What is our rationale for selecting the current priority geographies?

• The Big Rethink: Positioning Pittsburgh for the Next Stage of Urban Regeneration is a report which assessed the community development system in Pittsburgh and recommended future steps to ensure that the system works for all communities in the city.
• Despite many success stories of neighborhood turnaround, initial analysis indicates that more than 80,000 Pittsburghers are still living in neighborhoods where indicators related to education, poverty, crime and asset-building demonstrate generations of disinvestment.
• Generations of disinvestment are not limited to city boundaries as some bordering boroughs are connected to distressed and transitioning city neighborhoods.
• As a result, we believe that tailored approaches are needed to solve enduring generational problems.
• After analyzing data compiled by the Department of City Planning’s PGHSNAP Initiative (that relate to education, poverty, crime, population decline, housing conditions and vacancy) and taking into consideration Fourth Economy’s development of Tier I (distressed), Tier I bordering boroughs and Tier 2 (transitional) neighborhoods, we developed a list of six priority neighborhoods for our Fall 2014 Catalytic Program.
• Due to limited funding in this round, we could not select all the neighborhoods that fit these criteria. A more subjective lens was applied to narrow the list and factors such as capacity and partnership potential were reviewed.
• Future funding rounds will likely prioritize different geographies.