Urban Redevelopment Authority Library Collection, 1945-1997 (bulk 1957-1997)

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) is the City of Pittsburgh's economic development agency.

Incorporated in 1946, the URA was one of the first redevelopment authorities created under the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law of 1945 (Act of May 24, 1945, P.L. 991, No. 385). The law enabled public authorities to facilitate the use of public and private investment for the improvement of blighted land. In order for a redevelopment project to begin, the Pittsburgh Planning Commission had to declare the area blighted and redevelopment plans and contracts had to be reviewed by the Commission and approved by City Council.

The URA Board is comprised of five citizens appointed by the Mayor of Pittsburgh. The first URA Board consisted of Mayor David L. Lawrence, Chairman; Arthur B. Van Buskirk, Vice Chairman; City Councilman William Alvah Stewart, Treasurer; department store magnate Edgar J. Kaufmann; and John Lester Perry, then the retiring head of Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation. The early planning and acquisition efforts of the URA set in motion a course of redevelopment projects that became known as “Renaissance I,” which included projects such as Gateway Center (the first privately financed downtown redevelopment project in the United States); the expansion of Jones and Laughlin’s South Side Works; the clearing and redevelopment of 95 acres in the Lower Hill District and 254 acres in East Liberty. For a comprehensive history of the URA, see Forging the Pittsburgh Renaissance (1997) by Bessie C. Economou (Box 3, Folder 59).

Today, the URA’s programs primarily focus on affordable housing, small business development, inclusive growth and job creation, neighborhood revitalization, and workforce development.