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Events

Resources

Two Upcoming Sustainability and Smart Growth Forums

"Corridor Planning: Lessons from the Route 30 Master Plan"
Wednesday, July 25
11:30 am - 1 pm
23rd Floor, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Ave.
Fetterolf Room
Pittsburgh (downtown)
Bring a brown bag lunch - beverages and dessert provided
No fee to attend.
Register: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642
Hosted by: Local Government Academy and Sustainable Pittsburgh

The Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County (SGPWC) has initiated a collaborative corridor planning process to create a vision and plan for a 40-mile stretch of the historic “Lincoln Highway”. This section of Route 30 connects the historic small cities and growing suburbs east of Pittsburgh to the scenic Laurel Highlands. When complete, the Route 30 Master Plan will become a strategic blueprint for Westmoreland County’s economic growth corridor. Learn how this corridor plan is utilizing sound transportation and land use planning approaches to develop cost-conscious investment priorities, intelligent strategies for congestion management and multi-municipal development regulations and design guidelines.

Attend this program to learn about the corridor planning process including: how the process got started and how it’s progressing; getting stakeholders on board; providing public participation opportunities; and keeping the momentum going.

Speaker: Alex Graziani – Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County

"A Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania"
Thursday, August 2
11:30 am - 1 pm
23rd Floor, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Ave.
Fetterolf Room
Pittsburgh (downtown)
Bring a brown bag lunch - beverages and dessert provided
No fee to attend.
Register: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642
Hosted by: Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Sustainable Pittsburgh

Governor Rendell and the General Assembly are actively working on legislation and regulatory proposals concerning alternative energy generation, biofuel development, and energy efficiency. These proposals have tremendous implications for the future of our environment, our economy, and our quality of life. Equally important, these proposals represent a collective step toward addressing the challenge of climate change in Pennsylvania.

In June the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) released its Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania – a comprehensive set of policy recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Commonwealth, as well as an up-to-date inventory of existing emissions. Currently our state generates approximately 1% of the worldwide total of greenhouse gases, placing us alongside the top 25 emitting nations in the world. Brian Hill and John Walliser from PEC will present the findings of the Roadmap and facilitate a discussion on its relation to the many policy proposals circulating in Harrisburg.

Both forums sponsored by:

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Resources Continued

BikeFest 07

June 29 - July 8
View the BikeFest Calendar

BikeFest is Bike Pittsburgh’s annual celebration of two wheeled madness, showcasing Pittsburgh in all of its uniqueness and beauty. It is not an organized event, but a framework for organizing bicycle-themed events. Whether you ride everyday, the weekends, or always wanted to try, BikeFest! has an event for you.

YERT Pre-Launch Party

Saturday, June 30
12 - 4 pm
Union Project -- 801 North Negley Ave
Pittsburgh
Contact: 415-672-5537 or mark@yert.com
YERT Info: http://www.yert.com. Event Info: Click Here

YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip) is driving America to a new state of green with a groundbreaking year-long eco-adventure departing from Pittsburgh on the Fourth of July - America's Energy Independence Day. With video camera in hand and tongue in cheek, Mark, Ben, and Julie will examine the landscape of environmental sustainability in America! They're celebrating the launch of this video road trip with a big bash on June 30th. Come hang out with the team, meet new friends and neighbors, and enjoy eco-friendly food, games, films, and music - then say "Bon Voyage" as only Pittsburgh can. The Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club is co-sponsoring this event. Also, Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto will be a guest speaker.

Pittsburgh Named North American City of the Future

Thursday, July 12
7:30 am
Omni William Penn Hotel
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
NAIOP Members: Complimentary. Supporting Organizations: $25. Guests: $35
Register: 412-928-8303 or naioppittsburgh.com

NAIOP presents Courtney Fingar, Editor fDi Magazine. fDi Magazine is the specialist inward investment title of the Financial Times Group. Now just over five years old, fDi has an audited circulation of 15,000 and a readership of 45,000 -- consisting mainly of senior-level executives for the world's top companies as well as some SMEs, location consultants, governments, legal advisers, property consultants and investment promotion agencies.

Resources

Peace Corps needs broad-minded Americans to protect the environment abroad!

Did you know about 27 month assignments existing in over 70 countries around the globe in Environmental Education, Forestry and Protected Area Management? The Peace Corps is a Volunteer Agency through the US Government which places Volunteers in communities around the globe to address locally identified needs.

Embark! Mentoring Program

The Embark! Mentoring Program is searching for caring adults to become mentors who can offer: solid advice about life, academics, relationships, careers and healthy living; a nurturing relationship through the joys and challenges of life; and a good example of positive, respectful social interaction and wise choices. For more information, please call:

JoAnn Hannah at 412-350-7153
Jacki Hoover at 412-350-5799

U.S. House Passes Bill Affirming Global Warming Exists

The House of Representatives Wednesday, aiming to put an end to the debate over whether global warming is actually occurring, passed legislation recognizing the "reality" of climate change and providing money to work on the problem.

Pitt study finds stark racial disparities

"Pittsburgh's Racial Demographics: Differences and Disparities" found that while this area continues to be listed as one of America's most livable cities, for thousands of black residents, it is anything but....The report looked at the lives of whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians in the city and in Allegheny county. It is one of the most comprehensive surveys ever done on the quality of life of multiple racial groups. "The problems reported on here today are not new, but there hasn't been enough progress," said Ralph Bangs, a director at the Center for Race and Social Policy and a coauthor of the study. "We need better policies and a better political will to change things. We need to do more than we're doing."

Study: Section 8 tenants restricted to just a few city neighborhoods

Last week the Fair Housing partnership completed a preliminary study on what it calls "a skewed housing pattern" of voucher-holders across the city. Although only 2 percent of all occupied rental units in the city are taken up by voucher-holders, they are concentrated in a handful of neighborhoods. Three city neighborhoods -- Homewood, Larimer and Perry North -- see nearly a fifth of their rental units filled by Section 8 tenants. "One of the reasons we got interested in working on the issue is that some neighborhoods have a high concentration but some do not," says Peter Harvey, the partnership's director. Housing advocates like Harvey argue that the uneven distribution defeats the stated goal of the federal housing-voucher program, which is to break up the concentration of poverty commonplace in the conventional housing projects. They hope that these findings will help pave the way for a city ordinance that bans discrimination against tenants using Section 8 or other government sources of income to pay rent.

Great Allegheny Passage rail-trail first hall of famer

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the nation's largest trails organization, has established a hall of fame and announced its first inductee -- the Great Allegheny Passage, the 150-mile non-motorized vehicle, multipurpose trail between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md. The conservancy, based in Washington, D.C., said it selected the passage for its beauty, number of users, historical significance, total length and geographic diversity.

Eat'n Drive

It won't just be the power of suggestion that has you smelling French fries while driving behind Eat'n Park trucks. That's because they'll soon be running on a biodiesel blend made from the oil from the fry vats at their own restaurants. Biodiesel can be made from many types of oils, fats or greases, which are frequent restaurant wastes. Reusing these inedible wastes, says Jamie Moore, director of food and beverage for the Eat'n Park Hospitality Group, is "completing a loop." The fuel is less polluting and can be less expensive than the skyrocketing expense of petroleum.

UN issues desertification warning

Tens of millions of people could be driven from their homes by encroaching deserts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, a report says. The study by the United Nations University suggests climate change is making desertification "the greatest environmental challenge of our times".

Real Estate Industry Quietly Embracing Green Development

In an analysis of the industry, Progressive Investor reports that 41% of the 300 U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs) are actively pursuing energy efficiency and green building upgrades and another 27% plan to do so.

New Penn Future Podcast: Fighting for Energy Independence

In this podcast, PennFuture's Heather Sage speaks with PennFuture President and CEO John Hanger about the critical need for immediate action on the Energy Independence Strategy. John is a former member of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, and is an expert on energy policy and renewable energy. He describes the many benefits of the $850 million proposed package-- benefits for consumers from energy conservation savings, rebates, and improved local economies, benefits for the business sector in the form of new jobs, grants and loans for renewable energy development and high-tech research, and benefits for our health and environment in the form of less air pollution and far fewer emissions of heat-trapping gases that are causing global warming.

The Preservation Compact: Affordable Housing Action Plan for Cook County

The supply of affordable rental housing has been shrinking in Cook County, Illinois, for more than a decade. To stem the loss of affordable rental housing, in 2005 an assembly of leaders formed the Preservation Compact and began work to preserve at least 75,000 affordable rental units in Cook County by 2020.

Population shifts a drain and a strain to region

Estimates of the July 1, 2006, population show about 70 percent of the region's communities lost 2 percent or more of their residents since the July 2000 estimate. The losses have led to declining tax bases, faltering school systems and nearly bankrupt governments...David Miller, interim dean and a policy expert at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, said the few bright spots create only an "illusion of growth" for the area.

Highway System Drives City Population Declines, Says Brown Economist

Examining the phenomenon of suburbanization in America, Brown University economist Nathaniel Baum-Snow shows the extent to which the construction of new highways contributed to population declines in cities. He estimates that each new highway passing through a city reduces its population by about 18 percent, making the national road network a major impetus for suburbanization and sprawl of U.S. cities.

Last-century strategy won't move Houston forward

There are two critical issues for Houston as it continues to grow into one of the country's largest urban areas. Both are related to the realities of a global economy in which knowledge and information are the primary drivers of success. Both are about education, one to determine how best to educate the region's population to participate in a knowledge economy, and the other to devise ways of attracting people from other places who can bring knowledge and skills to us right now.

Regionalism: Growing Together to Expand Opportunity to All

The purpose of this research initia­tive is to understand how regionalism could impact the African American community. In addition, the goal of this research is to identify equity based regional policies that could improve conditions for the African American community, increase the social health and economic vitality of the entire Cleveland region, pro­viding benefits to all residents of the Cleveland metropolitan region. The report shows how and why equity must be seen as a cornerstone—not a stumbling block—in regional planning. By uniting communities with opportunity—through better education, transportation, housing and economic investment—the entire Cleveland region can be more prosperous, healthy, and just.

House passes transit funding, uses taxes and fees to fix roads

It would provide about $700 million in transportation funding for the fiscal year starting July 1, and then $750 million in 2008-09 and $800 million in 2009-10. Funding would increase by roughly $20 million each subsequent year....Allegheny County and its municipalities would have to generate another $1.35 million annually through the new taxes -- on top of the $25 million they already provide -- to leverage $48.5 million in state funding, Port Authority officials said.

Smog plan may put city out of compliance

New EPA smog standards proposed yesterday may affect the Pittsburgh region when they are finalized in March. The new proposal would strengthen regulation of ground-level ozone--a primary component of smog--from the currently accepted level of 0.084 parts per million in the atmosphere over an eight-hour period to between 0.070 and 0.075 parts per million.

Pittsburgh region a hub of Main Street retail trend

From the 800,000-square-foot Southpointe Town Center in Washington County meant to capture the ambiance of Main Street, with stores, offices and residential spaces to the development of the seven-story Armstrong Cork factory in the Strip District as a place to live, the trend is toward more distinctive architecture and layering shopping with workplaces and homes. "Pittsburgh is looking for a unique product. Cookie cutter isn't working," said Katie Pliscott, who is working to lease retail space at a garage built to serve the Strip District project.

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