In February 2010, I worked with a Project Team in a Sustainable Community Development Class in Carnegie Mellon's H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management that was asked by the Pittsburgh Housing Development Agency to conduct a 10-week study of the housing environment in Wilkinburg and develop strategies to increase the borough's affordable housing options and maintain housing affordability going forward. Given Wilkinsburg's roughly 60/40 renter-owner ratio, the four person team focused primarily on increasing the number of for-purchase housing units available to low and moderate-income Wilkinsburg residents, but also explored ways to improve the quality of affordable rental housing in the borough. In addition, the team looked at ancillary housing services that would encourage home ownership for renters and make home maintenance more affordable for existing homeowners.
The project team utilized both quantifiable data and anecdotal evidence to assess the housing environment in Wilkinsburg and formulate its recommendations. Previous CMU student projects provided a research foundation and additional data was gathered from publicly available demographic and housing market resources. More detailed property information was obtained from the Borough, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis was conducted to drill down further into this data. Two focus group meetings were held with various community stakeholders to better understand the subtleties of Wilkinsburg's housing market and case studies from similar localities were consulted to determine what type of affordable housing strategies would best fit Wilkinsburg's unique needs.
The Wilkinsburg housing environment is characterized by paradoxes. The borough sits adjacent to Pittsburgh's eastern border and features direct access to downtown-bound commuter buses. It also features an impressive stock of large historic homes rich in architectural detail. Yet, Wilkinsburg has some of the lowest average home values in the region and a high rate of vacancy, tax delinquency and property abandonment. The borough's renter-owner ratio is out of sync with its surrounding communities, and even with the relatively low cost of property the borough has had difficulty moving its residents into home ownership. Even new housing built with heavy subsidies and offered below market cost has been slow to attract to buyers.