Sharpsburg Community Vision Plan

The Sharpsburg Community Vision Plan is the community’s roadmap to shape their future and guide development in the borough for the next 5 to 10 years. The plan showcases Sharpsburg’s identity, people, culture, and ambitions, and envisions a community of opportunity where all people are connected, thriving, resilient, and empowered to be the best they can be.

evolveEA’s team performed extensive community engagement and urban analysis in collaboration with the western Pennsylvania borough’s key stakeholders. We helped the community establish its community vision statement along with six supporting principles to guide development strategy, policy, and programming:

1. Leverage New Development
   to benefit existing residents and the local economy and enable Sharpsburgers to shape their own future.
2. Build Community Prosperity
   through wealth building, education, and wellness.
3. Align With Triboro Ecodistrict
   to boost environmental performance.
4. Preserve Affordability,
   build community wealth, and protect existing Sharpsburg assets.
5. Invite The Region
   and nation to contribute to and learn from Sharpsburg’s leadership.
6. Prepare To Be Agile Decision Makers
   in a rapidly changing environment.

These principles are applied across Sharpsburg’s urban systems and its places & projects. Planning for urban systems in Sharpsburg targets enhanced green links, prioritizing pedestrian mobility and safety, connecting to the Allegheny River, and “strengthening the village” by preserving and improving the town’s character.

While Sharpsburg is less that 0.5 square miles in land area, the borough contains several uniquely distinct areas, each with their own identities, assets, challenges, and aspirations. Because of this, we defined three distinct “districts” within Sharpsburg. Considering these identities, the urban systems are applied in each of these districts in unique but complementary ways.