Homewood is bordered on the southwest by the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway which follows the old Pennsylvania Railroad line toward downtown Pittsburgh.

In the 1950s the city claimed land in the Lower Hill District for the Civic Arena, and in the process, displaced 8,000 people.

[6] As a result of the area being predominantly African-American, it was greatly affected by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on 4 April 1968, whose murder caused riots in Homewood.

The Homewood-Brushton Revitalization and the Development Corporation put together a strong effort to rebuild the area, it accomplished this by building homes and helping to open new businesses.

Higher education includes the Community College of Allegheny County's Homewood Brushton Center.

In Homewood, the Steps of Pittsburgh quickly connect pedestrians to public transportation and provide an easy way to travel through this hilly area.