Completely surrounding the business district of Pittsburgh, in a belt
of varying width that disregards the intercepting river, is a section
of mean streets, of crowded housing conditions, and if not of genuine
poverty, at least of the discomforts which poverty elsewhere brings.
This juxtaposition is a familiar phenomenon in urban development, for
it is based on the social necessity that the least paid wage earners
live within walking distance of their work; on the willingness, and
even desire, of the well-to-do to live at a distance from the noise and
smoke of business sections; and on the attraction which the constant
stimulus of "city" life exerts on those who have few other sources of
entertainment. That the river sides do not relieve and break up this
belt, is due in part to the local topography. Across the Allegheny, the
land is low and subject to flood; across the Monongahela, there is
only a narrow strip between the river and the highlands that, rising
steeply, offer sites with purer air and wider outlook but that must be
reached by riding. Neither river is itself attractive as an outlook for
residences.
The civic improvement needs of this poorer and crowded district may be
grouped under five general heads. These are: (a) municipal,--as the
matter of street improvement; (b) housing,--with which this discussion
does not attempt to deal; (c) playspace and opportunity for children;
(d) park provision,--which may best be considered in connection
with the similar needs of the whole community; and (e) bathing
facilities,--which here can be no more than mentioned.
(a) Municipal. The primary municipal need, in so far at least as the
region adjacent to the Allegheny is concerned, is flood prevention.
That is a city matter plus a good deal else, which will be considered
elsewhere in this issue.
The street needs are many and pressing. Conditions in this matter are
absolutely disgraceful. Narrow streets are the rule in old Pittsburgh,
and smooth pavements cannot be expected upon steep streets. But with
all possible allowance for these facts, there is much that might
be undone. The streets are not all steep. Steep streets can be kept
clean,--more easily, indeed, than others. Cobblestone pavements can be
banished.
[Illustration: AN ITALIAN COURT IN THE HILL DISTRICT.]
Well laid brick pavements, or asphalt, or smooth wood blocks where
practicable,--and all frequently flushed, are a necessity for this
region. Cleanliness, too, should be the rule in the streets and alleys
of the poorer sections; and it is here especially that the standard of
municipal administration in Pittsburgh needs raising. Only within the
past year has the public removal of rubbish been adopted as a municipal
function.
It may be profitably reflected that in no other area of the Pittsburgh
District would an equal amount of improvement affect so many
residents. With original paving costs a general tax, with sanitation in
this section a matter of prime importance outside the locality itself,
and with the borrowing capacity of the city very large, there ought
to be a pretty general reconstruction of the street surface of this
district on modern lines. Such improvement ought not to be difficult
and, incidentally, should appeal to the pride of Pittsburgh. The
stranger, arriving at any of the railroad stations, finds little to
admire in the business district. And when he leaves that, in whatsoever
direction he goes,--whether to the fashionable East End, to the
Carnegie Institute, to any of the parks, to the pleasant old-fashioned
homes in Allegheny, or to the heights beyond the Monongahela, he must
pass through this dreary belt of municipal neglect. It is here that
unfavorable first impressions become fixed. These regions give a bad
character to the whole city.
The necessity for playgrounds is pressing, so pressing that an earnest,
self-sacrificing effort has been made to meet it. The work of the
modern playground gives benefit in three directions: physical, social
and educational. This is recognized by the Pittsburgh Playground
Association, an incorporated body which receives appropriations from
the municipality, supplements these with private donations, and
with the volunteer work of individuals and clubs. In recognition of
the threefold aspect of what is sweepingly called the "playground"
movement, the association conducts "recreation parks" and vacation
schools, as well as mere playgrounds. It holds the theory that "there
should be three kinds of recreation centers: first, the school-yard
for small children who cannot go more than a few squares from home;
then the larger playground with apparatus and facilities for healthy
play for all the boys and girls of a neighborhood; third, the athletic
field, where teams may meet and where the interest of the community
may center." It is clear from this that the lack of play facilities
arises from insufficient material provision rather than from inadequate
ideals. These provisions are gradually increasing but they have far
to go before they will be complete. Thirty square feet of playground
space for each child is the minimum provision recommended in Washington
and London, and in a bill lately introduced in the Massachusetts
Legislature. If the allowance seems too liberal, translate the
"thirty square feet" into six feet by five,--the size of a desk! Rich
Pittsburgh falls woefully short of this figure. Her need is for more,
and more adequately fitted, playgrounds. The poorer districts need them
most and the first provision should be made there. This is said with
due regard to the limitation of a playground's scope. The sore need for
parks located more conveniently to the immense working population, than
the present parks of Pittsburgh are, and developed more appropriately
to their needs, has not been confused with the community's need
for children's play-spaces and recreation grounds. The latter is a
separate, urgent and co-existent want, concerned, as is park provision,
with the very structure of the city, involving similarly its social
welfare, and making a strong appeal in the name of the children. Such
a survey of available sites (without buildings or with buildings of
little value) as that undertaken by the playground association the
past summer should be made the basis for the reservation of sites in
congested neighborhoods and outlying districts.