History of the Comprehensive Plan

Pittsburgh has a long history of comprehensive planning which has helped to shape the city and inform the work on the current Comprehensive Plan.

1889-1910
Project based planning begins under direction of Pittsburgh’s “Father of Park” Edward Bigelow, leading to the creation of Schenley Park, various Oakland cultural amenities, public libraries and museums.

1907-1908
The Pittsburgh Survey, a pioneering sociological study of Pittsburgh funded by the Russell Sage Foundation of New York City, is completed. The Survey is published in magazines, including Collier’s, in 1908 and 1909, before being expanded into a series of six books published between 1909 and 1914. The Pittsburgh Survey is considered a landmark of the Progressive Era reform movement.

1909-11
Frederick Law Olmstead completes and presents a plan, "Main Thoroughfares and the Downtown District" to the City (was originally intended to be a Comprehensive Plan but was scaled back).

1920s
The "Citizen’s Committee on the City Plan" is created by business interests in Pittsburgh. A series of six reports were completed: Pittsburgh Playgrounds (1920), Major Street Plan (1921), Parks (1923), Transit (1923), Railroads (1923) and Waterways (1923). The Playgrounds and Major Street Plan were adopted by the City's Planning Commission in 1922. An update to the Major Street Plan was completed by the City in 1926.

1930s
The City conducts the "Real Property Inventory of Pittsburgh," providing the first comprehensive study of housing conditions across the City and serving as the basis for the Public Housing programs established under the Housing Act of 1937. Robert Moses prepares the "Arterial Plan for Pittsburgh," a ten-year plan for thoroughfare projects.

1942
The Planning Commission begins preparing the 5-year Capital Improvement Plan annually.

1945
The Planning Commission releases the "Groundwork and Inventory for the Master Plan," presenting major data on the City.

1947-1948
A "Preliminary Master Plan for Pittsburgh" is created including the following plans: "A Generalized Plan of Prospective Land Use," "The Prospective Major Highway Network," "The Prospective Mass Transportation System," "The Prospective Railway System," and "Recreational Facilities of the Master Planning Guide."

1950s
A Zoning Ordinance rewrite occurs based on the 1947-48 documents. A Master Plan for Riverfront and Hillside Development is completed .

1960s
A Comprehensive Plan for the City of Pittsburgh is drafted but never adopted.

1968
Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code (PA MPC) is enacted by the State (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are exempted from the mandate to produce Comprehensive Plans in Pennsylvania).

1980s-90s
Pittsburgh, through both the City and partners such as the Riverlife Task Force, creates a series of plans around the City's riverfront, triggering a wave of public investments in trails and open space and private investment in development.

1999
Pittsburgh’s Downtown Plan is completed, an effort to reinforce the role of Pittsburgh's downtown in the regional economy.

1999
The City adopts a major revision to its Zoning Code.

2008
A proposal is made for the completion of a Comprehensive Plan. It was intended to consist of twelve components meant to be produced over time including topics such as: open space, historic preservation, urban design, public art, transportation, infrastructure, housing, economic development, education, energy and land use.

2010
The City releases PGHSNAP, a data resource in two parts: Asset Planning, which included data at the City-wide level, planning sector level and neighborhood level; and Action Planning, a series of metrics to determine neighborhood health.

2012
PreservePGH, the City's Cultural Heritage and Historic Preservation Plan is adopted by Planning Commission as the first part of the City's Comprehensive Plan.

2013
OpenSpacePGH, the City's Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Plan is adopted by the Planning Commission as a part of the City's Comprehensive Plan.

2015
The p4 Pittsburgh initiative is created through a collaboration between the Heinz Endowment and Mayor’s Office, creating an organizing framework for growing jobs, mobilizing capital, rejuvenating neighborhoods and improving lives; it outlines the p4 guidelines which include: People, Planet, Place and Performance.

2015
A Complete Streets Policy is developed by the City and adopted as a part of the City's Comprehensive Plan.

2017
OnePGH, Pittsburgh’s resilience strategy, is created with help from the 100 Resilient Cities Project and the City’s Department of Sustainability and Resilience, and adopted by the City’s Planning Commission.

2017
The Uptown EcoInnovation District Plan is adopted as the Department of City Planning’s first completed Neighborhood Plan in many years.

2018
Neighborhood Plans, intended to be adopted as a part of the City's Comprehensive Plan, are underway in Greater Hazelwood, Homewood and the Manchester/Chateau neighborhoods.

2018
The Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan approved by Pittsburgh City Council.

2018
New riverfront zoning, known as the RIV, is adopted as a result of a two-year effort to protect and promote the City’s riverfronts.

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