Work Project

Admittedly, it took me nearly twelve hours. I got faster as I went along, but it was a lot of data to process and, after a few hours, everything started blending together. It’s been a long time since I had a project of that magnitude…and if I ever have a similar one, I’m hoping I’ve got it down at least enough to shorten the timeframe!

There is still a whole lot about landscape architecture I don’t know. And one of the many aspects of the field is what they call “community planning”. In essence, I think it’s a good idea. For, obviously, a lot of towns have gone up willy-nilly, leaving odd looking neighborhoods mixed with commercial buildings mixed with a random gas station or pharmacy next to a park. On the other hand, zoning can also be a heavy-handed political crowbar. If I had a third hand, I would say that I hardly ever find anything wrong with planning.

In a nutshell, “community planning” is to formulate and draw up a, typically, ten-year sketch of what the town should look like over the next decade in an attempt to balance residential, versus commercial, versus town services. Of course, all kinds of things come into play with such a broad scope, but it’s not a bad idea for a town to look at its revenue and try to figure out how to maintain, bolster and improve what it has both in the present and the future. Interestingly, landscape architecture can include this under the subheading of “planning”.

In just the almost four years I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, there is a northern township that has boomed. We’re talking new houses, new shopping areas, new restaurants, new townhouses, new roads…and everything else that includes. I meet a lot of people who have moved there within the last four years as well. This boom is at the end of the township’s present ten-year plan and the firm I work for has been hired to help it formulate a new ten-year plan. This has included an on-line survey which residents were asked to complete, giving answers to questions about a much-discussed community center, why they live there to start with, how the township is currently doing, improvements, etc. And I just spent over twelve hours compiling that information…

First off, I figured out pretty quickly that most of the citizens don’t actually know the position their township is in (but, then, a lot of them complained about how the town council doesn’t keep the public informed anyhow so maybe that’s why). Because I learned from our planners that, essentially, the township has no more zoned residential property to build upon. This means the growth has plateaued, leaving them with no further boosts in income from new taxes. Which equals, for the present residents, raised taxes. (Not a surprise in Pittsburgh – they raise the already high taxes higher every year anyhow.) And, to be honest, if the citizens knew that, I think they would 1) move away quickly while they could still profit on the sale of their homes and 2) put a whole new spin on their survey answers. Mmh…maybe that’s why the township isn’t very forthcoming…

Secondly, I had to laugh sometimes as my eyes went cross reading the myriad of answers to the eight questions that were not multiple choice. Give some people an inch of a box to write in and they’ll take a mile. Ask some people any question on earth and they’ll write: The taxes are too high!!!!! (Honestly, I don’t think that is the answer to the question: Why have you chosen to live in this township?) Every teacher I ever had would be appalled. Didn’t their teachers ever tell them (a million times) to answer the question asked? Some people never do learn to follow directions…

Since moving to Pittsburgh and getting a job with a landscape architecture firm, I have learned a lot about Pittsburgh than I bet most people don’t know, transplants or natives. Transplants certainly pick up on it (the outrageously high taxes not only in Allegheny county but in Pennsylvania as a whole), but very few natives ever see outside their three rivers. Since I’ve worked with the City invoicing a few jobs I can honestly say it is very poorly run. But, having never worked with a big city before, I can’t say its run any worse than any other city. And the fact that for all intents and purposes Pittsburgh = Allegheny County, these townships are left in something akin to Purgatory. For one, they are limited on their forms of taxation so the only thing they can possibly do for revenue is raise the taxes (and then, probably, give even more to Pittsburgh because it wants is share in everything). And some of their public services they can do nothing about. The county clears the snow, the county, provides the water, the county dictates public transportation. And, so, the cries of the citizens fall on deaf ears because the council can’t do anything about these things and Pittsburgh isn’t going to listen to anyone. It’s an endless circle.

Sadly, in ten years, I don’t think I will see this township improved. Sadly, in ten years, it will start looking like the run down, overpopulated South Hills so many northern residents have already fled. But I can hope that maybe in ten years people will have then fled to the neighboring counties and found some welcome freedom. And then maybe Pittsburgh will get the hint. But I doubt it. After all, this is Pittsburgh.