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<\/p>\nPublished on October 15, 2026<\/p>\n
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Mayor O\u2019Connor Announces Bloomberg Investment in Permit Reform to Increase Housing Stock<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh, PA \u2013 Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor today announced that Pittsburgh is among the first 15 U.S. local governments selected for Bloomberg Philanthropies new housing initiative, one of up to 30 cities total who will receive funding and expertise to unlock supply for residents through accelerated permit reform.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlready this year, we have made great progress in modernizing our permitting system to make it easier for homes to be built and small businesses to grow,\u201d said Mayor O\u2019Connor. \u201cJoining Bloomberg Philanthropies as one of the first cities in their new housing initiative will help us have access to the funding and expertise to make these changes even faster to revolutionize permitting in Pittsburgh and say yes to growth in our neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
As America confronts a severe shortage of homes<\/a>, the Bloomberg Philanthropies effort will move three of the nation\u2019s most effective local housing solutions from the city halls that pioneered them \u2013 Atlanta, Austin, and San Diego \u2013 to up to 30 more across the country. Pittsburgh joins the first 15 municipalities selected, which also includes: Albuquerque, NM; Alexandria, VA; Charleston, SC; Chattanooga, TN; Cleveland, OH; Columbia, SC; Durham, NC; Louisville, KY; Miami, FL; Nashville, TN; Omaha, NE; Portland, ME; Providence, RI; and San Jose, CA.<\/p>\n \u201cCity halls are taking local action to increase the housing supply and ease the shortage that is driving up rents and leaving the dream of home ownership out of reach,\u201d said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term mayor of New York City. \u201cAs local governments address this issue, we have a great opportunity to spread the best ideas across the country. That is what this initiative is all about: helping more mayors adopt proven ways of getting more housing built\u2014and delivering.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The pattern repeats in community after community: rent growth outrunning wages growth<\/a>, commutes lengthening<\/a>, and home ownership arriving later in life<\/a>\u2014if it arrives at all. Much of what drives the crisis<\/a>\u2014rising rents, interest rates, construction costs, land prices\u2014sits beyond any one jurisdiction\u2019s control. But the levers local government does hold are among the most consequential: what may be built, where it may be built, and how quickly it is approved. Several U.S. mayors have pulled those levers with striking results, and their examples help answer how more housing in America actually gets built. That broader effort is gaining backing from private companies, civic associations, and nonprofits. This commitment from Bloomberg Philanthropies joins them with the best of what municipal innovation offers: the means to take the headway city halls have already made much further.<\/p>\n Bloomberg\u2019s housing initiative will help Pittsburgh and other cities build off of the success of three local government models: speeding and digitizing permitting from San Diego, CA; expanding accessory dwelling units from Austin, TX; and housing strike force teams from Atlanta, GA.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh is set to receive up to $450,000 to $750,00 in funding from Bloomberg to pilot technology to further modernize and speed up permitting. The City will also have access to expert operational support from Accelerator for America<\/a> and other field-leading specialists to implement reforms quickly.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh officials will also network with their peers, sharing what is succeeding on the ground and strengthening their plans with the officials furthest ahead on housing solutions nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cBloomberg Philanthropies has spent years betting on local government as the place where real problems get solved, and this partnership puts that belief directly to work on housing,\u201d said Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, President and CEO of Accelerator for America. \u201cWith this support, Accelerator for America gets to do what we do best: help more mayors put proven tools to work in their own cities \u2013 building the homes our communities desperately need \u2014 and creating national change from the ground up.\u201d<\/p>\n The initiative, part of the organization\u2019s longstanding Government Innovation portfolio, will be housed within its Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange<\/a>, the first effort of its kind moving what works in one municipality to where it is needed next. More than 1,000 city halls from 95 countries\u2014serving over 745 million residents\u2014take part in the Idea Exchange today, with nearly 200 replications complete or underway.<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n About Bloomberg Philanthropies:\u00a0<\/p>\n Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg\u2019s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2025, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $4.3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org<\/a>, sign up for our newsletter<\/a>, or follow us on Instagram<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Threads<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and X<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Molly Onufer
\nPress Secretary
\nmolly.onufer@pittsburghpa.gov<\/p>\n