PITTSBURGH -- An urban designer and architect took WTAE Channel 4 Action News cameras around Pittsburgh and its surrounding neighborhoods, showing why the city is prone to landslides.

Steve Quick, of Perkins Eastman, revealed answers from the architecture consulting firm's 18-month study in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University.

Quick said Pittsburgh's hillside homes are sitting on shale, clay and sandstone, which is some of the Earth's weakest soil.

"Over the decades, didn't developers realize they were building houses on unstable land?" Channel 4 Action News reporter Sheldon Ingram asked.

"As we learned more and more about how the geology of this area works, we're finding that some practices in the past were very risky," Quick said.

Houses built on a grade of 25 percent or more are vulnerable to landslides, Quick said. About 20 percent of Pittsburgh houses -- which rounds to about 7,000 pieces of property -- are in that danger zone.

That's why two houses on the West End overlook were torn down.

"What happened is the hillside gave way, and it washed out the road," said Quick. "This road used to run straight through there to serve those houses. The hillside gave way first."

Quick said developers should have built along roads known as ribbons -- like Arlington Avenue, which runs horizontally and not vertically along the face of Mount Washington. The grade does not exceed 15 percent, he said.

Many more roads like Arlington exist and should be the target of future development, Quick said.

"We have found that there are a number of ribbons throughout the city, and they have proven to be more stable over time," said Quick.

The city's next step is to put together a buyout plan for owners of about 50 homes that are considered to be in imminent danger. City Council President Doug Shields is asking for action on that.

Currently, no local or state aid is available for homeowners living on top of landslide danger zones.

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