Increased Public Safety in Atlanta's Pittsburgh Neighborhood

When the Pitts­burgh neigh­bor­hood became ground zero for the fore­clo­sure cri­sis in Atlanta, the Atlanta Civic Site began work­ing with part­ners to sta­bi­lize and revi­tal­ize the neigh­bor­hood. Togeth­er, these part­ners have acquired 95 vacant prop­er­ties in the neigh­bor­hood and have rehabbed 12 as rental homes for work­ing fam­i­lies with chil­dren. More are being rehabbed now, with six addi­tion­al homes pro­ject­ed for com­ple­tion by the end of September.

Last Decem­ber, the part­ners worked with Pitts­burgh res­i­dents and oth­ers to craft the Preser­va­tion of Pitts­burgh Mas­ter Plan. Dover, Kohl & Part­ners, a mas­ter plan­ning firm, guid­ed more than 100 res­i­dents, pol­i­cy and orga­ni­za­tion­al part­ners and sub­ject-mat­ter experts through a week­long series of activ­i­ties that allowed par­tic­i­pants to share con­crete ideas for revi­tal­iz­ing the Pitts­burgh neigh­bor­hood. The final mas­ter plan was released in May and is being used to inform devel­op­ment efforts in the community.

One goal out­lined in the mas­ter plan is to improve the image of the neigh­bor­hood and increase pub­lic safe­ty. To sup­port that goal, the Cop on the Block pro­gram was launched this spring. Sun­Trust Foun­da­tion pro­vid­ed a $37,500 grant to ren­o­vate a house for an Atlanta police offi­cer, and this spring, an offi­cer and his fam­i­ly moved into a rehabbed home strate­gi­cal­ly locat­ed near the neigh­bor­hood’s ele­men­tary school. In sup­port of Cop on the Block, the Atlanta Police Foun­da­tion agreed to pro­vide the offi­cer with a take-home police vehi­cle to raise res­i­dent aware­ness of the increased police presence.