Carrick- another gritty Pittsburgh neighborhood with good urban bones

Carrick was named in honor of the hometown of an Irish immigrant living in Pittsburgh in the mid-1800s. This is another hilly pre-WWII south hills Pittsburgh neighborhood. Developed originally as a bedroom community but tied in via streetcar service, Carrick has convenient access to Downtown and some assemblance of a historic main street on Brownsville. Brownsville has certainly seen better days, but the urban form and streetscape are largely in-tact with some neighborhood retail.

Carrick fell on pretty hard times in the 80s, 90s, 2000s but seems to be stabilizing and has a strong residential market for SF detached 3 & 4 bedrooms homes with a nice backyard selling in the 100ks and low 200ks. What is needed to bring vitality to Carrick is much more than pizza joints and bars! Plenty of empty stores could be filled with unique and creative start up businesses. This, in my opinion, would make Carrick a more desirable place and result in renovations of its more unsavory housing stock. I’d also like to see in-fill housing where it makes sense. The density here is pretty low.

Click here to view my full Carrick Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Carrick has very convenient access to downtown coupled with decent
overall transit access. One can drive to dwtn in 15 minutes or get there in 30 via the bus.
* This is a pretty diverse community, at least for Pittsburgh standards. 70% White, 15% Black, and a nice mix of Latinos and Asians. Also excellent generational and economic diversity.
* Carrick hosts 3 cemeteries, which may be the most of any Pittsburgh Neighborhood. Phillips Park is a great amenity with lots of woods, sport fields, a pool, and recreational center. Several other ballparks nearby.
* Some neighborhood retail amenities including a couple drug stores, a PA wine & spirits store, local hardware store, a dance center, a candy store, a discount grocery store, and several ethnic groceries.
* Solid urban form and streetscape along Brownsville Road.
* Great Tree Canopy

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* No bike infrastructure in Carrick
* The for sale market for Carrick is a bit soft and crummy with around 60% of its housing stocks selling for under 100K, but plenty of solid 3 & 4 bedrooms SF homes with large back yards selling in the 100Ks. Even some product selling in the 200Ks. Some rentals as well. All are pretty affordable.
* Pizza and bars is about all the Carrick has culturally. Very Pittsburgh! Carrick probably has the best concentration of dive bars in town.
* Limited specialty stores.
* Carrick is sketchy in spots and certainly plenty of blight here. But the housing market seems to be slowly stabilizing. The commercial district on Brownsville, however, seems to be stagnant.
* Schools include an elementary (well ranked) and High school (not well ranked) Also several pre-K schools.
* ADA infrastructure is high quality along Brownsville (the commercial corridor) but hit or miss in the neighborhood.
* Modern in-fill is pretty much non-existent.
* Density is pretty low for a Pittsburgh neighborhood.

Carnegie, PA a historic Steele town names in honor of Andrea himself

Carnegie Borough is named after Andrew Carnegie, who donated one of his libraries for the gesture. It was incorporated in the late 1800s. The main employers in the turn of the century were several steel mills such as Superior Steel and Union Electric Steel. Like many Steel towns, Carnegie saw significant decline in the 1970s, but it didn’t decline as much as other steel towns and has seen a stabilization of its housing and main street. Main Street is now bustling with many new restaurants and small businesses.

Carnegie also has convenient access to Downtown Pittsburgh, quality public schools, and a good cultural scene with lots of live music, and community theaters. Areas that Carnegie can improve include dedicated bike lanes, more neighborhood parks and plazas, and better ADA and sidewalk infrastructure. I would also love for urban infill to start to line the largely auto centric Mainfield Avenue.

Click here to view the full Carnegie album on my Flickr page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Carnegie has very convenient access to downtown couple with decent
overall transit access. One can drive to dwtn in 10 minutes or get there in 20 via the bus.
* Great economic and generational diversity with over 50% of households being family households.
* Nice array of for-sale housing ranging between 50K-200K. Some housing selling for over 200K. Decent amount of rentals going for middle of the market rate.
* Culturally a good amount restaurants, bars, and cafes, a surprising large number small theater community and local stages, a couple art galleries.
* Nice neighborhood amenities including several banks, a couple drugstores, a Carnegie library, post office, many boutiques, a ,much more. There is also an Aldi grocery on the southern edge of the Borough.
* Carnegie hosts a decent Elementary and High school that are very walkable.
* Great streetscape along the main street but a bit dated so ADA infrastructure is old. Mainfield is a pretty crummy auto centric street only a couple blocks away from Main Street.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* No bike infrastructure in Carnegie.
* Carnegie Park is high quality multi-faceted recreational space but located on the suburban edge of Carnegie. No other parks in the borough.
* Carnegie certainly has its grit and some vacancy, but this is a pretty safe community.
* Sidewalks and ADA infrastructure is hit or miss in the residential streets.
* Not much modern in-fill but does exist is generally auto centric.

California, PA- named after the 49ers but still in Pennsylvania

I used Pennsylvania as the southern boundary and included the university. The rest of the urban boundaries are pretty intuitive. When founded in 1849, the town was aptly named after the California Gold rush. Ironically this also began as a mining town, but of the Anthracite kind. California was once home to the largest soft coal mine in the world by the late 19th century.

Fortunately those coal mining days are over and California’s new economy is based around a state run college, California University bosting just under 5,000 students. From an urban perspective the historic core of California is a bit lackluster. Decent urban main street on Wood St. but not extensive and limited retail. The residential areas host decent architecture but the urban form feels a bit countrylike. I guess that makes sense as California is deep in the Mon valley. The college campus of California University is nice and makes up somewhat for the town’s urban flatness.

Not sure how California can conceivably improve its urban form with a Pennsylvania rivertown economy, but more diversity of retail is a good place to start. Certainly plenty of opportunities for high quality infill that perhaps could attract some of the commuting students to live on campus.

Click here to view my California album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good economic diversity largely thanks to California University.
* Several modest parks spread throughout California but nothing special. The best green space is California University.
* California is a bit gritty but generally safe.
* Decent architecture on the main street and very nice at California University.
* Good urban form and streetscape on Wood. Hit or miss on 3rd street.
* Tree canopy good in the university but decent in the town.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Poor public transit and access to major employment center in the Pittsburgh Metro, although California College itself is a solid employment center, especially for the Mon River Valley.
* ADA and sidewalk infrastructure is a mixed bag. Some areas don’t really have them or are in terrible shape.
* Limited racial diversity. Not great age diversity due to student’s dominance.
* Rentals are more limited than you’d expect for a college town and very cheap. For sale product is generally cheaper with most product selling below 100K. Some product selling in the 100Ks.
* Other than the performing arts at the University, cultural amenities are pretty limited in the Borough other than a handful of restaurants and bars.
* Neighborhood amenities include a drug store, post office, library, and some other neighborhood retail. Limited specialty stores. Hospital is on the edge of the borough.
* No walkable schools. All are located out on the edges of town.
* Modern in-fill is limited to the University.
* Sidewalks and ADA infrastructure is very hood in the university but hit or miss in the neighborhood.

Brownsville, PA a Monongahela River town known for Producing some of the First Steamboats

Brownsville was originally founded as a British Fort securing the Monongahela River. Eventually entrepreneur Thomas Brown helped opened pass through the Cumberland Narrows and helped make Brownsville was a natural springboard for settlers traveling to points west, such as Kentucky. Eventually the settlement became known as “Brownsville” after him. A large flatboat building industry developed in Brownsville in the early 19th century. It also produced the first steamboat powerful enough to travel down the Mississippi River. In the ate 19th century Brownsville transitioned into a steel and manufacturing hub. By 1940, 8,000 people lived in Brownsville. But like many other industrial towns in Western PA the mid-1970s triggered a recession and Brownsville suffered a major decline. From a high of 8,000 residents in 1940, Brownsville has sunk to just over 2,000 residents. However this is not the worst population lost in the Pittsburgh Region. Braddock once boosted over 20,000 souls and now has 2,000.

From an urban perspective Brownsville has two hubs. The first was built up in the early to mid 1800s along Market and 4th Avenue. There is some assemblance of a main street here but not many stores lefts. A couple blocks off are some lovely maintained historic homes from this era. The larger main street was developed further down Market Street near the river. Some lovely historic buildings here, but many of them are in disrepair. Yet some retail presence remains bolstered by those who have not given up on the City. To urbanize Brownsville more investment and obviously more residents are needed. Hopefully civic leaders and businesses leaders will step in to preserve and renovate what historic and urban fabric remains in Brownsville. There is still a demand for well maintained historic homes reflected in prices in the 100Ks.

Click here to view my Brownsville photos on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Lots of families living here.
* Some assemblance of urban form in the two downtown nodes. One is the original downtown from the early to mid 1800s and the other is closer to riverfront and came to life in the turn of the 20th century.
* Some neighborhood amenities including a local drug store, cigar store, antiques, and a dwtn library and post office.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Poor public transit and access to major employment center in the Pittsburgh Metro.
* High poverty city with about 1/3 below the poverty line.
* ADA and sidewalk infrastructure is a mixed bag. Some areas don’t really have them or are in terrible shape, but other portions of Brownsville have updated ADA curb cuts.
* Rental housing is very limited but cheap. Plenty of run down housing but some nice historic gems. The well maintained housing is selling in the 100ks.
* Park and recreational space is limited to a ballfield, a small wharf Park, and Dwtn plaza with an outdoor amphitheater.
* Cultural amenities limited to a couple restaurants & bars and some nice historic sites.
* Several schools more on the outskirts of the town. Not rated well.
* In fill is very limited but there is a half decent affordable housing building downtown.

Butler, PA Historic Producer of the Pullman Steel Rail Cars

It’s hard to define the exact limits of Dwtn Butler. I included areas that were mostly commercial in character with some residential only areas. I used Washington and Franklin Street as the western and eastern borders, respectively. Penn St as the northern border and the railroad as the southern. By 1817, the community was incorporated as a borough with the first settlers being Irish or Scottish descent. In its heyday, the city of Butler was another steel producing hub in Western PA remains home to an AK Steel factory. In the early 20th century the City produced all-steel rail cars for Pullman-Standard.

Downtown Butler’s strength is it mostly in-tact 10 block historic main street and county court house. Lots of great shops fill these historic buildings. There are all a fair amount of cultural amenities with a unique art museum dedicated to Chinese & Japanese art, historic house museums and nice array of restaurants, bars and Cafes. Many of the City’s schools are also located downtown. Yet there is still a fair amount of blight and disinvestment surrounding the Butler main Street due to the economic decline of the City. Major areas for Butler to improve from an urban perspective include dedicated bike lanes, new parks, and mixed-use infill construction.

Click here to view the entire Butler, PA album on my Flickr page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* High quality sidewalk and ADA infrastructure.
* Great connectivity with Dwtn Butler’s street grid.
* Over half of all households are family households.
* Fair amount of cultural amenities including a couple historic house museums, restaurants, bars & cafes, a community theater, several art galleries and the unique Maridon Museum- dedicated Chinese and Japanese art.
* Nice array of shops running down Butler’s quaint main street… a drug store, post office, library, a butcher shop, a couple book stores, and nice array of boutiques, specialty shops, and antique stores.
* Very nice historic commercial running down Main Street along with a wonderful County Courthouse. Several historic mid-sized bldgs as well.
* High quality urban form and streetscape along Main Street but this quickly falls apart as one travels away from Main Street. Lots of surface parking lots here.
* Nice array quality schools in and near Downtown Butler. 4 schools within the Dwtn area.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Over 50 minute drive to downtown Pittsburgh, bus access is pretty much non-existent.
* Bike infrastructure is non-existent.
* Some economic diversity but generally Butler is pretty poor. 27% of the population lives in poverty. Limited Racial diversity as well.
* Fair amount of for-sale housing in the Dwtn area but not much diversity in price point. Most homes sell btwn 50K-100K. Some nicer historic homes sell for more than 100K. Rentals are very limited but inexpensive.
* Recreation and Park amenities are limited to a dwtn YMCA and the plaza outside of the Butler County.
* Not much modern in-fill and what exists is generally unattractive.
* Some street trees but not great tree canopy.

Pittsburgh’s Brookline, another solid Urban Neighborhood in the South Hills

Brookline was linked by streetcar to downtown Pittsburgh in 1905 by Pittsburgh Railways who built a single line south along West Liberty Avenue (the district western edge). The neighborhood continued developing and mostly filled in by WWII. The soul of the Brookline is built around its main street on Brookline Blvd. The community has successfully stabilized its main street through a streetscaping program and incentives to bring many new businesses. Brookline also has a stable housing stock but moderately priced making it an ideal place for young families to settle. With a light rail line and decent bus service, Brookline is also served by good public transit. Areas Brookline could improve include doubling down on sidewalks, ADA modernizations, and bring bike lanes and bike stations to the community. It would also be nice to see more apartments in the neighborhood.

Click here to view the entire Brookline Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid public transit access including a light rail line running along the eastern edge of the neighborhood.
* Only about a 10-20 minute drive to dwtn and a 30-45 min commute via public transit.
* Excellent economic and generational diversity and decent racially diversity.
* Nice array of 2 & 3 bedroom rentals at reasonable rates. Limited 1-bedrooms. Stable for-sale housing generally ranging btwn 130-280K depending on size and condition.
* Good array of neighborhood amenities mostly focused along Brookline Ave including several ethnic grocers, a drug store, public library, post office, a florist, and much more. Other retail amenities along Liberty Avenue but this is very auto centric.
* This is a very safe community overall.
* 3 solid elementary schools within Brookline and a Catholic High School just south of the neighborhoods.
* Good urban form & streetscape along Brookline, terrible along Liberty.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* No bike infrastructure in Brookline.
* Only two parks in Brookline, but what exist have strong amenities including a recreational center, tennis courts, a swimming pool, and recreational fields.
* Culturally Brookline includes a nice array of restaurants & bars and a local theater.
* ADA infrastructure is hit or miss due to the neighborhood’s terrain. Sometimes its completely missing but along Brookline and other flatter streets its very good.

Blawnox, another Pittsburgh Rivertown built on Steel.

The town was founded in the late 18th century, with the name Hoboken. Steel was the community’s major industry, with the area being home to the Blaw Steel Co., Knox Welded, and Pressed Steel Co. The City changed its name in the early 20th century to Blawnox Borough to reflect the Blaw Steek Co. The town peaked at around 2,200 people in 1950. Now the population is down to around 1,400. Not a terrible population loss for an old Pittsburgh steel towns. Part of the reason is likely because the steel mill is still open along with Blawnox being in the coveted Fox Chapel School District.

Urban wise Blawnox’s strengths include a nice main street with several restaurants, bars, and shops along with a strong for-sale housing market. Blawnox is also only a 20 minutes drive to Downtown and a 30 minute bus ride. To improve from an urban perspective it would be great to see better sidewalk and bike infrastructure, and urban infill along with a supermarket and drug store. Hopefully Freeport will see more new businesses and eventually new urban infill to bolster its urban form.

Click here to view my full Blawnox Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good access to downtown via both private car and public transit. Public transit to other parts of the region are pretty limited.
* Very good middle class neighborhood with goo economic diversity.
* Blaxnox has a surprisingly strong housing market. Plenty of for-sale homes selling in the 100Ks and 200Ks. Some more rundown homes sell below 100K.
* Decent neighborhood retail including several vintage & antiques, shops, a bank, and hair salons.
* Generally a pretty safe community but a bit gritty.
* Some nice historic buildings especially along the historic main street on Freeport. Also good urban fabric and streetscape.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Outside of the main street of Freeport sidewalks are pretty hit and miss. Also no bike infrastructure in the Borough.
* Not a very diverse community. Over 90% of the population is White.
* Rental houses are pretty inexpensive but limited.
* Park spaces are limited to really just a ballfield.
* Cultural amenities are limited to some restaurant, bars, and cafe.
* No supermarket, drug stores, or larger retail.
* Blawnox does not have any schools within the Blawnox Borough limits but it is in the coveted Fox Chapel School District.

Beaver Falls, the Historic Heart of Beaver Valley

I included in the evaluation the downtown core and the area around Geneva County. Beaver Falls is located about 30 miles from Downtown Pittsburgh thus this Rivertown Borough is both part of the Pittsburgh metro but also separate as part of the micro region of the Beaver Valley area. Beaver Falls was founded in 1870 and soon after waters Geneva College was founded in 1880. The town was built around the college and industry along the Beaver River. But like most industrial towns in the region, the population has declined significantly since WWII.

Beaver Halls certainly hasn’t had the same level of reinvestment as it neighbor Beaver, but still a good amount of urban fabric and downtown retail here. Generally the historic housing is gritty with mostly worker housing. What the town needs to improve from an urban perspective is simply more investment and new businesses. Not sure this will happen anytime soon given the economy of Beaver Valley, so this type of reinvestment would need to be more grass roots oriented.

Click here to view the entire Beaver Falls album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Decent historic architecture on the main Street. Residential is generally pretty plain.
* Culturally Beaver Falls has a community arts Center, a couple of art galleries, several low key restaurants & cafes, & bars. Geneva College also bring a fair amount of performing arts and live music.
* Neighborhood activities includes several drug stores, a supermarket and local fruit & veggie stands. Also an interesting mix of antiques, furniture stores, and clothing stores. Other neighborhood amenities include a paint store, historic library, post office, and medical centers.
* Several walkable schools but mixed ratings.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Sidewalks are Ok and generally there are curb cuts, but most don’t have the modern ADA infrastructure.
* Public transit is pretty limited and access to dwtn is at least a 45 min drive.
* Very limited bike infrastructure.
* Some rentals but all very inexpensive. For sale housing is very inexpensive, mostly below 100,000. Some housing in the 100Ks.
* Recreation space limited to sports fields surrounding the City’s schools. Some nice green space in Geneva College.
* Pretty gritty but not necessarily any dangerous spots.
* modern in-fill is limited, but what exists is generally pretty crummy.
* Tree cover isn’t great.
* Buzz is not great here.

Aspinwall, a well off Pittsburgh Historic Suburb

My evaluation excluded the more suburban portion of Aspinall north of state route 28. Aspinwall began as an upper middle class river town for those who wished to be close to Downtown for commuting but away from the craziness and pollution of the City. But unlike Sewickley this was mostly younger families with children. Aspinwall has maintained its stability even with dropping from 4,000 to 2,700 residents since WWII. This is aided by its attractive historic housing, nice village feel with attractive neighborhood retail, location in the prized Fox Chapel School District, and convenience to the Water works shopping district.

Areas that Aspinwall could improve from an urban perspective include more bike infrastructure, racial diversity, and walkable schools within the borough boundaries (as opposed to being in surrounding suburban communities). A large multi-family, mixed-use development along the river would be a nice population boast to the borough as well, but not sure if this is possible with the flood plain.

Click here to view the entire Aspinwall photo album on my Flickr page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Convenient access to Downtown via transit and an easy 15-20 minute drive/
* Very walkable village feel with compact residential streets and several streets with neighborhood restaurants, bars and some retail.
* Pretty Dense community.
* Pretty good age diversity and large percentage of family households.
* For sale housing generally on the high end but pretty good diversity. 2-bedrooms in the 200ks low 300ks, 3-bedrooms 300Ks and low 400ks, & 4-bedrooms 300K-600Ks.
* Recreational amenities include a very interesting riverfront park and the Aspinwall Recreation area.
* Culturally Aspinwall has a nice mix of restaurants, bars, and cafes, and a few art galleries but not much else.
* Lots of locally owned boutiques, unique shops, and a bookstore. Plenty of retail amenities just outside of Aspinwall but in a strip mall (i.e. a movie theater, hospital, supermarket, banks, a Walmart, staples, and several chain retail stores).
* Very safe community.
* Attractive historic housing.
* Generally good ADA infrastructure. Up to date ADA curb cuts is hit or miss.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Limited bike infrastructure.
* Very white community (90%). Some economic diversity.
* Rentals are pretty limited but what exists is generally medium prized.
* Only the Catholic Elementary school is within Aspinwall. But Aspinwall is part of the prized Fox Chapel School District, all of which are in suburban, auto centric areas.
* Limited modern in-fill. What does exist is hit or miss.

Observatory Hill- Pittsburgh’s Highest Point

Observatory Hill or Perry Hilltop was named both in honor of Commodore Perry and the Historic Allegheny Observatory, the City’s first astronomy building gracing the top of Riverview Park. The district also hosts the highest elevation in the City of Pittsburgh at 1,370 feet at the Brashear Reservoir and WPNT-FM Radio Tower.

This North Hills district has remained a middle class strong hold in the northside and thus retained much of its historic housing and fabric. Riverview Park was a large factor in the neighborhood’s success. Observatory’s urban business district along Perrysville Ave has not fared as well and is littered with vacancies and limited retail amenities. Cultural amenities are also very limited. Building up the Perrysville Avenue business district should be the # 1 revitalization priority for the neighborhood. Secondary priorities include installing bike infrastructure, permanent affordable housing, opening new high quality schools, and improving pedestrian and ADA infrastructure.

Click here to view the full Observatory Hill Album on Flicker

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Convenient access to downtown especially via the car but decent transit and biking routes.
* This is a very diverse neighborhood among all measures.
* Very diverse for-sale price points starting at around 50K for a modest fixture upper to the 200Ks for a large historic home and everything in-between.
* Riverview Park is accessible to all in the neighborhood and holds almost any recreational amenity one needs.
* Overall pretty safe district, although some blight still remains.
* Lots of high quality historic architecture.
* The urban form of the business district is good but very small.
* Great tree cover.

URBAN WEAKNESSES

* Streets generally connect but are very curvilinear due to the district’s extreme terrain.
* Other than bike lanes in Riverview, Bike infrastructure is non-existent.
* Not a ton of rental product but generally affordable. 1-bedrroms run between $500-$700, 2-bedrooms btwn $700-$1,100, and 3-bedrooms to the low to mid $1,000s.
* One deli and no restaurants or bars.
* Cultural amenities are basically non-existent. One needs to travel several miles south to the Allegheny Commons district and Downtown.
* Low-Medium density.
* Other than a couple convenience stores there is a bank, hair salon, thrift store, but not much else in the way of retail here.
* Perry High School is located here but rated poorly. No other schools within Observatory Hill.
* Most roads host sidewalks and ramps but ADA infrastructure is often missing.