Pittsburgh opts for deconstruction over demolition to address city’s blight

As reported by 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh will pilot a deconstruction program in which blighted properties in the city will be dismantled instead of demolished. Mayor Bill Peduto signed an executive order greenlighting the program on April 20.

Pittsburgh officials aim to reduce blight in neighborhoods by deconstructing city-owned properties that are condemned but not yet slated for demolition. Deconstruction involves selectively stripping buildings of potentially useful materials to preserve their integrity and ability to be repurposed. The goal is to recover, reuse and recycle building materials like bricks, lumber, shingles and tile that otherwise would have been sent to landfill. This method also helps safely dispose of hazardous materials, Peduto says.

“Data shows that living in proximity to blight can cause serious health issues for neighbors, and we also know that too many salvageable building materials languish in a landfill, which only harms our planet,” says Peduto. “Deconstruction will allow us to better remove blight from our neighborhoods, preserve assets from historic buildings, divert reusable materials from our over-burdened landfill, improve air quality, and create a pipeline for family-sustaining jobs.”

The executive order calls for the city to create a process for identifying eligible structures that includes taking account of neighbor and community concern about properties, focusing on structures in historically Black business districts and low-income communities, and conducting a sustainability deconstruction assessment. The policy will pilot deconstruction on city-owned properties and city facilities. It also creates standards for the recovery and recycling of materials for city-funded demolitions.  

“Deconstruction represents yet another action that city government has taken to advance equity, achieve our climate goals, improve quality of life for our neighbors, and create well-paying jobs in the process,” says the city’s Chief Equity Officer Majestic Lane. “This policy will set a standard for other cities to follow.”  

Officials hope to identify 10 houses that are good candidates for deconstruction by the fall.

Additional directives for city departments in the executive order include formulating community engagement plans to ensure neighbors understand the process and public benefits of deconstruction. It also specifies the formation of a Deconstruction Action Council comprised of members from various city departments, industries and institutions to study and advocate for the expansion of the policy. 

About 1,700 buildings across Pittsburgh are condemned, and the city owns approximately 20 percent of them. Since 2015, the city has spent $12 million on demolition and issued more than double that amount in permits to private contractors, the city says.