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Events

Register Today!

The Economic Stimulus Package and Your Community: Opportunities and Responsibilities

Friday, April 24
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Green Tree Borough Municipal Center, 10 W. Manilla Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15220
Fee: $35 per person (Includes registration, handouts, light refreshments, and certificate of attendance)
Members of the NEOC Alumni Association receive a $10 discount.
More information and to register

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the economic stimulus package, was signed into law in February. Local governments play a vital role in carrying out the intentions of the Act. Join LGA and Sustainable Pittsburgh to learn how to avail your community to the funds, work effectively with the various departments and agencies involved, and assure accountability and sustainability of public efforts. Secretary James Creedon, Pennsylvania Department of General Services, and speakers from HUD, PennDOT, PENNVEST, USDA Rural Development and the Office of Senator Arlen Specter will present up-to-date and relevant information for communities of all size.

Resources

The Economic Stimulus Package and Your Community: Opportunities and Responsibilities

Friday, April 24
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Green Tree Borough Municipal Center, 10 W. Manilla Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15220
Fee: $35 per person (Includes registration, handouts, light refreshments, and certificate of attendance)
Members of the NEOC Alumni Association receive a $10 discount.
More information and to register

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the economic stimulus package, was signed into law in February. Local governments play a vital role in carrying out the intentions of the Act. Join LGA and Sustainable Pittsburgh to learn how to avail your community to the funds, work effectively with the various departments and agencies involved, and assure accountability and sustainability of public efforts. Secretary James Creedon, Pennsylvania Department of General Services, and speakers from HUD, PennDOT, PENNVEST, USDA Rural Development and the Office of Senator Arlen Specter will present up-to-date and relevant information for communities of all size.

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!). Sustainable Pittsburgh's Ginette Walker Vinski will present on "Branding the Outdoor Recreation Community", why Walls are Bad. Sustainable Pittsburgh will also be leading a Sustainable City walking tour during the conference. 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.

Walls are Bad Happy Hour

Thursday, April 30
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
OTB Bicycle Café, 2518 East Carson St, South Side
Contact: info@wallsarebad.com or 412-258-6646

Walls are Bad.

Yeah, we know. That’s why it’s important to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. But what does Walls are Bad really mean? Find out on April 30 during happy hour at the OTB Bicycle Café on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Sustainable Pittsburgh and its outdoor recreation partners, along with the OTB Bicycle Café, invite leaders and members of local outdoors groups to learn about Walls are Bad over a cold brew and some free food.

For the last ten years, Sustainable Pittsburgh, a nonprofit organization working to accelerate the policy and practice of sustainability in southwestern PA, has been working with a core group of partners to promote the region’s natural amenities through various programs. In 2008, this group launched Walls are Bad, a campaign designed to increase awareness of and participation in outdoor recreation in southwestern Pennsylvania. Come learn how Walls are Bad can strengthen and support your outdoors groups. Which wall will you break down?

8th annual Great Outdoors Week

May 15-24, 2009
Various locations throughout SWPA
Updates continue to be made at www.wallsarebad.com. Check back often!

It's that time of year again! Great Outdoors Week highlights the many outdoor amenities available in Southwestern Pennsylvania—everything from our rivers, to parks, to trails and more! During this special week, tons of activities are available for the sampling, including bicycling, hiking, paddling, and bird watching—-all hosted by local outdoor groups in the region! Be sure to check out the four signature events, in addition to numerous other activities that are scheduled. Individuals of all skill levels are invited to participate in Great Outdoors Week activities. Go on---give it a try.

Signature events:
5/15 - "Learn to Row" Indoor Session
5/16 - Venture Outdoors Festival
5/17 - Pedal Pittsburgh
5/24 - Rachel's Sustainable Feast – Sampling the Best of Western Pennsylvania

Be sure to stop by Market Square, Downtown Pittsburgh, for the Great Outdoors Week kick-off, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 14 from 11am to 1pm. (Rain Date May 15), Individuals are invited to test their skills on the climbing wall, try out a kayak (safely on land!), and meet local outdoors groups. Enjoy music, get some free stuff, and enter to win great raffle prizes!

For a complete listing of events (more are being added every day!) and to learn how to get involved, call 412-258-6646 or visit www.wallsarebad.com, SWPA's resource for outdoor recreation.

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 (Elected officials attend for free)
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)

- Distribution of the SWPA Sustainable Community Rapid Assessment worksheet

- 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:
Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C.
Michael Baker Corporation
Bombardier

Sustainable Community Development Essentials: Tools, Strategies, and Case Studies

Thursday, June 4
9:00 am - Noon (8:30 am registration)
Avalon Borough Municipal Building, 640 California Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15202
Fee: $35 per person (Includes registration, handouts, light refreshments, and certificate of attendance)
Members of the NEOC Alumni Association receive a $10 discount.
More information

This seminar will review practical tools, strategies and case studies for pursuing the process of sustainability in municipal government in Southwestern Pennsylvania. No matter the “stage” a community may find itself in—whether in need of redevelopment, in the stage of figuring out how to maintain a current trajectory, or in a stage of managing growth in smart ways, the framework of sustainable development offers a practical compass for getting this right today and in the future. Through this session participants will:
- Experience how sustainability principles are tools that support local government decision making.
- Learn strategies for introducing & adopting sustainability guidelines for your municipality.
- Explore case studies of how other early adopters have benefited from implementing policies and programs to advance sustainable development.
- Consider tools and strategies for sustainable approaches to energy, resource management, waste and recycling, green procurement, human resources, etc. and for enhancing governance systems including the budget and capital improvement process.

Instructors:
Court Gould, Sustainable Pittsburgh
Susan Hockenberry, Local Government Academy
Matthew Mehalik, Sustainable Pittsburgh
John Trant, Cranberry Township
Joy Wilhelm, DCED Governor’s Center for Local Government Services

Limited time only: Drop off items for recycling at reSOLUTION store

April 20-24, 2009
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Fifth Avenue Place, Downtown Pittsburgh
More information

To encourage customers to rethink their practices, refocus on the environment and resolve to lessen their impact on the world, reSOLUTION will accept recyclable or reusable materials that will then be donated or made into other items. Consumers can drop off the following items at the reSOLUTION shop: denim jeans and other denim apparel, which will be recycled into UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation through the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive; athletic shoes, which will be made into eco-friendly sport surfaces; cell phones, which will be collected by HopeLine from Verizon Wireless to assist victims of domestic violence; old art supplies, used CDs and DVDs, which will be reused in arts activities through Creative Reuse Pittsburgh; eyeglasses, which will be donated to the Lions Club for use in underdeveloped countries; and rechargeable batteries, ink and toner cartridges, which will be recycled by Office Depot. Those who donate items will receive $1 off in the Fifth Avenue Place food court. All denim collected at reSOLUTION through the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive will be sent to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS magazine, who, in partnership with Cotton Incorporated, will attempt to set a Guinness World Record™ for the largest amount of clothing ever collected to be recycled.

Public Meeting Pennsylvania Budget Proposals

Featuring: Estelle B. Richman, Secretary of the Department of Public Welfare & Mary A. Soderberg, Secretary of the Budget
Friday, April 24
10:00 am – Noon (Refreshments and Sign-In at 9:30 am)
William Pitt Union, Assembly Room 1st Floor, 3959 Fifth Avenue, University of Pittsburgh (Oakland)
Parking is available at Soldiers and Sailors
Main number: 412-648-7815
Please email United Way’s office at arind@uwac.org should you have questions, need further information, or require special accommodations to attend the meeting.

As the grip of the national recession continues to impact families across Pennsylvania, community stakeholders are encouraged to attend this briefing session to discuss strategies to ensure that short term basic needs are met while also preserving cost effective prevention services.

Film screening: "Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai"

Monday, April 27
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Kelly Strayhorn Theatre, Penn Avenue in East Liberty
Suggested Donation: $1-$10
More information can be found at Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest.

Taking Root tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (and University of Pittsburgh alum) Wangari Maathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy. A performance by Vanessa German and a reception will follow the film.

Mayor Ravenstahl to Outline City's Green Initiatives

Wednesday, April 29
7:45 am - 9:15 am
Buchanan Ingersoll, One Oxford Centre, 20th Floor, Downtown Pittsburgh
Cost: $40 Member; $175 Non-Member
e More information

Join the Pittsburgh Tecnhnology Council as Mayor Ravenstahl outlines his administration's efforts to reduce the city's impact on the environment, while also creating real savings for the taxpayers by reducing wasteful consumption practices. Through the Mayor's Office of Sustainable Development and Energy Efficiency, the City of Pittsburgh has worked to promote the use of new technologies and sensible procurement practices to reduce its energy costs. Towards those ends, in recent months, the City has reviewed and implemented the use of new technologies such as super-efficient LED traffic control devices and street lamps, and has sought opportunities to install solar cells in city facilities. On the sustainability front, the City has created a Green Initiative Trust Fund and has expanded the practice of single stream recycling for residents, which will greatly improve the participation rate in the City's recycling program. Please do not miss this unique opportunity to learn more about Pittsburgh's commitment to implementing sustainable business practices.

SWPA Air Quality Partnership Kickoff Event

Saturday, May 2
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
23rd and Penn Avenue in the Strip District

Please Join the Southwestern Air Quality Partnership for free food and entertainment! The event will feature alternative transportation options to demonstrate how you can save money and help preserve our environment!
Facts:
- Over a period of 5 years, the 30-MPG vehicle will save you $2,415!
- If one in 10 Americans used public transportation regularly, U.S. reliance on foreign oil could be cut by more than 40 percent!.....That means less cost to everyone!
- One light rail vehicle can take 125 cars off the road.
- Riding a bike, or walking not only conserves fuel, it improves your physical and mental health!

Air, Heart, and Lungs: Making the Connection

Monday, May 11
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Imagine Environmental Charter School, 829 Milton Street, Pittsburgh, 15218 (Regent Square)
Free and open to the public
Contact: 412-325-7382 or lee@gasp-pgh.org

Did you know?
- While the Pittsburgh region has the same rate of asthma in the nation, use of emergency services by local children with asthma is 300 percent to 400 percent above the national average.
- Diesel exhaust can increase the risk of heart disease.

Join GASP in examining how air pollution in the Pittsburgh area affects respiratory and cardiovascular health. Presentations by Dr. Fernando Holguin, nationally renowned asthma researcher at the Pediatric Environmental Medicine Center, and Dr. Donald Grandis, cardiologist at the Jefferson Regional Medical Center.

CityLive! Your Region. Your Vision.

Wednesday, May 20
6:30 pm
New Hazlett Theater
RSVP: rsvp@citylivepgh.org

Many places around the world have profited from a broadly-participatory exercise in which all people from all sectors are invited to envisiion together the best future for their city or region. Come hear how this has worked both in this country and overseas. Panelists will include Mayor Valentino Castellani of the city of Turin, Italy, and Maureen McAvey of the Urban Land Institute, and Candi Castelberry-Singleton, Chief Diversity Officer of UPMC, as moderator.

Smart Growth Annual Awards Dinner

Thursday, May 21
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Chambers Hall
Cost: $50 per person, $250 corporate table of 6
To register, please contact the Smart Growth Partnership at 724-552-0118 or click here to see the invitation.

The Smart Growth Partnership will be recognizing smart growth developments, plans and individuals/groups that have distinguished themselves by achieving the smart growth cause at its 7th annual awards dinner.

Resources

Wanted: Manager Community Programs

The Manager of Community Programs is a newly created position within the Three Rivers Regional Office of the Student Conservation Association. This position was created to establish systems and protocols around staff management, supervision, training, development and program administration. The Manager of Community Programs will have primary day to day oversight and accountability for staff and programming located in Pittsburgh. This position is the senior program person on-site and is responsible for working with Human Resources, Finance, Risk Management and Program Services (located at SCA HQ in New Hampshire) to ensure that the Pittsburgh programs operate in an efficient and productive manner.

Pollution law changes would give Allegheny County free rein, letter contends

The proposal eliminates the requirement that the board consult with the county's 19-member Air Pollution Control Advisory Committee before spending money from the fund. The volunteer committee considers how changes might affect air quality and accepts public input.

More

Let's clean up: Green jobs spur the economy, improve the environment and protect our national security

We have an enormous, urgent environmental and economic agenda ahead of us, and it is one that our country has ignored for far too long. If we are going to create clean-energy jobs in this country, break the stranglehold that foreign oil has on our economy and punish the polluters who are devastating our natural resources, we've got to be honest about the difficult tasks and tough choices ahead...Steven Chu is the U.S. secretary of energy and Hilda Solis is the U.S. secretary of labor.

Transportation and Climate Change: The Perfect Storm

But it is also becoming clear that true American prosperity requires sustainable growth. Exactly how our metropolitan areas grow – and what type of transportation people use to get from place to place – will have a great impact not only on the economy, but on the global challenge of climate change. . .Transportation is the single largest contributor to the nation's carbon footprint, causing more damage than industry, homes or commercial buildings. More than four-fifths of transportation emissions come from the tailpipes of our cars, trucks and buses.

Making Transportation Sustainable: Insights from Germany

Sustainability, for the purposes of this report, means encouraging shorter trips by modes of transportation that require less energy and generate less harmful environmental impacts. Moreover, a more sustainable transportation system should foster commerce, reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, increase safety, provide equal access to destinations for all groups of society, and enhance the quality of life. . .Public policy can play a major role in reshaping America’s transportation system. The German experience offers five lessons to the United States for improving transportation sustainability through changes in travel behavior:

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan wants mortgage incentives for energy-efficient homes

"When you buy a car," he said, "you know very clearly what the energy efficiency of that is because there's a number on the window. It says: Here's the gas mileage. We don't know that for housing.". . .The system might also factor in transportation costs to employment centers in some way, he said, because "most people don't realize that the average American family spends over 50% of their income on a combination of housing and transportation." Even with far-flung suburbs' lower prices for houses, "their transportation costs are huge" -- and metropolitan sprawl itself represents a massive energy-consumption inefficiency.

Transportation For America Campaign

Every six years, Congress sets the country's transportation and infrastructure priorities — allocating hundreds of billions of dollars for projects that shape our communities for generations. We need to raise our voices and make sure they use this moment to chart a new direction for our nation's transportation system. Help us urge President Obama and Congress to create the world-leading, sustainable transportation system we so desperately need. Join us in calling on Congress to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to create a 21st Century infrastructure and move our country in a bold new direction.

Why Isn’t the Brain Green?

Over the past few decades a great deal of research has addressed how we make decisions in financial settings or when confronted with choices having to do with health care and consumer products. A few years ago, a Columbia psychology professor named David H. Krantz teamed up with Elke Weber — who holds a chair at Columbia’s business school as well as an appointment in the school’s psychology department — to assemble an interdisciplinary group of economists, psychologists and anthropologists from around the world who would examine decision-making related to environmental issues. Aided by a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation, CRED has the primary objective of studying how perceptions of risk and uncertainty shape our responses to climate change and other weather phenomena like hurricanes and droughts. The goal, in other words, isn’t so much to explore theories about how people relate to nature, which has been a longtime pursuit of some environmental psychologists and even academics like the Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson. Rather, it is to finance laboratory and field experiments in North America, South America, Europe and Africa and then place the findings within an environmental context.

The Science of Stormwater: Pittsburgh Experiments With Green Infrastructure

Enter green infrastructure, from better street tree maintenance, planted roofs and rain gardens to innovations such as porous (or "pervious") paving and Silva Cells. All of these sustainable stormwater solutions hold more water in the earth longer, often putting it to good use, and keeping it away from overburdened pipes. . .Non-profit 3 Rivers Wet Weather was started 11 years ago to track a major problem in the city's waterways: combined sewer overflows, or CSOs. Because everything from house downspouts to curbside grates flush rain into the city's sewer pipes, their capacity is often exceeded, pushing raw sewage into streams and eventually the rivers. During the May-September river recreation season, the city's river water violates the EPA Clean Water Act an average of 59 percent of the time.

Reclaiming the Rivers: A Holistic Vision for Pittsburgh

And all these trails, he adds, are vital. "For the longest time, the rivers were our lifeblood; they shaped how and where we lived and traveled. Now, it's important that we as a community take advantage of the riverfronts. To use them for commerce as well as recreation. Because recreation helps us physically, mentally, financially. Not only do the rivers offer a tremendous increase in our quality of life and healthy, they also generate millions of dollars every year from riverfront activities.

Lo-Res TV: Entrepreneur Series, Scott Bricker of Bike Pittsburgh

As part of our continuing series on dynamic entrepreneurs we talked with Scott Bricker, executive director of Bike Pittsburgh, a nonprofit dedicated to making Pittsburgh a bike-friendly city, promoting urban environmentalism and raising awareness about pollution and congestion.

Miami's Smart Grid: A Blueprint for the Power Future

GE's smart meters will be the cornerstone of the program, which is called Energy Smart Miami. While conventional meters do little more than count up the kilowatts sent to a building — they're one-way devices, which means that if a home loses power, the utility doesn't know about it until they receive a phone call — smart meters will communicate two ways, like a computer, allowing utilities to keep precise tabs on their power flow and customers to go online and monitor exactly how much electricity they're using at any given time, by the month, day or hour. Better information means better consumption. Smart customers will be able to adjust their electricity use to reduce waste and lower their bills an estimated 10% to 20%. "The immediate impact is that this will make service more reliable and more efficient," says Scott Lang, CEO of Silver Spring.

Local companies hope to make money from the environmental movement

In the Pittsburgh region, green technologies -- those that harvest solar and wind power and those that save energy -- are in the forefront of new technologies being generated. Pittsburgh companies are designing windmills, increasing the efficiency of solar power cells and developing systems through which power companies can direct power where the usage is the highest.

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