by Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Long-term vision plans are becoming the norm for neighborhoods, but rarely do they cross as many borders and pack so much influence as the new “Oakland 2025: A vision for sustainable living and mobility.”

In neighborhoods as small as Larimer and the Central Northside, the process can take a year or more with diverse interests making consensus a challenge. Oakland 2025 could be the mother of all vision plans.

Guided by the Oakland Planning and Development Corp., the process bridged four neighborhoods and brought to the same table residents; design consultants; more than a dozen nonprofits — from Bike Pittsburgh to United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh — business owners; three city councilmen and two state representatives; transportation experts; the Urban Redevelopment Authority; and institutions that include the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Carlow University, UPMC, the Allegheny County Health Department and Port Authority.

“It’s a monster,” said Wanda Wilson, executive director of the Oakland Planning and Development Corp. “I think the thing that’s going to help [with implementation] is that we have these partnerships in place — not that it’s going to be a piece of cake.”

Read more: http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/12310/1274470-53.stm#ixzz2C2s2e58B