Pittsburgh's built-up suburban district is varied and far scattered. It
lies along the rivers, as at Sharpsburg, in industrial towns; it lies
among the hills, as at Sewickley, in purely residential areas. It is
reached in some places by steam cars, and everywhere by trolley. It is
the home of the millionaire and of the moderate wage earner. At times
it is beautiful, and at other times it shows hardly the beginnings of
aesthetic aspiration or social consciousness. No brief discussion of
it is possible, for each separate suburban community would have to
be taken by itself. But in a general way this can be said: As nature
has given to Pittsburgh one of the most picturesque city sites in the
world, so she has done what she could to circle the city with lovely
suburbs. With sane and artistic planning, popular co-operation, and a
degree of patience, the beautiful suburb with winding roads, entrancing
views, individual privacy and communal neighborliness, might have been
secured much oftener than it has been and it might have been brought
within the financial reach of much greater numbers.
For suburbs rapid transit is essential; and that as yet has had nothing
like the development one would expect near Pittsburgh. The subway
plan involves the radiation from the loop of long, straight roads
furnishing to certain outlying sections a transportation much more
rapid than at present offered. With low fares, this should mean much
to crowded Pittsburgh. But the time to improve suburbs is before,
not after, the rush thither begins. The suburbs must act as quickly
as must the East End, the playground supporters, the designers of an
educational center, and the builders of an adequate East End approach.
In all that Pittsburgh is to do for civic improvement she must act at
once, generously and with comprehensive grasp.