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Events

Sustainable Pittsburgh Urges the Legislature. . .

. . . To adopt measures on three topics where taken together would profoundly move the Commonwealth and its communities toward sustainability:

Gas Tax: to enact a severance tax on natural gas whose revenue stream hastens the transition to a new energy economy by allocating tax funds to: Community Protection and Development; Improved Environmental Quality; General Fund; and a Sustainable Innovation Fund to invest in energy conservation and efficiency, conversion of coal and petroleum consumption to natural gas, rapidly renewable resources, and investment in sustainable industries. The gas tax is an opportunity to show the world the Commonwealth is a leader in transitioning to the new energy economy.

Public Transportation: to enact a long term, reliable source of funding to ensure that the Commonwealth's public transportation systems can continue to meet the needs of our citizens.

Neighborhood Blight Reclamation & Revitalization Act (SB 900): to enact assistance to municipalities to prevent blight and remediate abandoned properties through new programs and rule changes. These include those to hold property owners accountable for the costs to secure, remediate or demolish blighted structures. The bill would also expedite the process of prosecuting owners of blighted properties and give municipalities the authority to go after the financial assets of negligent owners.

Events Continued

Resources

ONE MORE DAY FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT! Regional Water Conference: Protecting and Using our Greatest Asset

Thursday, September 9
7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Regional Learning Alliance at Cranberry Woods, Cranberry 16066
Cost: $110 for ASCE, EWRI, or C4S members | $130 nonmembers | $50 students
Register by September 2, 2010 and save $20!
Breakfast and lunch provided
More information, including registration and agenda, is available at www.C4SPgh.org.

This conference highlights ways in which southwestern Pennsylvania leads in the management of water and how its residents and businesses are using the region's greatest asset. The event is intended for professionals seeking to learn about practical solutions regarding water, and engineering practitioners looking to understand what is on the minds of community leaders relating to sustainability and clean water (including Marcellus Shale impacts).

This conference builds on the conversation launched during the Water Matters! Global Water Conference held in June 2010 as part of the Pittsburgh region’s World Environment Day 2010 celebration.

Topics to be covered:
Our Region’s Water Advantages – Why Pittsburgh?
Marcellus Shale Mining Impacts and Solutions
Early Warning Detection Systems for Water Protection
The Future of Water Quality Regulations and Solutions
The Water Consortium Initiative in Southwest PA
Innovative Solutions to Clean Water
The conference will also feature three speakers on practical solutions related to Marcellus Shale water issues as well as a panel to discuss what engineering and policy practitioners believe to be the most important water-related issues for this region in order to ensure that the right responses to water demand are addressed.

Presented by: American Society of Civil Engineers, Pittsburgh Section; Environmental & Water Resources Institute; and Champions for Sustainability Recent publicity surrounding Marcellus Shale exploration tends towards polarized debate over whether drilling should be encouraged or banned.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Public Forum

Monday, September 20
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Duquesne University - Power Center Ballroom, 1015 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
No fee to attend; Space is limited.
PLEASE REGISTER BY SEPTEMBER 14. To register send full contact information to: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org

A new on-street BRT service is under consideration in Allegheny County to offer faster, more reliable, and easier-to-understand transit service. The initial focus is to link Downtown Pittsburgh with Oakland and other East End neighborhoods. As has been realized in other cities, “Rapid Bus” service improves transportation and is an effective catalyst for community revitalization. Implementation of BRT in Pittsburgh’s East End could result in similar benefits for the Forbes and Fifth Avenues Corridor. Before us is a golden opportunity to envision and design the service, facilities and economic development that leaders and citizens want for their neighborhoods.

This forum, focused on Pittsburgh’s Downtown – Oakland – East End area, will feature:
- Planning, development, and transportation professionals with BRT experience along with stakeholders from the community.
- BRT insights from other cities including: Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Cleveland.
- Secretary Allen Biehler, PennDOT
- Breakout sessions will facilitate discussion of BRT benefits, challenges and community development issues.

Pittsburgh BRT Forum Collaborators:
Allegheny Conference on Community Development
Allegheny County Department of Economic Development
Allegheny County Transit Council
Allegheny County Transportation Action Partnership
Bike Pittsburgh
Carnegie Mellon University’s Traffic21 Initiative
City of Pittsburgh - Department of City Planning
Hill House Development Corporation
NAIOP Pittsburgh - The Commercial Real Estate Development Association
National Bus Rapid Transit Institute
Oakland Planning & Development Corp.
Oakland Transportation Management Association
Oakland Task Force
Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership
Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development
Port Authority of Allegheny County
Remaking Cities Institute
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
Sustainable Pittsburgh
UPMC
Uptown Partners
Urban Land Institute - Pittsburgh Chapter

The Road to Sustainability II Conference: Implementing Sustainable Strategies

Thursday, September 23
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Athletics and Events Center, Community College of Beaver County, Center Township
Cost: $40 per person; includes breakfast and lunch.
More information, including registration

Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) and Sustainable Pittsburgh once again are teaming up to present this cutting edge conference. Businesses and organizations will learn practical ways for moving a company from sustainable concept to sustainable reality. Throughout the day, attendees will hear from regional and national experts and:
• Get first-hand info on how to implement a sustainable plan
• Learn about what products to use
• Capture the return on your investment when "going green"
• Hear about construction, renovation, energy audits, and funding sources

Guests will also have the opportunity to attend mini workshops on such topics as:
• GBC LEED programs
• Mechanical systems
• Grant development
• Energy Auditing I and II
• Municipal leadership
• Business (employer) leadership
• Building design
• Energy company available funding
• Sustainable construction with EPS
• Storm water management and utilization
• Lighting system primer
• Variable frequency drive applications
• Recycling EPS

A Resources Room will also be available throughout the day, highlighting vendors displaying green products and services. To reserve space at the conference as a vendor, contact (724) 480-3443.

Participate in the Tipping Points for Sustainability Competition

DEADLINE for Submissions: Friday, September 24
More information

In step with the 10th annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Smart Growth Conference, the Tipping Points for Sustainability Competition is seeking input on what YOU think accelerated southwestern Pennsylvania on the path toward sustainable development over the last ten years.

Per the 14 Sustainable Community Development Essentials, (launched at the 2009 Smart Growth Conference), individuals are invited to identify and submit the significant tipping point(s), in other words, game changing moments, from the last ten years that are points of departure whereby the policy and practice of these "Essentials" were accelerated for the region.

- What is the systems change, the good, that has come from it?
- What did that tipping point put in motion; what we should have learned and how we should be applying this today?

Tipping points can be: policies, acts of leadership, mishaps, demonstration projects, an event, etc. A committee of judges will review the submissions to pick the top winners and award prizes. Winners will be announced during the 10th annual SWPA Smart Growth Conference on Friday, October 15. The grand prize winner will receive a free iPad, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Technology Council!

10th Annual Southwestern PA Smart Growth Conference:
Regional Collaboration: Investing in Sustainable Communities

Friday, October 15
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, downtown Pittsburgh
Lunch provided.
Early registration: $25; After 9/23: $45. Free for elected officials.
For exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities contact: cgould@sustainablepittsburgh.org
Click here to REGISTER.
Enter the TIPPING POINTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY Competition! More information here . Deadline to enter September 24.

For this 10th anniversary, the conference will be a milestone for the high stakes surrounding the region's capacity building for smart growth. Focus will be on alignment with the Obama Administration's Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities (comprising federal DOT, EPA, and HUD) in supporting integration of housing, transportation, water infrastructure, energy conservation, and land use planning and investment. As such, this one-day, conference will identify barriers and solutions to cross-jurisdictional coordination for regional smart growth and sustainable community development policy and implementation. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan hit home the need and opportunity of our times in recently stating, "Our challenge now is to bring that holistic view of community development into the mainstream -- to help build sustainable neighborhoods, communities and regions that are as interconnected as the challenges they face."

The conference will again serve as a public input session to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission's process of updating the region's Long Range Transportation and Development Plan. This update will be distinguished by addition of enhancements appropriate to a regional sustainable development plan per the six "Livability Principles" prioritized by the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

The conference will feature:
- Mariia Zimmerman, Deputy Director, HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
- Representatives of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will discuss the U.S. government's interagency partnership to support and promote sustainable communities.
- Keynote address by Peter Calthorpe, Principal, Calthorpe Associates - Urban Designers, Planners, Architects
- Allen Biehler, Secretary of PA Department of Transportation
- John Hanger, Secretary of PA Department of Environmental Protection
- SPC public process per the region's sustainable development plan
- Four pressing issues interwoven in deliberations: Transportation Funding Crisis, Water & Sewer Infrastructure, Marcellus Impacts, Affordable Housing
- Panel strategy session with: Steve Bland, Port Authority of Allegheny County; Caren Glotfelty, The Heinz Endowments; Doug Hill, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania; John Schombert, 3 Rivers Wet Weather
- Formal presentation of competition results – “14 Essential Tipping Points for SWPA Sustainable Community Development" (Learn how to enter the competition) - Launch of the online Sustainable Community Essentials Rapid Assessment
- Learn what federal and state agencies are looking for in capacity and qualification for sustainable community investment
- Identification of actionable steps whose implementation will position our region to accelerate sustainable development and be a priority place for investment
- Crafting of a summary of participants' input and resulting action plan for presentation to the candidates for Governor, other candidates and incumbents, and community leaders

Southwestern PA is a contemporary proving ground for hastening the new American dream found in revitalizing livable, sustainable communities through smart growth policies that discourage sprawl, congestion and pollution. Come be part of continuing the region's sustainability renaissance for economically competitive, environmentally sustainable, opportunity rich communities. More than a one-time event, the conference will be a point of acceleration and innovation for the region's positive path.

Peter Calthorpe has been named one of twenty-five "innovators on the cutting edge" by Newsweek Magazine for his work redefining the models of urban and suburban growth in America. Starting practice in 1976, he has a long and honored career in urban design, planning and architecture, combining his experience in each discipline to develop new approaches to urban revitalization, suburban growth, and regional planning. His early published work included technical papers, articles for popular magazines, and a number of seminal books, including Sustainable Communities with Sim Van der Ryn, and the Pedestrian Pocket Book with Doug Kelbaugh. The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream, published in 1993, introduced the concept of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and provided extensive guidelines and illustrations of their board application. His latest book with William Fulton, The Regional City: Planning for the End of Sprawl, explains how regional-scale planning and design can integrate urban revitalization and suburban renewal into a coherent vision of metropolitan growth.

Presented by Sustainable Pittsburgh's Sustainable Community Development Network in collaboration with: 3 Rivers Wet Weather, 10,000 Friends of PA, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, Green Building Alliance, Group Against Smog and Pollution, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Local Government Academy, Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development, Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 10, District 11, and District 12, Pennsylvania Resources Council, Remaking Cities Institute, Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County, Southwest Chapter of the Pennsylvania Planners Association, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Pittsburgh, Young Preservationists Association

Sponsored by:
The PNC Financial Services Group
Michael Baker

Additional support provided by:
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
The Heinz Endowments

Post Smart Growth Conference - Power of 32 Community Conversation
Continuing the regional dialogue, immediately following conclusion of the October 15 Smart Growth Conference, a Power of 32 Community Conversation will be held from 4:30 - 6:00 pm in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Ballroom. This regional visioning session is open and free to residents of the 32 county region. Pre-register by calling 866-431-3622 and refer to the post Oct. 15 Smart Growth Conference Community Conversation. Attendees of the Smart Growth Conference are encouraged to stay and apply insights from the day. The public at large is welcomed too. Power of 32 is a regional visioning initiative engaging residents across 32 counties in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in creating a shared vision for the region's future. Through the Power of 32, we can think differently about our region's challenges—our role in the global world, our quality of life, and our opportunities—and act in ways that set a new direction for the future. Please join with other champions of smart growth and sustainability in this important opportunity to share your ideas about the future of the Power of 32 region. Input gained in the community conversations held around the region will by synthesized and vetted toward creation of a shared regional action agenda.

September is Local Food Month

September 1 - 30, 2010
Various locations
For more information, please visit www.buylocalpa.org, or contact the Western regional PASA office at (412) 365-2985.

Celebrate local flavor at its peak all month long with the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). This 5th annual celebration of local foods in Western Pennsylvania boasts over 50 unique events! Consumers are becoming more and more interested in an “authentic,” as well as healthy food experience, and this involves knowing more about WHERE their food comes from, HOW it was produced, and WHO produced it.

Local Food Month event highlights—

- Chef demonstrations will take place at Slow Food’s Farmers@Firehouse Market held at 2216 Penn Ave. in the Strip District each Saturday from 9:00am-1:00PM.
- The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Eat-N-Park are teaming up for a local food drive. Chefs will be giving demos at the Food Bank Farm Stands to encourage fresh, healthy meals made from local produce.
- The Pittsburgh Public Market opens for the first time Friday, September 3rd and will be hosting Grand Opening festivities September 10th, 11th, and 12th. Hours are Fridays 9am – 7pm, Saturdays 9am – 5pm, and Sundays 10am – 4pm.
- The Erie County Conservation District is holding the 1st annual, “Taste of Harvest – Erie County” event on September 21st.
- Soergel Orchards and Greenhouse will host a Corn Roast each Sunday in September, in addition to a fall kick-off Festival on September 25 in Wexford, PA.
- The East End Food Co-op’s 5th annual Art Harvest Festival on September 26th. Community, food, music and art will be the order of the day as they throw their fifth annual arts fair right in front of the store, located at 7516 Meade Street in Point Breeze.
- The Peters Township Public Library will present FRESH the movie on September 17th following a local food potluck starting at 6:30pm.
- Local Foods Celebrations, dinners & events will be held at Kaya, Eleven, Bocktown Beer & Grille, Habitat, and the Steel City Big Pour.

Keep the Promise Tour
Making drillers pay their fair share

Wednesday, September 8
8:00 am - 10:00 am
Georgetown Centre, 526 East Bruceton Rd, Pittsburgh 15236
RSVP today to secure your spot at this event. Pre-registration is required two days prior to each event. There will be no onsite registration.

The Pennsylvania State Legislature promised to pass a severance tax on deep natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale by October 1. PennFuture asks you to help make sure that a promise made is a promise kept.

The drilling companies are spending enormous amounts of money to stop the severance tax. The drillers will make enormous profits from the natural gas they take from the land - it's only fair that they pay a reasonable tax that will go to protect the environment and local communities that "host" the drilling, fund natural resource agencies, and help balance the budget. Join PennFuture on the Keep the Promise Tour to send the message that Pennsylvanians demand that the drillers pay their fair share.

Participants:
Jan Jarrett, PennFuture President and CEO
Representative David Levdansky (D-Allegheny and Washington)
John Arway, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
Roy Kranyk, Executive Director, Allegheny Land Trust
Heather Hardy, Program Manager, Pennsylvania Environmental Council
Other speakers, TBA

Westmoreland County's First Annual Community and Economic Development Summit

Thursday, September 9
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Saint Vincent College, Fred Rogers Center, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe
Registration fee: $20
RSVP by August 27th to Jack Brown at Westmoreland Community Action
More information

Westmoreland Community Action is collaborating with the Smart Growth Partnership, The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County, and PNC Bank to conduct Westmoreland County’s first-ever economic development summit. The event is an all-day affair featuring a catered breakfast, lunch, several prominent keynote speakers, along with several breakout sessions. Sandra Moore of Keynote Strategies, Dr. John McKnight of Northwestern University, and Evergreen Cooperatives of Cleveland, Ohio will all be speaking during this event.

4th Annual Green Building Products Summit:
Changes and Opportunities in the Green Building Product Industry

Friday, September 17
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Doubletree Monroeville Hotel, Monroeville, PA
Cost: $89
For more information or to register contact Robz@gbapgh.org or (412) 431-0709 or visit www.pa-greenbuildingproducts.org
Agenda

Changes are coming in the Green Building Products Industry! Be prepared for those changes by attending the Green Building Products Summit. This one day event is geared toward making sure YOU have all the information and resources you need to move forward successfully in the green building industry! Who should attend? Product manufacturers engaged in the green building marketplace from President/CEO to Marketing and Communications.

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC Fall 2010 Speaker Series Schedule - Center on Race and Social Problems

Friday, September 17
Alejandro de la Fuente, UCIS Research Professor, History and Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh, "Debates on Race and History in Contemporary Cuba"
Noon to 1:30 pm
University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work Conference Center, 2017 Cathedral of Learning
Lunch will be provided; registration is not required.
More information

During the academic year, the School of Social Work Conference Center hosts a monthly series of lunchtime lectures. These talks provide an opportunity for faculty, students, and community members to engage in race-related discussions of mutual interest.

Additional lectures:

Wednesday, October 27
Sumie Okazaki, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology, New York University, "Race, Racism, and Mental Health in Asian American Communities"

Tuesday November 9
Philip M. Gleason, Senior Fellow, Mathematica, "Race, Class, and Student Achievement in KIPP Middle Schools"

Wednesday, December 8
Tony Norman, Columnist, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, "Columnizing in a Post-Racial World"

9th Annual David Lewis Lecture on Urban Design:
"Architecture, Infrastructure, and Urban Design”

Monday, September 20
6:00 pm
Carnegie Museum of Art Theater, Oakland
Free to the public

Featuring Marilyn Taylor, FAIA
Dean of the School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

MARILYN TAYLOR, FAIA, became Dean of the School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania in 2008 where she oversees programs in Architecture, City and Regional Planning, Fine Arts, Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Spatial Analytics. She advocates for the role of designers in addressing the challenges of sustainable urban form, responsible use of resources, and quality of life. Taylor is an Iowa native and a graduate of Radcliffe College. She attended the MIT Graduate School of Architecture and received her M. Arch. from the University of California, Berkeley. Taylor joined Skidmore Owings & Merrill in 1971, was elected Partner in 1985, served as SOM’s first woman Chairman (2001-2003), and led the firm’s practice in urban design. She remains a Consulting Principal.

Taylor is distinguished as well for her civic and professional leadership, having served as a member of The Partnership for New York City, president of the American Institute of Architects (NYC Chapter), first woman Chairman of the Urban Land Institute (2005-2007), visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a founding member of the New York New Visions Design and Planning Coalition. Taylor received a David Rockefeller Fellowship in 1995.

The David Lewis Lecture on Urban Design is a free lecture co-sponsored by the Remaking Cities Institute of the School of Architecture of Carnegie Mellon University and the Heinz Architectural Center of the Carnegie Museum of Art, and underwritten by Urban Design Associates.

Mother Earth News Fair

September 25-26, 2010
Festival hours: Saturday from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm and Sunday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Seven Springs Mountain Resort
One-day tickets are $15. Two-day tickets are $25. Children 17 and under are FREE!
More information

Join MOTHER EARTH NEWS at Seven Springs Mountain Resort for the first annual MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR - a fun-filled, family-oriented sustainable lifestyle event, featuring hundreds of practical, hands-on demonstrations and workshops from the leading authorities on:

Renewable Energy
Small-scale Agriculture
Gardening
Green Building
Green Transportation
Natural Health

You'll enjoy a vast eco-friendly marketplace, organic local food and beverages as well as outdoor equipment and livestock demonstrations.

Best Practices Summit on Urban Parks, Recreation, & Open Space

Thursday, September 30th
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
The Children's Museum Theatre (Lower Level, 10 Children's Way - See http://tinyurl.com/2brb9wa for directions. Free parking will be provided.)
RSVP to Andrew Dash of the Department of City Planning at (412)255-0760 or andrew.dash@city.pittsburgh.pa.us

As part of the Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Plan (OpenSpacePGH),one of the initial chapters of PLANPGH, the City's Comprehensive Plan, the City invites you to The Best Practices Summit. This Summit will bring together a panel of experts in an intensive working session to identify successful models and strategies that can be tailored to Pittsburgh’s open space, parks and recreation challenges. These experts bring experience from around the country and provide a diversity of perspectives, addressing the full spectrum of urban and open space issues, ranging from economic development to land stewardship to contextual design. This session will be a panel discussion, open to the public, where panel members share their most inspiring and transformational ideas. Come hear the ideas put forth by the panel, based on their work in cities across the country, and play a part in transforming the City's Open Spaces, Parks, and Recreation system. Discuss how those ideas can be applied to Pittsburgh!

Some of the Confirmed Panel Members are:
- Charles Jordan - Board of Directors of The Conservation Fund, formerly Parks & Recreation Director for the Cities of Austin and Portland, OR
- Kathy Abbott - Vice President of the Trustee of Reservations (Massachusetts), formerly Director of Conservation and Recreation for the Trust for Public Land
- Aaron Renn - author of the Urbanophile (www.urbanophile.com) and other articles in the Time, the Economist, New York Times, and others.
- Ron Golem - Principal at Bay Area Economics, formerly of the Presidio for the National Park Service
More information about all of the panel members, including their bios, and an agenda will be forthcoming.

About the Plan:
The Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Plan (OPENSPACEPGH) is one of the initial components of PLANPGH, the City's Comprehensive Plan. This planning effort will not only look at our parks and recreation facilities & programs, but will also look at the City's abundant open spaces, a unique resource consisting of our riverfronts, wooded hillsides, and vacant lots. This Plan will create the vision for the City's open space resources and opportunities over the next 25 years, and will include an action plan with measurable performance standards to determine what projects need to be undertaken, in what order, and who will be responsible so the City and its partners can best improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh.

Examining Pennsylvania's Affordable Rental Market: Identifying Needs, Challenges, and Opportunities

Tuesday, October 5
8:30 am - 1:30 pm
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Pittsburgh Branch, 717 Grant Street, downtown Pittsburgh
Cost: $15 (includes lunch)
Registration Deadline: Friday September 17, 2010
For more information, contact Joseph Ott (Cleveland Fed) at (412) 261-7947

Please join us Tuesday, October 5, at the Pittsburgh branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland for a half-day forum addressing the current state of rental housing in western Pennsylvania. This forum will feature affordable housing experts from regulatory agencies, state and local government, academia, and the nonprofit sector. Discussion will center on current rental housing needs and will include key findings from a study completed last year by the Philadelphia Fed. The forum will also offer effective techniques and promising approaches for meeting the rental housing needs of communities across the state.

Forum objectives include:
- Highlighting geographic shortages of affordable rental housing
- Identifying rental housing needs and the challenges to providing rental housing for the elderly, disabled, and low-income population
- Sharing best practices and highlighting opportunities for meeting rental housing needs

Choice Neighborhoods Round 1 FY 2010 Notice of Funding Availability

Applications are due October 26, 2010.
Information about the Choice Neighborhoods initiative, including the NOFA, is posted at www.hud.gov/cn.

HUD released the Choice Neighborhoods Round 1 FY 2010 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) on August 25. This announcement makes available approximately $65 million to transform neighborhoods with distressed public and/or HUD-assisted housing into viable communities. Approximately $3 million will be awarded for Planning Grants and approximately $62 million will be awarded for Implementation Grants. Eligible applicants are public housing authorities, local governments, nonprofits and for-profit developers that apply jointly with a public entity. To provide applicants with an overview of the NOFA requirements, a public webcast was hosted by HUD on Wednesday, September 1. Watch webcast.

Resources

This Week on the Allegheny Front: The Next Conservationists, Coal Ash Storage Hearings, Latino Youth Look at Oil Spill in Mural

This week on The Allegheny Front, the next generation of conservationists brings more extreme and unusual activities to public natural spaces. Local Latino youth produce a vibrant mural in reaction to the Gulf oil spill. In the news, federal hearings on coal ash storage are slated for the state. A new report by environmental groups says this ash contaminates water sources. While Pennsylvania prepares to open a new visitors center for viewing elk, Kentucky residents struggle with the herd in their neck of the woods. There's a new, greener way to fill up tires--it's a gas!

Foam Makes LED Streetlights More Efficient

The Knoxville (TN) News Sentinel (8/31, Brass) reports that "with LED lights now coming into their own," LED North America, a local start-up, "is trying to get a leg up on the competition by turning down the heat," by "using a novel material developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory." The company "will be offering a product that can more than double the guaranteed life of an LED streetlight by helping cool the fixtures more effectively," according to founder and managing partner Andrew Wilhelm. "By inserting a graphite foam component into existing LED streetlights, researchers were able to cool the fixture more effectively making it more efficient and longer lasting, said James Klett, a researcher with ORNL who developed the foam."

More

"Race in America" Presentations now available

Miss one of the 47 dynamic speakers during "Race in America: Restructuring Inequality?" Their presentations are now available for you to view.

Survey - PA Historic Preservation Plan

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is conducting a survey to identify how communities in Pennsylvania value their historic resources. This survey will become the foundation for a five-year statewide historic preservation plan. This plan will guide PHMC in its mission to promote historic preservation in a context of sustainable economic and community development. To ensure your voice is heard in the development of Pennsylvania’s statewide historic preservation plan, please take the five-ten minute survey at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/PAcommunitypres.

For more information contact Bill Callahan, Western Pennsylvania Community Preservation Coordinator, wcallahan@state.pa.us, (412) 565-3575.

Stop bashing the Port Authority - We must keep it adequately funded; Allegheny County would collapse without it

It's time to stop bashing the Port Authority. Without it, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County would be sunk. Dead in the water. Immobile.

World’s Fastest-Growing Megalopolis Hides in Fog

China’s Chongqing municipality with a population now at 32 million is the fastest-growing urban center on Earth. Economic migrants from the countryside and neighboring provinces have swelled Chongqing at a rate of between 500,000 to 1 million people every year.

20 Years of Social and Environmental Justice

In this issue we celebrate our 20th anniversary with reflections on the social and environmental justice landscape from 1990 to the present. When the journal was founded, the EJ movement was just beginning to be heard on the national stage. A succession of intense local struggles around the siting of toxic facilities in communities of color had brought the impacts of racism back into public view.

HUD announces $124 million for HOPE VI and $65 million for new 'Choice Neighborhoods' program

The federal HOPE VI program will disburse $124 million for five or six public housing redevelopment projects in the coming fiscal year, officials of the US Department of Housing & Urban Development announced today.

The Suburban General Store

The team estimates that the average 500-unit subdivision would save approximately 45,000 gallons of oil per year if such a plan were adopted—and that’s a big if, as current zoning currently prohibits retail in residential areas.

The View from the C-Suite: Diversey's Ed Lonergan

Greenbiz.com's Heather King talks to President & CEO Ed Lonergan about the Johnson family legacy of sustainability, innovations that save water, energy and labor, and how his team has reinvented his first summer job: waxing grocery store floors.

SEPTA pilot program to capture, reuse subway energy

Zibelman said the transit agency could realize energy savings "substantially higher" than the 20 percent target Viridity typically sets for a project. SEPTA currently spends about $20 million a year to buy electricity from Peco Energy Co. to power its trains, subways, and electrified trolley and bus fleet.

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 ($1,000 and up) in 2010 from:

Allegheny County - Dan Onorato, County Executive
Atkins Family Foundation
BNY Mellon
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Dollar Bank
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
FedEx Ground
Pashek Associates
Port Authority of Allegheny County
Richard King Mellon Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
UPMC
Waste Management


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