Urban Solidarity

Alana Nulph

Hill District-Site Analysis

Surrounding Areas

The neighborhoods surrounding the Hill Districts provides a sense of context. The Hill is surrounded by: The Central Business District, or Downtown; The Strip District, filled with shopping and dining; Polish Hill, a urban/suburban neighborhood; The Bluff, mostly vacant store-fronts, housing, and parking for Downtown; and Oakland, the hub for education and health care.

The areas surrounding The Hill District are filled with history, culture, art, education, health care, shopping, restaurants and housing.

Population

The population of each neighborhood within The Hill District.

Crawford Roberts has the largest population within The Hill with 2,292. The population in The Hill has been rapidly declining since the 1950s due to redevelopment.

Topography & Contours

The site of The Hill District sits significantly higher than the surrounding areas. The highest point of elevation is 1,370 ft. located on the northeast end of the site at the Robert E. Williams Reservoir. There is 6 ft. of elevation change in between each contour line.

Connection

The major highways, major roads, roads, and bus routes are shown in this map. The majority of the site has a speed limit of 25 mph. The bus route needs to be improved so there is less time between each route circulation.

Open/Green Spaces

The Hill District has multiple different parks: Robert E. Williams Reservoir, Hope Park, Kennard Park, and Community Parks. There's a significant amount of parking and greenways that have potential for new programs.

Environmental Constraints

Major environmental constrains include landslide prone areas, areas where the slope is greater than 25% and flood zones. Development should be limited in these areas.

Buildings

The majority of The Hill District is residential housing. There are a few grade schools, mixed with Pitt Campus Buildings. Churches, medical facilities, and athletic buildings are located throughout the site.

The Hill District lacks grocery stores, a central shopping area, cultural and historical buildings and new urban housing. Any displacement caused by redevelopment should have a new home in new housing developments.

Composite Analysis

The site analysis helped determine opportunities and constraints throughout The Hill District. Highlighted streets will be widened for bike lanes, larger sidewalks, bus stops, bike racks, and street-side vegetation. The majority of the parks within the site will be redesigned to improve circulation, manage water, and incorporate stronger programs. The design opportunities involve areas like the Lower Hill District and areas for new developments like parks, shopping areas, open areas, children's play areas, and art/culture programs. The main area of constraint is the landslide prone area.

Hill District-Urban Solidarity

The Hill District began as a cultural rich neighborhood with music and art. Throughout the years, a lot of that has changed due to displacement and population decline. The site inventory and analysis showcased a need for connection, unity and preservation. Solidarity means unity among a group of people with similar interests, and that's exactly what the Hill District needs to regenerate.

Conceptual Design

The goal of this design is to create spaces that draw people into the neighborhood with strong programs and connection. There's already a great sense of community, so designing a central hub as the main connection provides solidarity. The Town Center will have shopping, dining, art, green spaces, a venue for music and art, green roofs, a historical museum, and urban architecture that connects to the surrounding parks.

Gateways at each entrance to the Hill will inspire people to come into the neighborhood with signage, bike lanes, and plantings. New housing will be affordable, and new bus routes will be implemented.

Urban Master Plan

Section-Elevation

Section A-A': In this section you can see the Town Center. There's a raised platform to access the upper part of the commercial buildings, restaurant, seating areas, planting beds and a water feature that spills over the platform down onto the bottom section. The Bottom section of the Town Center has access to a children's play area, an art exhibit, seating areas, a water feature and access to the History Museum on the right.

Section B-B': This section showcases the Greenhouse Shop located in Hope Park. There's raised garden beds, an indoor-greenhouse, a farmer's shop attached, and access to the walk/bike platform.

Roads

The roads are categorized by width and usage: Artery, Collector, Local and Alley. Artery streets are the widest, with two way car lanes, two way bike lanes and sidewalks on either side with street-side vegetation.

Streetscape by Road Type

Each road is designed specifically for its usage. Artery and Collector Streets have two-way bike lanes and bus stops.

Lower Hill District

The Lower Hill District is currently empty parking lots where Mellon Arena use to stand. This area is highly used due to it being located next to PPG Paints Arena where the Pittsburgh Penguins play hockey. The idea behind "The Cap" is to connect the Lower Hill to the Central Business District with a park space located above the highway.

Master Plan

The Lower Hill is designed to be a gateway into the Hill District. Throughout the site there's interactive water features, a stage for concerts, art exhibits, or movies, a sculpture walk with local art, private and public green spaces, seating, and a variety of different types of buildings. The sidewalks and streets are lined with trees and signage that guides you through the site and into the Hill District. There's residential housing for single, and multiple families, office buildings, restaurants, shopping areas, and local shops for the users to enjoy.

Section-Elevation

Axonometric

Details

The majority of the site consists of residential housing. There's a large public park connecting the Lower Hill to the Hill District. Most commercial, office and mixed-use buildings are located towards the Central Business District.

Birdseye View of the Site

The birds eye is taken from the large park that's a gateway into the Hill District. There's a large range of different sized planting beds, a sculpture walk, interactive seating/planting pyramids, and shaded seating area.

The single-family housing is also pictured which can house 18 different families. There are balconies, and parking lots for each development.

Open Space Plan

The Park connecting The Hill District and the Lower Hill District is a gateway to bring people from Downtown into the Hill. The sidewalks are arranged to guide the users through the site and into the Hill. There's a water feature that collects storm water and can be used for interactive play, and in the winter this area can be turned into an ice skating rink. The planting beds are filled with masses of coneflowers, grasses, shrubs, and small trees. There's a sculpture garden, which showcases pieces of local art. The sculpture garden can easily be turned into a farmers market, or a seasonal local shopping town. The streets are lined with trees, lightings, bus stops and bike racks.

Section-Elevation

Streetscape Plan

This streetscape is the main strip through the Lower Hill District. The roads are paved with asphalt and each crosswalk has bright green painted hexagons to alert drivers to slow down. There's a two-way protected bike lane, with bike racks located along the sidewalk. Bus stops are placed at each corner and trees and light posts line the sidewalks.

Section-Elevation

The road is 40 ft. wide and has two-way car lanes, and two-way protected bike lanes. The sidewalks are 10 ft. wide with tree wells, bus stops, bike lanes and street lighting.

Park Perspective

Water Feature Perspective

Stage Diagram

The stage by the commercial buildings has a lot of different uses. The daily use entails users roaming around the space, walking, sitting, resting, or even exercise. The space can be used for art exhibits, where artwork is set up on the stage or on the 4 large benches beside it. The space can be used for live music or performances, or it can be used as an open-air cinema in the evenings.

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