Problem Solving, Depopulation and Vacant Land in a Pittsburgh Neighborhood

Sarah Hogan*, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Field (Broad Category): Criminology/Criminal Justice (Behavioral & Social Sciences) 

Student’s Major: Criminology 

This project is a portrait of an urban neighborhood by examining a neighborhood’s demographics, cultural attributes, economic characteristics, social conditions, and the characteristics of its buildings and infrastructure. I chose to investigate Perry Hilltop, a neighborhood on the Northern side of Pittsburgh, PA. For the collection of my data, first I compiled census data involving housing, demographic, social and economic characteristics for my neighborhood. Census data was also collected on Allegheny county as a whole to be compared to the neighborhood. I then traveled to Perry Hilltop to conduct an interview with a resident of the neighborhood in order to get first-hand knowledge of what living in the area is like. Through my research, I found a fundamental issue with the infrastructure throughout the neighborhood: there were abandoned buildings and vacant lots littering the area. To combat this, The Perry Hilltop Citizen's Council is constantly working on new ways to bring the community together in order to push the neighborhood back up to the desirable area it once was. 

Funding: 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: Other SOCA 488: Capstone – Cities and Urban Life: “The Wire”