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February 13, 2014
Shikha Jerath and Ryan Mayo, Coro Fellows in Public Affairs
Dear Mayor Peduto,
We are excited to see you take the seat as Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh.
Last November, our class of Coro Fellows in Public Affairs participated in Urban Affairs Week, an intense deep-dive into the role of regional government and governance in setting Pittsburgh on a path to become a most livable city for everyone. Though Pittsburgh has won many accolades for being a livable city, the question of livability for everyone challenged us to move beyond average livability criteria such as regional rankings on health, housing, art & culture, and public safety, to understand who may not be accessing the assets our region has to offer and why not. As part of our inquiry we met with you and other leaders in city government, community development, education, green initiatives, and economic development. At the end of our inquiry, we presented our findings and hosted a dialogue with 40 residents of Pittsburgh.
Our interviews and community dialogue gave us a starting point to really understand the context and variety of perspectives to consider in moving Pittsburgh forward. We combined our interpretations from our community outreach with research to identify two initiatives that we believe hold great promise for making Pittsburgh more livable for more residents. We share these initiatives with you because they align with the strategy you shared with us during Urban Affairs week: “building from within, rebuilding our neighborhoods.”
Economic Development that Keeps Wealth inside Our Neighborhoods
For the past 70 years, the City’s neighborhoods have faced massive change. Before and during the 1950s, the Homewood community, for example, was largely a racially integrated community with a bustling engine of small and locally-owned businesses. Two events caused the downfall of Homewood community starting in the 1950s. First, a shift in demographics occurred when an influx of African Americans from the Hill District came to Homewood because they could no longer afford the cost of living due to the building of the Civic Arena. Second, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., riots and racial unrest caused immense damage to the businesses of both neighborhoods.
The latter event is nuanced to the troubles of the times; however, the former is riddled in Pittsburgh’s history and is the reason behind the displacement of many low-income African American residents time and again. Today, we have the prerogative to support residents of low-income communities to pursue development that ensures their livelihood, continued residence, and ownership in their community. We believe that keeping money inside our communities through this type of thoughtful economic development is a leverage point to ensuring the livelihood of residents and the sustainability of their neighborhoods.
Through studying the life cycle of communities, New Economics Foundation finds “many local economies languishing not because too little cash comes in, but as a result of what happens to that money… [the money] needs to keep moving around to keep the economy going”(Time 2009). If we applied this logic to our neighborhoods, it would look something like this: residents eat at restaurant in their neighborhood, know the owner and pay the waiter, both of whom are also residents of the community. It would be a situation where the money stays in the neighborhood. As cars and the Internet allow us to work, eat, and buy anything from anywhere, this situation is less likely to describe the pervasive economic context of our communities. However, the situation does provide us with a starting point to really think about the extent to which a business contributes to the livelihood residents and sustainability of their neighborhoods. Here, we identify three characteristics of economic development that maximize the ability to keep money inside our neighborhoods: businesses create income for and by residents; businesses contribute to greater community identity; businesses work from the bottom up.
1. Businesses create income for and by residents
When we think of retail or service businesses, we have three players: customers, employees, and owners of the store. When all three are residents of the community, the money is more likely to stay in the community and be used for growing or maintaining the business and its assets. If the owner lives in LA or employees live in a different neighborhood, the money resides with them, leaving the community.
2. Businesses contribute to greater community identity
Boris Weinstein, a longtime Shadyside resident who founded Citizens Against Litter, a non-profit volunteer organization that removes litter in neighborhoods across Pittsburgh, encapsulates the importance of community-centric economic development when he reflects on Pittsburgh’s past: “back in the day, we didn’t have to go to a different neighborhood to have fun or eat delicious food; we could walk to our own neighborhood’s bakery, brewery, and movie theater to enjoy ourselves.” Boris depicts an interconnected, robust community with residents who have literallyand figuratively bought into their community. The point is not that neighborhood residents should only patronize local businesses, but rather that that when they do so they are investing in their own community. The uniqueness of this type of development —homegrown and operated bakeries, theaters, restaurants, boutiques, and stores—gives community members a reason to spend their money locally: they cannot find this business anywhere else. Unique, local small business development makes the community attractive to not only local residents but also residents throughout Pittsburgh, thereby increasing the community’s desirability and livability.
3. Businesses work from the bottom up
Before laying roots in any community, businesses must think about their economic, social, and political impact on the community. An entrepreneur may find great investment opportunities in a low income community; however, if such development has negative ramifications for the residents of this community, it only repeats the historical displacement of low income populations in Pittsburgh. We believe that entrepreneurs and developers possessing and employing a mindset of understanding and improving the lives of residents will have enormous benefits for the sustainability of neighborhoods. Walmart’s Neighborhood Market stores demonstrate how even the maligned big box businesses can even be good stewards of economic development. In 1998, Walmart Inc. launched forty Neighborhood Market stores in urban areas to not only tap into a new market but also cater to the needs of local residents. Walmart created the stores with the intention to provide job opportunities as well as affordable, necessary shopping items close to where residents live. Divisional Director Bill Wertz shares his thinking behind the creation of the stores: “our store siting [or stocking] process is based on meeting local customer demand” (Herald-Tribune 2013). With a focus on the community, even big-box developments can bring the goods and services that communities need.
These elements of economic development serve as a guiding force in neighborhood development in Pittsburgh. They intentionally do not discriminate between large and small businesses because both types have the potential to contribute benefit to neighborhoods when their development focuses on strengthening and serving the population they surround.
Alternative High School Curriculum and Public-Private Partnerships
With over sixty-five colleges and universities, Pittsburgh has seen its local economy utilize education as a job creator and an engine for growth. The University of Pittsburgh stands as the city’s largest employer, with more than 10,000 employees. To advance Pittsburgh’s economy, the city and its government should seek innovative ways to develop education not only as a sector within itself but also as a partner to the greater economic community.
It is reported that 5% of college graduates in Pittsburgh are unemployed, while the rate is double (10%) for those with no more than a high school diploma (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010). While many economic and social factors influence a child’s ability to graduate with a 4-year college degree, we recommend a leverage point which expands high school students’ opportunity to gain employment: the creation of an alternative curriculum for high school students seeking to develop job skills demanded by the local economy. For example, in the state of New York, Governor Cuomo is currently pushing for the creation of Pathways in Technology (P-Tech) programs throughout the state. P-tech high schools bring together funding from companies like IBM, CISCO, and GE Healthcare to invest in a 5-year curriculum where students earn their high school diploma, a two-year associate degree, and a commitment to preferential hiring by these companies upon graduation. Early local models have seen success in cities such as New York City and Chicago.
Adopting an alternative high school curriculum like P-Tech offers an opportunity for Pittsburgh to foster public-private partnerships to invest in both the city’s corporate strengths and the future of our high school students. Local corporations such as PPG Industries, Allegheny Technologies, Google, and Black Box would benefit by investing in Pittsburgh high schools through an apprenticeship program like P-Tech. In partnering with high schools, corporations gain a training ground to develop the advanced technical skills required for employment, while high school graduates fulfill their critical need for better employment and a surer path toward greater prosperity and a better quality of life. As Pittsburgh’s economy advances, adopting a P-Tech-like curriculum assures that the city maintains more balanced and equitable growth. It also encourages corporations to bring their resources and capabilities to our neighborhoods and interface with individuals who have the capacity to benefit them and who both need and want a brighter future.
Mayor Peduto, we share our ideas with you because we feel like we can. You are incredibly welcoming to new perspectives and dedicated to gaining bottom-up awareness to create positive change for Pittsburgh.
We identify leverage points that we believe will make Pittsburgh more livable for more residents. Reaching our conclusions would not have been possible without the guidance and input from a number of civic, government, and foundation leaders, community members, and Coro staff.
We find it an honor to communicate and collaborate with you. We hope you will connect with us if you wish to bring these initiatives to life.
Warmest Regards,
Shikha Jerath & Ryan Mayo
