About PGHSNAP:

Check out this short (one minute) intro to PGHSNAP!

Video excerpt courtesy of ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects); shown at the 2010 ASLA Awards Program in Washington DC. 

PGHSNAP Background

The Department of City Planning created PGHSNAP because we believe that public information should not only be easily accessible, but easily understood. All of the datasets presented in PGHSNAP are already available to the public, but are housed in many different locations, with varying degrees of difficulty in accessing them. Also, many of them are organized at differing levels of analysis, and aren't available by Pittsburgh neighborhood. We've taken those datasets and organized them by neighborhood--all 90 of them--and put them into an easy to understand format.

Another important reason for creating PGHSNAP is that the City of Pittsburgh has embarked on its first ever comprehensive plan: PLANPGH. Creating a comprehensive plan requires a lot of data to be collected, and it requires a lot of maps to be made. PGHSNAP will serve as the data and map foundation for PLANPGH.

In addition to the connection to PLANPGH, PGHSNAP is closely linked to the City's online interactive mapping application, PGHGIS. The “GIS” in PGHGIS stands for "Geographic Information System," and it is a consistently updated, constantly growing resource for maps for Pittsburgh.

Professional Recognition & Media:

• Awards:
  • American Society of Landscape Architects: 2010 Honor Award in the Land Use and Planning category
  • American Planning Association, PA Chapter: 2010 Planning Excellence Award for Best Practice
• Media:
  • PopCity, Feb. 2010:  Story
  • Mayor's Press Release, Jan. 2012:  Story
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Feb. 2012:  Story

We think PGHSNAP is pretty cool, but don't take it from us--here's a quote from the Professional Jury of the 2010 ASLA Awards:

“It is an impressive undertaking to make this type of geographic and mapping data available in a format that is user-defined yet doesn't require GIS equipment and capabilities. The interface is exceptionally clear and even inviting and fun to navigate. The commitment to maintain this resource as an annually updated database is yet more impressive. This is an important precedent that shows us how public agencies can catalyze advances in the work of the firms that work for them. Communication will be easier between landscape architects and client communities in Pittsburgh, because they can now share access to more of the information that guides planning and design decisions.”

How to Use PGHSNAP:

The two main ways information contained within PGHSNAP can be accessed is shown below.  Below that is a quick summary of how the Published Data is organized (jump to section).

PGHSNAP Published Data

You can get a PDF version of PGHSNAP that will allow you to view and print data & maps for any neighborhood you choose. The data is already formatted and arranged by neighborhood, and is ready to use. It’s easy to find what you need--the PDF is interactive and contains a wealth of information. To learn more about how Published Data is organized, see the section below.

Click here to get the Published Data

PGHSNAP Raw Data

Sometimes you just want to do things for yourself. PGHSNAP’s raw data section allows you to download datasets in various formats (such as .xcl, .csv, .shp, .kml, etc.). You can sort, crunch, and graph the data as you please.

Click here to get the Raw Data

How PGHSNAP Published Data is organized

PGHSNAP Published Data is made up of two useful modules: Asset Profiles and Action Planning.

PGHSNAP Asset Profiles Data:

Within the Asset Profiles section, data is organized at three levels: Citywide, by Planning Sector (groups of neighborhoods), and individual neighborhoods.

At each of these levels, you’ll find information about many types of things, including the following:

PGHSNAP Action Planning Data:

In addition to simply presenting the data simply as is, PGHSNAP provides a section that combines several key datasets into strategy maps that can help policy makers, neighborhood advocates, and other stakeholders to make decisions that can make our neighborhoods better.

The strategic maps are based on the following critical indicators: