Mapping Pittsburgh job density... (California, Liberty: sales, 2013, houses)

[eschaton]

So, it's been awhile since I've done a map for the forum, here goes one.

I've been curious for awhile about PGHSNAP's outdated jobs per neighborhood numbers (from 2000), and I finally tracked down the origin of them. They come from the Census Transportation Planning Products.. Indeed, when I got into the data, there were slightly more recent numbers which were released, from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey. These aren't perfect, but are far better than 13 year old numbers, and given the numbers were just released on May of 2013, they're the best we have.

Unfortunately, while they give details on the number of jobs per census tract, this can't be broken down by neighborhood perfectly. Some neighborhoods share census tracts, like Bon Air/Beltzhoover, or Allegheny West/Allegheny Center. Thus I abandoned looking at the number of jobs per neighborhood, instead looking at jobs per census tract.

The problem is, even this is not great data, because census tracts vary widely in geographic size (they're normalized roughly for population, but not for land area). Thus I cross-referenced against the land surface area of each census tract, and came up with the following map.

The color scale is based upon a spectrum, with purple having the highest job density per square mile (downtown - 142,000), followed by dark blue (69,000 to 28,000), light blue (21,000 to 10,000), green (9,999 to 5,000), yellow-green (4,999 to 2,500), yellow (2,499 to 1,000), orange (999 to 500), red (499 to 100) and dark red (99 and under). Keep in mind these numbers are inclusive of self-employed persons, so neighborhoods with no formal workplaces can still have neighborhood employment.

For the most part, we can see why the East End rules Pittsburgh - it's where the jobs are. More accurately, we see a clear association between the gentrifying portions of the city and those areas which are either major job anchors or only one neighborhood away. In contrast the stagnant or floundering portions of the city (outer North Side, South Pittsburgh, and the West End) tend to have job densities under 2,500 per square mile.

There are some outlier areas away from the core. In Lincoln-Lemington Belmar, the VA hospital and the Waterworks shopping center create job islands isolated from the core. The usually high job densities for their area of California-Kirkbride and part of the Central Northside seems to be because of the USPS facility and Allegheny General Hospital respectively. Most oddly, the census track made up of Westwood and Ridgemont has a relatively high jobs density for the region. There is a factory off of McKinney Lane, and a shopping district on the city portion of Noblestown Road.

One thing I think the map shows is we could fit a lot more jobs in our "near downtown." While Crawford Roberts, the North Shore, and the South Shore all have higher jobs densities than the norm for the city, they have lower job densities than areas further away from downtown. Really they should be in the "dark blue" grouping if we had a well-constructed local infrastructure.

Also, the legacy of mixed-use history is strong. Many portions of blighted neighborhoods like Garfield, Homewood, and the Hill District, while having low employment densities for the East End, have employment densities which equal or surpass stable neighborhoods in the suburban fringes of the city.

Edit: For some reason, part of Garfield didn't convert from the SVG to the PNG. It should also be in the gold color.

[SteelCityRising]

Wow. Thanks so much for compiling this map for us, eschaton! Very informative, and it does indeed reiterate the need for better transit options throughout the East End, which has a very dense concentration of jobs. I'm hopeful the Civic Arena mixed-use redevelopment site will bring at least several hundred (if not a couple of thousand) jobs with it, which will only help to bolster job density between Downtown and Oakland.

The Strip District has a strong job density, too. There's a big office building near the Cork Factory that has a surprising number of people working in it, along with others nearby, such as the one that houses 4Moms. Buncher's bland-looking office buildings beneath the Crosstown Boulevard overpass also figure in, as do the independent businesses lining Penn and Smallman. I'm guessing the film studios along 31st Street, under the bridge, also factor into the equation there.

I'm surprised to see Polish Hill's density as high as it is, too, given how few businesses we have, but then again I'm presuming we have a lot of people who work from home, given how many cars line the streets at all hours of the day.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Wow. Thanks so much for compiling this map for us, eschaton! Very informative, and it does indeed reiterate the need for better transit options throughout the East End, which has a very dense concentration of jobs. I'm hopeful the Civic Arena mixed-use redevelopment site will bring at least several hundred (if not a couple of thousand) jobs with it, which will only help to bolster job density between Downtown and Oakland.

Between Duquense, Mercy, and the County Jail, Uptown has plenty of jobs, and the highest job density outside of Downtown or Oakland. I think what it needs more is residents who aren't imprisoned or in dorms to transform it into a real mixed-use community.

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

The Strip District has a strong job density, too. There's a big office building near the Cork Factory that has a surprising number of people working in it, along with others nearby, such as the one that houses 4Moms. Buncher's bland-looking office buildings beneath the Crosstown Boulevard overpass also figure in, as do the independent businesses lining Penn and Smallman. I'm guessing the film studios along 31st Street, under the bridge, also factor into the equation there.

Overall the Strip District had 11,210 jobs, or 18,228 per square mile. Unlike most areas outside of Downtown, there's no clear anchor like a Hospital or University. It's probably due to numerous small employers. If it was built up to Oakland densities you could easily triple the number of jobs however.

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I'm surprised to see Polish Hill's density as high as it is, too, given how few businesses we have, but then again I'm presuming we have a lot of people who work from home, given how many cars line the streets at all hours of the day.

The official borders of Polish Hill include the southeast side of Liberty from the 28th Street Bridge to Herron Avenue. There's a number of large buildings in this section. I don't know if all are active businesses, but it includes Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the UHaul self storage site, Cheerleaders, Grainger, a Fed Ex garage, Refrigeration Sales Corp, etc. If these jobs were discounted I'd expect that Polish Hill would fall to the yellow/gold category or lower.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by eschaton

The usually high job densities for their area of California-Kirkbride and part of the Central Northside seems to be because of the USPS facility and Allegheny General Hospital respectively. Most oddly, the census track made up of Westwood and Ridgemont has a relatively high jobs density for the region. There is a factory off of McKinney Lane, and a shopping district on the city portion of Noblestown Road.

.

I don't think there is a factory off of McKinney Lane, just the Parkway Center Mall, the recently closed K-mart and Giant Eagle.

[steindle]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Overall the Strip District had 11,210 jobs, or 18,228 per square mile. Unlike most areas outside of Downtown, there's no clear anchor like a Hospital or University. It's probably due to numerous small employers. If it was built up to Oakland densities you could easily triple the number of jobs however.

I would bet that EDMC is a substantial portion of this.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I don't think there is a factory off of McKinney Lane, just the Parkway Center Mall, the recently closed K-mart and Giant Eagle.

Yeah, I guess that was what I'm looking at. It was something with a big square footage and not very tall, so I presumed it was a warehouse or factory.

How recently was it closed? Given the 2013 estimates are from 2006-2010 data, it could have factored in. If so than jobs within the city of Pittsburgh have been further concentrated.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Yeah, I guess that was what I'm looking at. It was something with a big square footage and not very tall, so I presumed it was a warehouse or factory.

How recently was it closed? Given the 2013 estimates are from 2006-2010 data, it could have factored in. If so than jobs within the city of Pittsburgh have been further concentrated.

The Kmart closed in January. The Giant Eagle is still open.

Where does Parkway Center Mall's future lie? | TribLIVE