2006 Smart Growth Conference Participants Identify Priorities 

to Renew Southwestern Pennsylvania

  "Coming Together to Revitalize Our Communities: Cross-Community and Cross-County Collaboration"

The May 19 Smart Growth Conference incorporated an interactive participant engagement process to provide input to issues of importance to the future growth and development of our region. The focus is on revitalizing our core communities. 

Community leaders from the 5 pre-conference forums held in Beaver, Fayette, and Westmoreland Counties, Pittsburgh’s Hill District and the Turtle Creek/Mon Valley area presented their communities’ revitalization challenges that, not surprisingly, are conspicuously common throughout the SWPA region. Presenters also offered solutions and actions for addressing each challenge.

Voting results on community challenges and solutions

More than 200 Conference participants, through group consensus voting, selected three community challenges and three corresponding policy solutions and collaborative actions to meet and speed the development and redevelopment of our communities. 

Participants prioritized the following three community challenges and solutions/actions:  

Challenge:

• Lack of integrated transportation system for all modes.

Solution: Permanent reliable source of funding for public transportation.

Challenge:

• Redevelopment of existing places takes back seat to building new.

Solution: Level the playing field with incentives for reuse and redevelopment.

Challenge:

• Lack of coordination plus fragmentation hinders redevelopment.

Solution: Promote regional governance.

For the list of all challenges and solutions presented for voting, click here.  

Keynote speaker

David Soule, former director of the Boston Metro Area Planning Council and author of “Overcoming Deal Breakers to Urban Redevelopment for Regional Prosperity” addressed opportunities and reasons for a region to focus work to revitalize its existing communities as a strategic means to regional prosperity. 

Click Here to view David Soule's Power Point Presentation  

Next Steps

As conference follow up, the network of forum and conference participants will be invited to re-engage to work collaboratively across communities and counties to advance the priority policies and solutions to Renew Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Evaluation of the region’s competitiveness

Conference participants were also asked at the beginning and end of the agenda to reach table consensus on three questions related to redevelopment of older communities. 

Does your table feel that challenges facing the region’s older urban communities are very different, having little in common?

Does your table feel the region's growth patterns directly impact the viability of public transportation?

Does your table feel that older urban communities can win the competition to attract their fair share of economic investment? 

For results of the voting, please click here

The 2006 Smart Growth Conference was presented by:

PA Department of Community and Economic Development

Regional Coalition of Community Builders

Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission

Sustainable Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics

Sponsored by:

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation

Richard King Mellon Foundation

The Heinz Endowments 

The Pittsburgh Foundation

  Visit the Conference Main Page