & Mobility Vision
Parking Study
EastSide Transit-oriented Development Analysis
Development Guidelines for the Center of East Liberty
East Liberty Green Vision
Crime Study Reports
In 2013, East Liberty Development, Inc. (ELDI) Real Estate, LLC commissioned a crime study analysis to examine the linkages between lowered crime rates, increased property values and initiatives of ELDI. Numeritics, a Pittsburgh-based consulting practice, completed the analysis and offers insights to explain ELDI’s role in these developments.
Now, as East Liberty’s revitalization is increasingly in the spotlight, we wanted to take a closer look at the renewal and re-examine the causes behind it. In a series of white papers and reports, Numeritics revisits their findings and expounds further, revealing the groundwork that underlies East Liberty’s current revival.
White Paper One — Crime Trend and Property Prices
The first white paper addresses the correlations between crime trends and property prices.
White Paper Two — Crime Reduction Strategy
The second white paper examines East Liberty’s revitalization from a theoretical standpoint, using contemporary academic theories in criminology as a framework to help explain why ELDI’s efforts have been successful.
White Paper Three — Crime Strategy Implementation
The third white paper answers the question, “what exactly did you do?” The goal of this white paper is to summarize the implementation of ELDI’s unique and innovative strategies that helped reduce residential crime in East Liberty by 49% over a five-year period.
White Paper Four — Gentrification
The fourth white paper breaks down the many elements at play in East Liberty and Pittsburgh at large. Discussing the demographics of the neighborhood, affordable housing and inclusive planning, concerns of gentrification are addressed and analyzed.
White Paper Five — Indirect Benefits
The fifth white paper discusses the many ways in which our community benefits from revitalization that extend far beyond increases in property values.