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Land & Power

Ep. 5: 'You Have To Contribute Something.'

By Margaret J. Krauss
Published November 16, 2020 at 4:09 AM EST
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Rev. Regina Ragin-Dykes leads a church in Homewood called New Life. She grew up in the Lower Hill.
Sarah Kovash / 90.5 WESA
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Daniel Lavelle is a Pittsburgh City Councilor whose district includes the Hill District.
Sarah Kovash / 90.5 WESA
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Marimba Milliones leads the Hill Community Development Corporation.
Sarah Kovash / 90.5 WESA
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A map of Pittsburgh in 1937 shows redlining, the practice of denying loans and investment to low-income and minority communities.
Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America / In collaboration with the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond
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A view of the common area between two tenement buildings in the Hill District taken for the Bureau of Health.
Archives & Special Collections / University of Pittsburgh Library System
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Centre Avenue looking east from the north west Corner. Signs for Jay's Drugs, Fireman's Shoes, Filner's Bakery, Green's Shoes, Live Fish Company, Sambol's, and Lottie Shefler's Beauty Salon are visible.
Archives & Special Collections / University of Pittsburgh Library System
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An aerial view of Pittsburgh's Hill District neighborhood in the 1930s.
Archives & Special Collections / University of Pittsburgh Library System
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Bricks and debris from razed buildings in the Lower Hill District in 1957, a part of Pittsburgh's renaissance and urban renewal programs. The city skyline is visible in the background.
Archives & Special Collections / University of Pittsburgh Library System
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A view of a construction zone in the Lower Hill District, a part of Pittsburgh's renaissance and urban renewal programs.
Archives & Special Collections / University of Pittsburgh Library System
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Buildings being torn down in the Lower Hill District as part of Pittsburgh's renaissance and urban renewal programs. The city skyline is visible in the background.
Archives & Special Collections / University of Pittsburgh Library System
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Buildings being razed in the Lower Hill District as part of Pittsburgh's renaissance and urban renewal programs.
Archives & Special Collections / University of Pittsburgh Library System
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Residences in the Hill District in 2020.
Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA
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A mural remember people who have died in the neighborhood.
Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA
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The Hill House Association.
Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA
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The historic Freedom Corner in Pittsburgh's Hill District.
Jake Savitz / 90.5 WESA
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Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District.
Jake Savitz / 90.5 WESA

Some people worry there’s another looming housing crisis in Pittsburgh. It won’t hinge on tearing down buildings, because the buildings are already gone.

In the 1950s, 28 acres in the heart of the city was decimated by urban renewal. Now, that land is slated for redevelopment, and its future has been promised to one, private entity. Can the lessons of Penn Plaza help Pittsburgh chart a new path forward?

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Land & Power Land & PowerPenn Plaza
Margaret J. Krauss
See stories by Margaret J. Krauss