Oakland Shop, Dine & Explore Guide

A world in a neighborhood.

Recognized as one of the region's most vital destinations, Oakland is much more than a neighborhood — it is the epicenter for innovation, education, healthcare, and culture in Western Pennsylvania.

Diners at sidewalk café tables in Oakland

Pedestrians passing the Argyle Studio storefront in Oakland

Friends sharing a pizza at an Oakland restaurant

Pittsburgh's second-largest employment center.

As Pittsburgh's second-largest employment center, Oakland draws talent and opportunity from around the world to create a dynamic marketplace where businesses and ideas thrive.

Anchored by the region's largest institutions.

The district blends cutting-edge medicine, research, and technology with a world-class academic community — and a growing, diverse population who live, work, learn, play, and find purpose here.

A thriving commercial landscape, year-round.

This vibrant mix fuels our commercial corridors with steady foot traffic that supports a rich balance of retail, hospitality, healthcare, professional services, and cultural venues.

3rd

Largest "downtown" in Pennsylvania

1.8M

Visitors annually

100K+

Pedestrians daily

75K

Vehicles daily

For the destination & the journey.

Getting around is just as inviting as the destinations themselves. Connecting Oakland's four distinct neighborhoods — North, West, Central, and South — are walkable streets, dedicated bike lanes, and frequent transit service, including the new bus rapid transit PRTX University Line coming soon. The extensive multimodal transportation infrastructure ensures that Oakland's dense residential, commercial, and institutional corridors are always within reach no matter if you walk, ride, cycle, or drive.

Visit OTMA for more

Walking

Walkable streets connect pedestrians to North, West, Central, and South Oakland neighborhoods, and the Pedestrian Wayfinding System's series of signs and kiosks make it even easier to navigate the area by foot.

Biking

Dedicated bike lanes, bikeshare stations and shared micromobility options, and extensive bicycle parking options make two-wheel travel practical across the district.

Riding Transit

Frequent public transit service links Oakland to Downtown Pittsburgh, adjacent communities, and regional destinations as far as the airport efficiently and effectively today, and once completed, Pittsburgh Regional Transit's new bus rapid transit system will make those transit connections even stronger.

Using a Vehicle

Carpooling, vanpooling, and other ridesharing solutions from zTrip, Uber, Lyft, and more, are all excellent alternatives to driving a single occupant vehicle. For those who must drive alone, Know Before You Go by subscribing to construction alerts/traffic advisories from OTMA, utilizing smart loading zones and curbside management resources for short-term parking needs, identifying public parking lots and garages in advance to eliminate circling near your destination, and leveraging navigation tools like 511PA to identify optimal travel routes and simplify those occasional drives into Oakland.

Produced in partnership.

This third edition of the Oakland Shop, Dine & Explore Guide is produced by Oakland Transportation Management Association and the Oakland Business Improvement District with support from the Pittsburgh Innovation District — each committed to ensuring that Oakland remains a vibrant, mobile, and connected district for everyone who lives, works, learns, or visits here.

Strengthening the commercial district.

The Oakland Business Improvement District (OBID) works to strengthen the Central Oakland commercial district — the region's second-largest employment center and a hub for education, healthcare, research, and culture. Serving more than 200 property owners, businesses, institutions, and community partners, OBID advocates for and supports economic vitality through place management, public realm enhancements, marketing, and events.

By fostering business growth, enhancing public spaces, and improving the experience for all who live, work, study, visit, and invest here, OBID helps to strengthen Oakland's position as Pennsylvania's global center and a national model for vibrant, innovative urban districts.

OBID oaklandpittsburgh.com →

Safer, more mobile, better connected.

Oakland Transportation Management Association (OTMA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to make Oakland safer, more mobile, and better connected for all who travel here. Serving residents, commuters, students, visitors, employers, and community stakeholders, OTMA advocates for and supports multimodal transportation choices that reduce single-occupancy vehicle use — from public transit and shared vehicles to walking and bicycling.

By promoting alternative transportation modes, sharing congestion mitigation resources, offering parking management tools, and working to improve mobility access for all across Oakland's busy streets, OTMA helps to ease congestion, enhance air quality, and improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh's vibrant urban core.

OTMA otma-pgh.org →

A sustainable innovation ecosystem.

As the region's innovation epicenter and premier source of talent and research, the Pittsburgh Innovation District (PID) embodies the city's tradition of entrepreneurial spirit and inventive grit by uniting Oakland's critical mass of talent, university resources, and cultural assets with the vital support, amenities, capital, and transformative technology that empower innovators to thrive.

Through historic collaboration and direct proximity to anchor institutions like Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Carlow University, and UPMC, PID is harnessing the area's scientific and technical strengths to create a dynamic ecosystem primed for development and investment opportunities, and committed to fostering an inclusive innovation community for all.

PID pittsburgh.id →