Education as Neighborhood Anchor

Urban Academy, Campus Masterplan

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Pittsburgh, PA | 2.5 ACRES

One of the region’s oldest charter schools focused on the educational empowerment of Black students, the Urban Academy is a legacy institution located in the heart of Pittsburgh‘s Larimer neighborhood.
Urban Academy's real estate parcels span both sides of Meadow Street, an active thoroughfare in Pittsburgh's Larimer neighborhood.

More than an educational hub, Urban Academy envisions bringing together residents in rebuilding the neighborhood around a central and active residential corridor, catalyzing development, and providing public space and resources. Through studies of the neighborhood and of Urban Academy’s campus parcels we are providing analysis and planning options to help them realize their vision.

The programming and operative studies we are doing aim to help leverage investment in the Urban Academy to bring more density to a vital street connecting the residential core to the already developing Meadow Street through communal space, educational resources, and housing. The creation of these new activity corridors will promote pedestrian safety and accessibility, anchor the residential zone with a community-focused space, and provide support for families and students in transition while fitting into the urban context and respecting Larimer’s historical identity.

Research and analysis around the sites and within the community are helping to take disparate parcels and create a cohesive whole around five key objectives.

The journey from vision to reality begins with listening and analysis to help Urban Academy craft a plan that flexes and adapts to changing conditions and community needs. As Urban Academy’s partner in this effort, we are also able to provide visual and narrative support to help rally the community.

Schools are critical in creating a more equitable future, but they need the support of a larger ecosystem and built environment to succeed. Urban Academy’s vision of the future contributes to the resilience of the Larimer neighborhood.

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The heart of this work is to prove that a school has the capacity to be innovative in its approach and serve as a catalyst for community revitalization.

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- K. Chase Patterson, CEO, The Urban Academy