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Events

Be sure not to miss it!

9th annual Smart Growth Conference

"Sustainable Community Essentials: applying the policy and practice"
Thursday, May 21
9:00 am - 5:00 pm (continental breakfast and lunch included; reception to follow)
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown Pittsburgh
Cost: Early Registration: Only $30! After May 1: $50
Elected officials attend free
Register Now

- Featuring Douglas Farr, AIA, author of Sustainable Urbanism and founding principal of Farr Associates, an architecture and planning firm regarded as one of the most sustainable design practices in the country. Having a mission to create sustainable human environments, Farr Associates' unique niche is in applying the principles of LEED at the scale of the neighborhood.

- Update by James Ritzman, Deputy Secretary for Planning, PennDOT, on the Federal Stimulus Package and PennDOT Smart Transportation Initiative

- Panel review of sustainable community initiatives around the region featuring:
Lindsay Baxter, Sustainability Coordinator, City of Pittsburgh
Jason Dailey, Cranberry Township
Mark Alan Hughes, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia
Murray Rust, Montgomery & Rust, Inc.
Jesse Jon Salensky, Vandergrift Improvement Program
Nathan Wildfire, Sustainable Policy Coordinator, East Liberty Development, Inc.

Learn more at www.sustainablepittsburgh.org.

Resources

Celebrate Green

Thursday, April 9
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
William Pitt Union and Schenley Plaza, Oakland
More information

Join friends and colleagues for the first-ever University of Pittsburgh Blue Gold & Green celebration! Learn how to make your home, workplace, and neighborhood more sustainable. Sustainable Pittsburgh's Matthew Mehalik will present on the "Latest Trends in Sustainable Business." Other session topics include (but are not limited to): Practicing Sustainability: Green Chemistry Initiatives in Pittsburgh, Sustainability and Green Initiatives at the University of Pittsburgh, Bike Commuting 101, and Go Green Oakland: A Sustainable Community Campaign.

Register Now: 2009 9th annual SWPA Smart Growth Conference

"Sustainable Community Essentials: applying the policy and practice"
Thursday, May 21
9:00 am - 5:00 pm (continental breakfast and lunch included; reception to follow)
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown Pittsburgh
Keynote speaker: Douglas Farr, AIA, author of Sustainable Urbanism and founding principal of Farr Associates
Cost: Early Registration: $30. After May 1: $50 (free to elected officials)
Register Now

- Keynote: Douglas Farr, AIA, author of Sustainable Urbanism and founding principal of Farr Associates, an architecture and planning firm regarded as one of the most sustainable design practices in the country. Having a mission to create sustainable human environments, Farr Associates' unique niche is in applying the principles of LEED at the scale of the neighborhood.

- Update by James Ritzman, Deputy Secretary for Planning, PennDOT, on the Federal Stimulus Package and PennDOT Smart Transportation Initiative

- Panel review of sustainable community initiatives around the region featuring:
Lindsay Baxter, Sustainability Coordinator, City of Pittsburgh
Jason Dailey, Cranberry Township
Mark Alan Hughes, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia
Murray Rust, Montgomery & Rust, Inc.
Jesse Jon Salensky, Vandergrift Improvement Program
Nathan Wildfire, Sustainable Policy Coordinator, East Liberty Development, Inc.

- Workshops tracking new "Essentials of Sustainable Communities" resources (14 topics from which to choose via conference registration)

- Reception featuring table displays by lead organizations per the 14 Essentials of Sustainable Communities

Today's difficult times are placing extraordinary strains on our region's communities. Rising costs of all types are putting a tight squeeze on municipalities and residents. Expectations and needs are also increasing. The policy and practice of sustainable development offers solutions. Come learn how your community, municipality, or county can put sustainability to work to save taxpayer dollars and avoid costs, meet needs equitably, conserve resources, and attract investment. Sustainability is central to professional management of local government and a collective imperative for Southwestern Pennsylvania's competitiveness and quality of life. Learn how to accelerate your community's success on environmental stewardship, social equity, economic development as well as fiscal viability and organizational capacity to learn, innovate and adapt.

Presented by:
Community Design Center of Pittsburgh
Local Government Academy
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development
Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
Sustainable Community Development Network, Sustainable Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics
Sponsored by:
Michael Baker Corporation

Preserve Pittsburgh Summit

Saturday, March 28
Frick Fine Arts Building, Oakland
8:30 am - 3:00 pm (reception to follow)
Free
Fore more information visit, www.youngpreservationists.org
Event Flyer

The Preserve Pittsburgh Summit is an interactive, collaborative workshop on historic preservation that focuses on four historic sites in Pittsburgh. The FREE event includes lunch, a bus tour of the historic sites, and a keynote address by Michael Tomlan, Director of Cornell University’s Historic Preservation Program.

That evening, join the Post-Gazette’s Tony Norman and PA State Senator Jim Ferlo at the Preservation Awards Reception, where YPA will award $500 to the winners of its preservation video contest and announce the Promise Award to an emerging preservationist. Participants will enjoy networking with dynamic movers and shakers in the Pittsburgh region. Entertainment by “Sounds of Steel,” the Northside Urban Pathways Charter School Steel Pan Band.

Global Warming: Making the Transition to a Just and Sustainable World

Sunday, March 29
1:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Oakland
Cost: Free for PennFuture and Phipps members; $10 for non-members
To register: www.pennfuture.org/events or by calling 1-800-321-7775

Join PennFuture for their 4th annual global warming conference and hear nationally-known Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance, speak about green jobs, environmental justice, and global warming.

James Thorne, senior director of science from Natural Lands Trust will be discussing global warming impacts in Pennsylvania. Other presenters include Kasey Gillette, legislative director to Sen. Bob Casey; Lindsay Baxter, Pittsburgh's new sustainability coordinator; and PennFuture policy experts.

During the Action Expo, many tabling organizations will provide information about how to address global warming such as buying residential renewable energy, finding biofuels, getting energy audits, locating sustainable foods, etc.

Green$ense

Tuesday, March 31
8:15 am - 5:30 pm (Registration begins at 7:15am)
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown Pittsburgh
Registration fees vary.
More details

From green jobs and the economy to entire neighborhoods and the implementation of innovative new ideas, Green$ense 2009 is a premier regional conference that offers a series of sessions outlining key steps to address these subjects. Whether you’re a professional in the building field or an interested citizen, the time has arrived to rethink and collaborate on best practices for buildings, neighborhood planning, and economic development.

2009 Farm to Table Conference

Keep it Real, Keep it Local
April 3-4, 2009
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Tickets for the 2-day Conference and Food Tasting are $25 each.
More information

This Pittsburgh-based educational health conference is aimed at helping Western Pennsylvania consumers understand the benefits of eating locally grown food and connect directly with local food producers. Conference highlights include:
- Local Food Tasting on Friday night
- Outdoor Farmers Market
- Expanded Health Expo
- Live Food Demonstrations by Chefs and Dieticians
- Local Experts addressing Health Topics and Local Food Resources
- Commemorative Poster

Fourth Annual Environmental Film Festival

Wednesday, April 8
Saturday, April 18
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm (come at any time)
Environmental Charter School, Henrietta and Milton Sts, off Braddock (Regent Square)
Contact: Donald Gibbon at dongibbon@earthlink.net
For movie listings, visit www.alleghenysc.org and click Events.

During this FREE film festival, there will be two evenings of engaging and thought-provoking films with an environmental theme. The event is family-friendly, refreshments will be available for a small donation, and donations will be accepted to offset cost of films. These films are alternately funny, peculiar, challenging, always interesting and often downright fun. The YERT film on the 18th will feature the film-maker and a lightning, funny monologue, plus Q&A. Great fun, guaranteed. The Real Dirt on Farmer John is unique too, in a moving, inspiring way. And Black Diamonds may even drive you to change your life style!

"Business of Brownfields" Conference

April 15-17, 2009
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown Pittsburgh
Registration information available online at www.eswp.com/brownfields

This year's event begins with a river cruise aboard the Pittsburgh Explorer, the first environmentally "green" boat of its kind. The tour will examine some of Pittsburgh's best and brightest examples of brownfield developments along the 3 rivers. The reception will feature Allegheny County Director of Economic Development, Dennis Davin. Mr. Davin will discuss many of the developments and opportunities in and around the region. At the conclusion of the reception, join fellow conference attendees at PNC Park to see an early season game with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Technical Conference will begin on Thursday, April 16 with an Opening Session featuring Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. Following this session, attendees can choose from 2 concurrent breakout sessions on a variety of topics including:
• Sustainable Development
• Regulatory Perspectives
• Innovative Site Investigation
• Remediation Technologies
• Visions for Redevelopment

Sessions will be offered throughout the entire day on Thursday, April 16 and until 12:00 noon on Friday, April 17. Additionally, more than 20 exhibitors will be on hand presenting information on the technical, legal financial, governmental and social importance of brownfields development.

Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN): Sixth annual Fund-Raising Banquet

Thursday, April 16
6:00 pm (reception with cash bar); 7:00 pm (dinner)
Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown Pittsburgh
Cost: $50 per person, $450 for table of 10.
For advance reservations, contact Wallace Watson (wallwat1@verizon.net; 412-371-8138) by Monday, March 30 (no tickets will be sold at the door).

Join in a celebration of PIIN’s recent, current, and anticipated faith-based work for justice, equity, and sustainability. Guest Speaker: Leo Gerard, International President, United Steelworkers.

Leo Gerard, a native of Canada, started out as a worker in a nickel smelter in Ontario and rose through the ranks of international labor through his commitment to economic and social justice. He has negotiated major agreements on such matters as workers’ rights in corporate bankruptcies, halting illegal steel imports, health benefits for workers, and energy independence.

Engineering Sustainability 2009

April 19-21, 2009
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown Pittsburgh
Conference webpage
Questions? Contact Gena Kovalcik at 412-624-9698 or gmk9@pitt.edu

Conference Topical Areas:
- Green building design and construction
- Greening the indoor environment
- Sustainable distributed power for the built environment
- Sustainable urban drinking water, stormwater & wastewater infrastructure
- Design of more sustainable transportation grids
- Using principles of sustainability to foster innovation and economic development

Design Excellence Lecture Series: Walter J. Hood

Monday, April 20
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
University Center at Point Park University, 414 Wood Street, Downtown Pittsburgh Cost: $20 (Includes lecture, a panel discussion, and a reception)
For tickets please visit the CDCP website or call 412-391-4144 for more information.

Landscape architect, architect, and UC Berkeley College of Environmental Planning and Urban Design professor Walter J. Hood is guest speaker at the final event of the inaugural season of the CDCP's Design Excellence Lecture Series. The topic - Multiplying and Enlarging: Improving Ecologies - touches upon his advocacy of improvisation as a design process because he believes it demands creativity and collaborative thinking. Neighborhood development, community planning, and citizen participation - particularly ethnic groups - are central to his approach. A recent interest of Walter's seems particularly relevant to Pittsburgh: how, staying in the community scale, you look at the larger scale and understand its role on the small scale. Come and hear Walter Hood, and join the discussion on the recurring Design Excellence Lecture Series themes of city-building, visionary planning, sustainability, community engagement, and civic awareness.

Pathfinders: 2009 Youth Workforce Development Conference

Friday, April 24
Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown Pittsburgh
Conference hours - 7:30 am - 3:30 pm
Career Fair hours - 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Career Fair presented in conjunction with YouthLINK and Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center)
Registration fees: $85 by March 31st; $95 after March 31st and onsite
Registration available online at www.regonline.com/Pathfinders2009
Contact: Karen Bryant, Conference Coordinator, 412-952-9704, quill747@earthlink.net

Attend Pathfinders: 2009 Youth Workforce Development Conference, presented jointly by Urban Youth Action and YouthWorks, and join colleagues, civic leaders, employers, educators and community based organizations in coming together to prepare tomorrow's workforce and strengthen Western Pennsylvania's future. The theme is Bridging the Gap: Pathways to 21st Century Careers. ACT 48 credit is available for continuing education.

29th Annual National Association for Recreation Resource Planners Conference

Get to the Point: Pittsburgh 2009
April 27 - May 1, 2009
Hilton Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Visit www.narrp.org for more details.

This event is the premier annual conference focusing on the topic and profession of outdoor recreation planning. The 2009 conference theme, Creating Sustainable Communities through Regional Recreation Planning, is an important and timely concept to convene around (and in what better a place than Pittsburgh!). Join NARRP and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to foster connections among the nation's leading recreation planners, to learn from each other, generate new ideas for collaborative approaches among planners within state and federal agencies, the private sector, as well as university programs.

Resources

Advocacy Advance Grants

Advocacy Advance Grants will enable state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations to spawn, transform and provide innovative strategies in their communities. The Alliance for Biking & Walking will award a total of $250,000 in 2009. The grant application process has two phases. Inquiries will be reviewed by the Advocacy Advance Team and selected organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal. Deadline to submit inquiries is April 2. Advocacy Advance Grants will range from $5,000–$30,000. Approximately $125,000 will be available for Round 1 and another $125,000 in Round 2.

The Wealth Gap Gets Wider

The net worth of the average American family is less than it was in 2001. We borrowed more for that trip to Vegas than we brought home. Everyone knows this now. But here's something being talked about much less: The gap between the wealth of white Americans and African Americans has grown. According to the Fed, for every dollar of wealth held by the typical white family, the African American family has only one dime. In 2004, it had 12 cents.

More

Wanted: Energy Manager

PNC Bank is seeking an Energy Manager for its downtown Pittsburgh office in Two PNC Plaza. The Energy Manager will be a member of PNC's Realty Services organization of more than 70 professionals and will have total responsibility for managing PNC's energy program.  The Energy Manager will work closely with the Manager of Corporate Sustainability to provide energy use information needed to determine PNC's carbon footprint. Responsibilities include managing/invoicing PNC's utility generated energy sources; maintaining a portfolio-wide data base containing contracts, market updates, projects and projections; as well as identifying demand side savings opportunities including alternative energy sources. As an employee of PNC Financial Services Group, you become part of an organization committed to customers, employees, investors, and the communities in which we do business. PNC is an established, growing and successful financial services company, with businesses organized around retail and commercial banking, asset management, and funds processing. To search job online, type in requisition number 604598 and hit Enter.

Beyond Burnham, Chicago planning TV profiles

Beyond Burnham -- Now in its 19th year, Chicago's award-winning multimedia public affairs series returns in 2009 with Chicago Matters: Beyond Burnham to explore how our region can thrive in a global era.

A Chinese eco-city: City of dreams

IDEAS about tackling China’s myriad environmental woes, from soil erosion to polluted waterways, tend to come in outsize packages—hardly surprising, given the scale of the damage. Bold environmental solutions are as appealing to policymakers as they are to engineers who want to put their stamp on the cities of tomorrow.

Low-carbon economy worth £3 trillion – UK government

The UK is the sixth-largest economy for low-carbon and environmental goods and services (LCEGS), such as renewable energy, nuclear power and recycling, analysts Innovas found, in market research carried out for the country's Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. . .Worldwide, Innovas found that low-carbon businesses account for nearly half of the market value of the LCEGS sector, or £1,449 billion. Renewable energy accounts for another 31%, or £940 billion, with traditional environmental activities making up the final 21%, or £657 billion.

Getting local firms to go green

The program aims to get companies throughout the region to make a public promise to reduce negative impacts on the environment. . .The chemical company is among 32 early recruits, or charter members, of the program. Others include Liberty Property Trust, the Vanguard Group, Waste Management, Drinker Biddle, PhillyCarShare, AKF Engineers L.L.P., and Cigna.

PepsiCo Launches Industry's Lightest Water Bottle

PepsiCo Corp. plans to use 50 percent less plastic in its half-liter Aquafina water bottles in a move that will save the company an estimated 75 million pounds of plastic each year.

U.S. Transportation and Housing Secretaries testifying about livable communities today

According to today's posting on Secretary LaHood's blog, the two of them will be unveiling an initiative to “revitalize our downtowns, foster walkable neighborhoods, and bring people, employers, and housing closer together through public transportation.”

'Farm to Table Conference' aims to sustain local interest

The third conference, to be held April 3 and 4 at the David Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, once again will tap into the area's burgeoning local and sustainable food circles, hoping to show more and more of the uninitiated how to bring food from the local farm to the kitchen table. Started by American HealthCare Group in Green Tree, the conference this year features the mix of speakers on everything from a psychological approach to eating (Dorit Brauer on "Food Blessing Mediation" and Will Clower on "Faux Food Physiology and the Hunger for Satiety") to how to cook those products you're snatching up at farmers markets.

EPA giving closer look to mining proposal

A Consol Coal Co. proposal to bury almost five miles of streams and six acres of wetlands in Greene County under more than 90 million cubic yards of coal waste rock is getting extra scrutiny from government regulators.

For information on becoming a Member of Sustainable Pittsburgh, please visit our website.

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Sustainable Pittsburgh affects decision-making in the Pittsburgh Region to integrate economic prosperity, social equity and environmental quality bringing sustainable solutions to communities and businesses.

Sustainable Pittsburgh benefits from support in 2009 from:

Bayer Corporation
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Dollar Bank
FedEx Ground
The Giant Eagle Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Dylan Todd Simonds Foundation
University of Pittsburgh


Special thanks to the SP Members

Sustainable Pittsburgh
425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1335
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 258-6642
fax (412) 258-6645
E-mail SP