Ronell Guy oscillated between admiration and admonishment as she drove around the California-Kirkbride neighborhood in Pittsburgh. She’s the Executive Director of the Northside Coalition for Fair Housing and an interim board member of the city’s land bank. She pointed at blighted houses and vacant lots and then cooed at the possibilities of the abandoned properties. The Coalition has taken it upon itself to maintain the empty lots, many of which are owned by the city, but they currently do so as trespassers, she said. With Pittsburgh’s new land bank, established in April, Guy hopes to reduce her workload and tap the neighborhood’s potential more easily.
Read the full version of this report at the website of Keystone Crossroads, a new statewide public media initiative reporting on the challenges facing Pennsylvania's cities. WPSU is a participating station.
