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Events

Your Input - The Region's Future

The May 18, 2007 Smart Growth Conference marks a critical juncture in the region's path to prosperity as a conference highlight will be public presentation and comment on the near final updating of the Long Range Transportation and Development Plan for the region. Project Region: The Southwestern Pennsylvania Growth Plan is the mechanism for connecting the region’s vision to an official, coordinated implementation program of projects and actions.

Your input is crucial if the process, led by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, is to fulfill its promise to examine public policy choices and translate those choices into the most desirable growth scenario possible for the region's equitable development and prosperity. The stakes are high. Project Region will be influential in prioritizing major public investments throughout the region. Their cumulative effect determines whether we make smarter choices and smarter investments of capital: not just financial, but also human capital to secure the region’s economic competitiveness and overall quality of life.

Come be part of the process of defining the region's future. Register today for the May 18 Smart Growth Conference. It's free. Lunch will be provided. The program will benefit from your insights. The full conference agenda is found at: sustainablepittsburgh.org

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Resources

It's Time to Act: The Reality of Global Warming

Wednesday, May 2
6 - 8 pm
Carnegie Library (Main Branch): Quiet Reading Room
4400 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh (Oakland)
Contact: newandfeatured@carnegielibrary.org or 412-622-3151

Global warming is real, its impacts can already be seen and America needs to take action now to confront the climate crisis. Carnegie Mellon graduate student and former U.S. Army officer, Bill Perkins, will present the global warming slide show developed by The Climate Project. PA-specific issues and ways in which everyone can help to solve the problem will also be discussed.

Going with the Flow: Governance Options for Clean Water Act Compliance 2007 Road to Excellence Conference

Thursday, May 3
9 am - 3 pm
Sheraton Station Square
Pittsburgh
Click for more information

The 2007 Road to Excellence Conference will feature as its keynote speaker Dr. Bruce Stiftel, editor of Adaptive Governance and Water Conflict. Adaptive governance is a relatively new concept. Based upon the principles of adaptive management of environmental systems, adaptive governance emerges as "the kind of governance that can both preserve the strengths of existing specialized authorities to exploit natural resources and alternatives in order to ensure the sustainability of both human and nature systems." In addition to Dr. Stiftel's presentation, join local, state and regional leaders in a discussion of local concerns and the steps we must take to overcome barriers to adaptive governance for Clean Water Act Compliance.

2007 Nonprofit Summit

Thursday, May 10
8 am - 4:45 pm
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd.
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Cost: $100 for the first person and $75 for each additional person from the same organization
Click to Register

The 2007 Nonprofit Summit is a follow up to the 2006 Summit, which consisted of an electronic town hall designed to increase participants' vision of their potential for collective community action. The 2006 Summit was devoted to thinking and planning; the 2007 Summit is focused on action. The 2007 Summit is designed to: contribute to the effectiveness of individual nonprofit leaders; help to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations; and build the collective strength of the nonprofit sector.

“New Urbanism and The Old City” will be the focus of CNU XV – the 15th Congress of the New Urbanism

May 17-20
Philadelphia
Click to register or call 800-788-7077

Seminars, tours and discussions will range from timeless principles and techniques that shape walkable, human-scaled development, to the latest strategies on challenges ranging from modern retail formats to affordable housing and foreign oil dependency. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has confirmed that he will address the Saturday night plenary session. John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of Great Britain, will also be speaking Saturday night. Other confirmed speakers include Witold Rybczynski, Denise Scott Brown, Peter Calthorpe, Robert A.M. Stern, Rep. Barney Frank, Jacky Grimshaw, Andres Duany, Inga Saffron, Allan Jacobs, Jim Kunstler, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Bruce Katz, Dan Solomon, Robert Davis, Marianne Cusato, and many more. Connect and collaborate with other new urbanist practitioners. Experience excellent traditional urbanism firsthand though local tours of unique Philadelphia neighborhoods and new urban developments. Learn how practitioners are applying the Charter principles in the field. Stay on the cusp of the latest new urbanist trends. Contribute your own ideas and experience to take New Urbanism to the next level. Learn about new products and the latest innovations at CNU exhibits

7th Annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Smart Growth Conference "Focusing Growth for Regional Prosperity"

Friday, May 18, 2007
8 am - 3:30 pm
Omni William Penn Hotel
530 William Penn Place, downtown Pittsburgh
No fee to attend
Click here for more details
Featuring:
- Keynote address by Don Chen, Smart Growth America
- Public Presentation and Comment on Draft Long Range Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania (Project Region)
- Public input on work to date by the SWPA Smart Growth Community Committees
- Reaction panel featuring state, regional and local leaders

This year’s conference picks up from past Smart Growth Conferences in serving again as a public comment session to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission's process of updating the region's Long Range Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania (called Project Region).

Attendees will also hear progress reports and provide input to the on-going work of the three Smart Growth Community Committees that were created in response to the regional priorities voted upon at last year's conference:
- Leveling the Field for Redevelopment (Diane Sheets & Laura Zinski)
- Promoting Regionalism (Commissioner Tom Ceraso & David Miller)
- Funding Public Transportation (Steve Bland & Mary Jo Morandini)

Toward addressing the challenges of revitalizing the region's communities, these committees are working on practical policy options and practices, the type of which will be necessary to realize the regional plan's focused growth strategy for regional development and prosperity.

Project Region: The Southwestern Pennsylvania Growth Plan, will be the mechanism for connecting the region’s vision to an official, coordinated implementation program of projects and actions. Through Project Region, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission looks to raise the level of transparency in regional planning, and further improve its utility, by focusing on the functional rather than the jurisdictional/geographic aspects of desired improvements.

Come be part of this important regional planning process which represents a milestone in the region's heightened resolve to integrate and focus transportation and development for quality of life and competitiveness in the global economy.

Presented by:
PA Department of Community and Economic Development
Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development
Regional Coalition of Community Builders
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
Sustainable Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics

Sponsored by:

Supported by:
Richard King Mellon Foundation
The Heinz Endowments

To register:
Call: 412-258-6642
Email: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org
To become a sponsor call: 412-258-6643

Great Outdoors Week 2007

Leading the region to fun and healthy lifestyles one week at a time!

The sixth annual Great Outdoors Week begins on Friday, May 18 thru Sunday, May 27, 2007! To explore how to engage your constituents, employees, family and friends, go to www.greatoutdoorsweek.org and learn of the amazing number of outdoor happenings throughout the week.

Great Outdoors Week partners include: Bike Pittsburgh, Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Rachael Carson Homestead, Rack ‘n Roll, REI, Sustainable Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Rowing Association, Venture Outdoors, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

For more information, please call (412) 258-6646.

Save the Date: Venture Outdoors Festival

Saturday, May 19
Pittsburgh's North Shore
http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/

The seventh annual Venture Outdoors Festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, 2007. The festival is an all day event and is being held on Pittsburgh's North Shore - right in front of Heinz Field. As always, the goal of Venture Outdoors is to introduce as many people as possible to the wide variety of outdoor recreational activities easily accessible right here in Western Pennsylvania. Together with the region's abundant environmental assets & the rivers, the mountains, and numerous bike and walking trails - these activities demonstrate the terrific quality of life available to residents and visitors. We invite you to be a part of the excitement so please save the date!

Socially Responsible Investing Seminar

Tuesday, May 22
5:30 - 7 pm
Panera Meeting Room , 3800 Forbes Avenue at Bouquet St.
Pittsburgh (Oakland)
Register: diane.slepski@ubs.com or 412-562-6781

If you want to see how you as an investor can make a difference by investing in socially and environmentally responsible companies, please join Ellen Marcus of UBS Financial Services, a member of the Social Investment Forum, who will lead an informal discussion and question and answer session. Refreshments will be provided.

Talk about Pittsburgh's future with CEO for Cities CEO Carol Coletta

Thursday, May 31
7:30 - 10 am
Cabaret at Theater Square (655 Penn Ave)
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Cost: $10, free for LPI Connective Members
Click to RSVP

Please join our urban leaders and the CEO of CEOs for Cities, Carol Coletta for a lively conversation about the future of our city. Fresh and innovative perspectives will flow freely, as well as coffee and muffins. Speakers include: Mayor Luke Ravenstahl; County Executive Dan Onorato; Dave Malone, CEO, Gateway Financial; Carol Coletta, CEO, CEOs for Cities; Moderator: Grant Oliphant, VP, The Heinz Endowments.

Penn State Offers Series of Land Use Planning Workshops

June 6, 13, & 27
4:30 - 8 pm
Cranberry Township Municipal Center
Register by May 25. Cost: $20 for one workshop; $30 for two; $35 for three
Call (724) 228-6881 for more information

The workshops will look at the impacts of unbalanced growth and development patterns from a local and regional perspective and offer information and techniques that have the potential to mitigate the adverse effects on open space and natural resources, according to program planner Mark Remcheck, extension community forester based in Washington County. The objective is to encourage and facilitate regional cooperation and planning. Topics covered will include Allegheny Land Trust’s “Greenprint”: A regional conservation agenda for the public good; an overview of comprehensive planning, land use regulation and natural resource conservation as authorized by the State; the fiscal impacts of residential development; and “Natural Infrastructure”, a nine county coordinated GIS database of natural assets.

Resources

Japan's Major Industries Reduce 2005 CO2 Emissions by 0.6% over 1990

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) released the "Results of the Fiscal 2006 Follow-up to the Keidanren Voluntary Action Plan on Global Warming Measures" on December 14, 2006. The report indicates that 35 industries in the industrial and energy-conversion sectors emitted 505.07 million tons of CO2 in fiscal 2005, a 0.6 percent decrease from the 1990 levels, achieving CO2 reduction targets for the sixth consecutive year since fiscal 2000. Although production activities increased by 10.1 percent and the CO2 emission coefficient also increased by 0.2 percent, CO2 emissions per production decreased by 10.9 percent, resulting in a 0.6 percent decrease in total CO2 emissions.

State targets county in suit- Claims climate change ignored

The state attorney general sued San Bernardino County this week, alleging the county should have looked at global warming before adopting its new growth plan. "This is the most significant issue facing the county and the world," Attorney General Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr. said Friday by telephone...The general plan is the overarching vision of where houses, businesses and open space will be over the next 25 years. The state's global warming law calls for greenhouse gas emissions to be cut to 1990 levels by 2020. That means the county's planning document will still be in effect long after the first deadline for dramatic reductions in emissions, Brown said.

New York Mayor Unveils Multi-Billion Dollar Green City Plan

Covering land, air, water, energy, and transportation, PlaNYC is the result of thousands of hours of work, informed by public meetings and feedback from New Yorkers. It establishes goals that include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030, although the mayor says even that goal is not set high enough.

Thomas L. Friedman: The power of green

Well, I want to rename "green." I want to rename it geostrategic, geoeconomic, capitalistic and patriotic. I want to do that because I think that living, working, designing, manufacturing and projecting America in a green way can be the basis of a new unifying political movement for the 21st century. A redefined, broader and more muscular green ideology is not meant to trump the traditional Republican and Democratic agendas but rather to bridge them when it comes to addressing the three major issues facing every American today: jobs, temperature and terrorism.

Technology to help cities manage booming USA

"Technology is going to be absolutely essential" for the nation to absorb growth, says Tom Daniels, professor at the University of Pennsylvania's department of city and regional planning. "There are three main challenges: One is energy, second is transportation and the third is going to be water."

For HP, Environmental Responsibility Is a Competitive Imperative

What Prophet called “a passion for social and environmental issues at Hewlett-Packard” led HP in 2002 to become the first electronics company to establish a supply chain policy on these matters. In 2004, the company also spearheaded the development of an electronic industry code of conduct, which encourages responsible management and operational practices in labor, human rights, health and safety, the environment, and ethics across the industry’s global supply chain...“For us, corporate social responsibility is a point of competitive differentiation,” Prophet said. “It’s really a business imperative. Things that are right for the environment are proving right for the bottom line of our company and our clients.”

HUD Campaign Supports Local Regulatory Reform

HUD is launching a National Call to Action to encourage the production of affordable housing through local and state regulatory reform. The campaign is designed to enlist states, local communities, and affordable housing advocacy groups across the nation to commit to producing affordable housing through public participation in a national network for regulatory reform...States, local governments, and affordable housing advocacy groups will commit to work toward identifying the impact of regulatory barriers to affordable housing in their respective jurisdictions, pursue comprehensive solutions, and share results with other participants. States and local governments will also commit to forming task forces to address regulatory reform efforts in their jurisdictions.

Changing Skyline | Welcome, welcome, city planners

That should concern Philadelphians because Americans increasingly choose their hometowns for the quality of life they offer, and not merely the address of their employers. If Philadelphia expects to compete with them to lure new taxpaying residents, it's going to have to work harder to soften the rough edges of daily life in this old industrial town. Schools, parks, transit, parking, entertainment and retail all need to keep pace with today's expectations. In short, the city needs to plan for growth...It helps to think of planners as the stewards of urban values. In Philadelphia's case, that means defending the city's traditional urbanism, pedestrian-friendly streets, and lively mix of uses. One of the disappointments of the Street administration is that his planners didn't fight to ensure those values were incorporated into important civic designs, like the South Street Bridge and the expanded Convention Center. Neither project does enough to make pedestrians feel comfortable, and as a result each could discourage future development on its fringes. Although Fattah argues that planning mainly benefits the affluent, it's the poor who need planning most. One false move can tear apart a fragile neighborhood.

Cardinal Resources banking on sustainable remediation

In a sustainable practice known as phytoremediation, Cardinal Resources Inc. uses such things as poplar trees and willows to create plantations at manufacturing sites to clean up toxic wastes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company also uses a solar-powered water filtration system to purify water used in manufacturing...But with increased regulatory scrutiny on emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases that scientists say contribute to global warming, Jones said companies like Dow Corning are starting to take other measures that are more preventative in nature...Not only do the plants used in phytoremediation reduce an industrial site's carbon dioxide emissions, their root systems create a filter for cleaning storm water runoff or industrial chemicals that are leaching into groundwater or soils.

We're baaaaack! Pittsburgh again 'most livable'

"Great!" said Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato when he got the news. "What you're seeing here is the result of a lot of hard work. We were coming off a bad decade where there were a lot of financial issues in the city proper. "I think you're starting to see the result of development. We're investing money in the airport and investing in old brown sites, putting trails in and just making Pittsburgh a more competitive place to live and do business."

Pittsburgh Area Farm to Table Subscription Program

The Farm to Table Subscription Program allows consumers to access fresh food and farm products from local farmers. More people around the country are turning to their local farmers for good, healthy food that hasn't been shipped thousands of miles in the back of a truck. Some go to their neighborhood farmers' market, but there's another great option, and we're pleased to bring it to you through the Farm to Table Subscription Program.

Regional Equity Atlas Project

How fair is our regional development approach? How can we make it more fair? The purpose of the Regional Equity Atlas Project is to advance equity - the right of every person to have access to opportunities necessary for satisfying essential needs and advancing their well-being - as a key component of the Portland metropolitan region's development...The information in the Atlas will be shared with policy makers, planners, businesses, and the general public, and used by community based organizations to advocate for changing public policies and redirecting public and private investments to make regional development more equitable.

Corporate Location Subsidies: Do They Feed Sprawl Too?

Are government subsidies to job-promising corporations the waste of taxpayers' money that critics have long claimed -- a zero-sum city-to-city and state-to-state shell game? Or are they worse? Do they foster sprawl, moving jobs out of cities, away from the workers in most need, and into better-off suburbs with little poverty, joblessness or affordable housing? That's the charge the Washington-based watchdog group Good Jobs First is now making. It has strong evidence, based on careful surveys rooted in government data and conducted in Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan.

State Must Speed Up Reforms to Prosper: Growth Remains Slow Despite Hint of Progress

Thoughtful debates have begun in Pennsylvania regions over how best to update the local governance system to empower municipalities to innovate in pursuing greater efficiency and fiscal strength. State agencies are spending tax dollars more strategically and working to align community development, economic development and transportation investment with a new, place-oriented vision of economic success. Public opinion has shifted. Voters are now strongly supportive of common-sense thinking on such key issues as empowering local government and concentrating investment in existing communities, according to recent polling.

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 2007 from:

Dollar Bank
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
The Giant Eagle Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Roy A. Hunt 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