More counties ditching boards 12.17.07
A
growing number of counties across the nation have elected a strong chief
executive, but critics worry that doing so might put too much power in the
hands of one politician.
The bipartisan Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform recommended
last week that counties make the switch to a county executive as part of a
wider bid to shrink government. . .Despite early skepticism, the change
has been "extremely beneficial," said Court Gould, executive
director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, a not-for-profit public-policy
organization.
On Dec. 12 and 13, Highmark and Fifth Avenue Place will rally the community around sustainable, eco-friendly and green practices by hosting Environmental Leadership Days in Fifth Avenue Place's Center Court in downtown Pittsburgh from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Individuals can meet with local environmental nonprofits – including Green Building Alliance, the Rachel Carson Homestead and Sustainable Pittsburgh – to receive membership information, green tips and more.
Nonprofit sets up green networking 11.30.07
With
sustainability and green practices hot topics in the business world, one
local organization is creating a networking group to fuel the fire.
Champions for Sustainability, a project of Downtown nonprofit Sustainable
Pittsburgh, is designed to be a go-to place for area companies looking to
share environmentally friendly business practices.
WYEP-FM Allegheny Front: Champions for Sustainability 11.14.07
Court Gould and
Matt Mehalik of Sustainable Pittsburgh join host Matthew Craig to discuss
a new initiative called Champions for Sustainability that encourages
businesses and community leaders to share ideas for sustainability.
Reflections on the most livable city: AIA's 10 principles of livable communities (October 2007, Columns) available in print version
Pittsburgh becoming destination city for outdoors enthusiasts 9.16.07
"It's happening. It's really happening," said Sean Brady, assistant executive director of Venture Outdoors. "In terms of the outdoors, Pittsburgh is approaching the tipping point. I think by 2010 Pittsburgh will be known nationally as an incredible place for outdoor recreation." .."We can make the case that a community that is planning and accommodating outdoor recreation, trails, bike paths and open spaces is signaling to the investment community that it is a neighborhood or a city that knows what it takes to build places that are worth investing in." .."There is a new wave of economic development where tourists are flooding into some older communities where the economies have been in question for some time," Gould said. "This is a shot in the arm. It's raising property values along the trail. It's leading to the opening of small local businesses, so it's leading to jobs in direct businesses, like bike rentals and guides, and also indirect businesses, such as suppliers of sporting goods, gas stations and bed and breakfasts.".."It's a special place where you really can do anything you want within a short drive if you can't do it in the city. There are few cities that can claim that. And as more and more people recognize that, even native Pittsburghers are starting to realize that."
Suburban styles reshape the city 8.24.07
How concerns about cars are driving Pittsburgh's redevelopment
"What cities are learning from the suburbs is that in the suburbs you have a quality of life associated with recreation, leisure, outdoor kinds of environments, and where everyone has a private yard," Beyard said. "I think cities are beginning to recognize the importance of bringing that kind of outdoor orientation back to neighborhoods." ..In terms of the big picture for Pittsburgh and the region's other central towns, Gould said he believes the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, a 10-county regional planning organization that establishes its long-term spending priorities, has undergone a landmark shift in planning policy..."This is a remarkable moment in our region's long-range planning and perspective on where we've been and where we need to go," Gould said.
The State of Sustainability: The challenge of designing for the future (August 2007, Columns, see page 7)
Sustainable design
isn’t just about doing what is right. It’s
smart, current, and for design professionals, has added an important layer
to their work. The clear consensus is that green design adds value, but
how professionals integrate sustainable design and use LEED certification
varies through the region’s architectural community. This brief analysis
highlights some of the issues and projects in the region.
Route 30 congestion targeted in Westmoreland
The goal is to involve local planners and community stakeholders in determining how to preserve Route 30, the county's rural areas, revitalizing towns along the corridor and ensuring safe and efficient transportation.
Malls pull out all the stops
Court Gould, executive director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, thinks the way malls treat transit riders is an indicator of overall customer service.
"We should bring them to the front door,'' Mr. Gould said, "because they're doing us all a favor.'' Some of those bus riders might not have other choices, but we can be sure they're not taking any of the prime parking spaces.
Air passengers can pay to offset damage to environment
Is
carbon offsetting really an answer to the world's environmental problems,
or is it just a way for people to maintain their SUV lifestyle without the
guilt?
"It's far better to cut your carbon emissions in the first place, but
the reality is some behaviors are going to continue. I look at carbon
offsetting as one more tool in the tool kit," said Court Gould,
executive director of Sustainable Pittsburgh.
Malls getting a little greener
The Robinson team learned about the new directive at a 2005 management meeting in which Forest City executives announced the company had added "sustainability" to the list of core values. "In the very beginning, we weren't quite sure what it meant or what it meant to us," conceded Ms. Edwards.
Her team put a call into Sustainable Pittsburgh just as the nonprofit was looking for a place to pilot a new service. The group wanted to pull together experts to assess everything from energy use to construction materials to community accessibility, even the impact on wildlife habitat.
County, city deal on buying nears OK
"There's an appetite today for these conversations that's at an all-time high," said Court Gould, director of the nonprofit Sustainable Pittsburgh. He cited a commission created by Onorato and Ravenstahl, which is formulating a plan for merging city and county services -- and possibly the governments.
If history holds true, Pittsburgh mayoralty winner could serve a long time
"We have one foot still firmly planted in the industrial era. Our other foot is in the global economy," said Court Gould, director of the development group Sustainable Pittsburgh. "The next mayor is going to have a say in whether we have a place in the global economy, or fall back."
It's getting much easier to be green in Pittsburgh
"The Keystone Principles is the state gesturing to regions with expeditious ideas to get more bang for buck," said Court Gould, executive director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, which is involved in multi-municipal land use planning. "Dollars are scarce, expectations are high, principles of sustainable development are mainstream and our ticket to stability."This is a very exciting time to be in our region right now," said Mr. Gould. "What once might have been thought warm and fuzzy are prerequisites to a complete community that's more successful in the long haul."
Letter to the Editor: Investing in Transit Helps Our Region to Compete
Recent articles add perspective to the Port Authority's plight. Indeed, the fiscal straits have a long legacy. The crisis also has roots in the way we are growing....
Court Gould of Sustainable Pittsburgh discusses the proposed transit cuts in Allegheny County
Air date: Week of 01/10/2007
Story length: 6:09
Interviewer: Matthew Craig
-----------
Port
Authority of Allegheny County has proposed raising fares, eliminating 124
bus routes, and limiting weekend and holiday service because of a more
than $75 million budget deficit. Court Gould, the Executive Director of
Sustainable Pittsburgh, talks with Host Matthew Craig about what this may
mean for the region, and long-term solutions for the Pennsylvania
Legislature in funding mass transit.
Podcast
of the Week: Going for the Green and Gold
This week’s podcast features Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Executive Director Court Gould, whose presentation, "The Business of Sustainability," demonstrates that going green is great for the bottom line. Gould details how sustainable business practices and corporate social responsibility are becoming the norm among leading U.S. and international corporations. Or, as we at PennFuture like to say, "Every environmental victory grows the economy."
And remember, you can be the first kid on your block to hear PennFuture podcasts by having them automatically download to your desktop or iPod. Just download the free software iTunes and follow the directions to subscribe to PennFuture's podcasts.
http://www.pennfuturepodcast.org/index.php?post_id=172603
Forum:
Hobbled transit - The time has come to find reliable funding for mass
transit in
The
Legislature and the governor must work with transit agencies to find
solutions to this immediate problem. More importantly, they must approve
early in 2007 legislation that, once and for all, creates an ongoing
stream of adequate, predictable and dedicated state funding for public
transit that rises with inflation. Only such a solution would create the
conditions for a comprehensive transportation system that can support
sustainable growth and economic development in our region and state.
We
must work together to find a public transit funding solution
Thursday, July 27, 2006
A robust transportation network serves our economy the way the circulation system works inside the body. If blood can flow freely carrying nutrition to all body parts, you feel healthy and alive. Cut off the supply and you suffer. It's the same with our regional economy. If our network of highways, bridges and public transit systems can get people and freight where they need to go, the economy thrives. As that system crumbles, though, so does our economy.
Pennsylvania is at a critical juncture in development of ongoing funding to maintain and expand the transportation networks that serve urban, suburban and rural areas. Without a solution, for example, significant fare increases and cuts in public transportation service are inevitable as would be the negative impacts to southwestern Pennsylvania.
It is vitally important for business and civic leaders and citizens to support the governor's call for a funding fix by voicing their support for stable and reliable funding of transportation. The good news is more than 400 organizations and individuals have endorsed the Transportation Funding Initiative (www.sustainablepittsburgh.org/TFI/). Go online and add your endorsement to this growing list and send a strong message to the governor and Legislature on the critical need to identify a permanent and reliable source for funding our transportation infrastructure and systems.
Let them know citizens are willing to reach into their wallets to pay for essential public services that improve their lives and provide a good value ensuring the region's prosperity.
LALIT
CHORDIA
President and Founder
Thar Technologies Inc.
Harmar
Great opportunity / Five lakes have neighbors in the same boat
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The need in the Great Lakes states is for job creation, particularly designed to prevent a drain of the young and talented; infrastructure -- for example, high-speed rail and cyber infrastructure; and reform of inefficient governmental and tax structures. The Great Lakes states' assets include the benign "Third Coast" -- no hurricanes or floods, a fifth of the world's fresh water, a still industrious and talented work force, a third of the Fortune 1,000 firms, producing a third of America's gross domestic product, and lots of research universities and institutions...Even though the Great Lakes Regional Economic Initiative faces serious barriers, including a political structure that divides Americans by state, the idea is still good and makes sense. Ask the question: Are the problems of people of southwestern Pennsylvania substantially different from those of southeastern Ohio or the West Virginia Panhandle? The answer is clearly no: We are in the same boat and can help each other. It is wrong to be driven to compete with each other rather than to cooperate in developing the region as a healthy whole.
Smart growth initiatives slowly but surely take root in the region
Friday, February 17, 2006
Fundamental
to smart growth is a fix-it first philosophy. It's one that hasn't always
prevailed in
"Day surge shows investing in cities strengthens the region" Letter to the Editor from Court Gould
Sunday, January 22, 2006
The Jan. 15 front-page article " 'Day Surge' Puts 41 Percent More People in the City" verifies what many intuitively know about commuting patterns. The data also would seem to put to rest any lingering questions about the relationship between a region's economic competitiveness and strong city.
The daily influx of workers to Pittsburgh from corners neaDay surge shows investing in cities strengthens the regionr and far around the region testifies to the symbiotic relationship of mutual dependence between city and suburb. It takes a strong region to make a strong city and vice versa. Cultivating this relationship defines the present opportunity for regional cohesiveness and is paramount to our region's prosperity. The global economy now levels competition at the regional scale, not just between cities.
The region of southwestern Pennsylvania can be likened to a shrinking island, as there is no mega-metropolitan region nearby to carry our economy. Fortunately self-reliance is this region's historic strength. Given the strong relationship between economic success of cities and that of the region, be it Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Butler, Washington, etc., each of the core cities in the 10-county region is a critical asset to a necessary strategy to build the region from within.
Southwestern Pennsylvania's road to prosperity depends on thriving downtowns that contribute to growing markets for a strengthened regional economy. The unusually high "day surge" of commuters makes the case daily for a core-cities reinvestment agenda to lift the whole region.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Scroll down to read a letter to the editor by State Senator Jim Ferlo
Sustainability is about constantly improving our quality of life and shifting the design paradigm toward effective, nurturing growth that limits any negative impact our actions have now or in the future. It is a connection that Vandergrift has recognized and embraced in the Natural Step principles the article mentions and it is a connection that other small towns, suburban and urban communities alike should embrace. Vandergrift understands that it cannot depend on state investment alone. Citizen empowerment, environmental health and economic prosperity together are guiding principles that we all should adopt and nurture.
Planning official wants to make municipal consolidation easier
Elwin Green, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The new chairman of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission called for a state constitutional convention yesterday to rewrite Pennsylvania law so that local governments can more easily consolidate...The report, compiled by PolicyLink, a California think tank, advocates regional development that "reduces economic and social disparities" by such initiatives as reverse-commute programs that provide transportation between suburban employers and inner-city neighborhoods, and land banks that recycle vacant and abandoned properties.
National survey gives city cheap recognition
By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Pittsburgh finished lowest among 28 metropolitan areas for combined spending by households on the two biggest expenses in the family budget -- housing and transportation.
Sustainable Pittsburgh puts environment in focus
Brian Bowling, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Sunday, February 27, 2005
An ad hoc committee, formed in 1998 to greet the President's Council on Sustainable Development when it came to town, quickly decided the issue of sustainable development deserved a longer look.
Pittsburgh also looks at city-county merger
Friday January 28, 2005
Cheryl Caswell, Charleston Daily Mail
There's little doubt in Court Gould's mind that the city of Pittsburgh will form a merger with Allegheny County.
Town meeting panelists split on consolidation
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Jeffrey Cohan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In Allegheny County, policy wonks tend to favor government consolidation, while elected officials tend to oppose it.
Meeting to explore city-county merger
Sunday, May 23, 2004
A panel of politicians, corporate and nonprofit leaders and an academic expert will tackle the topics of a possible city-county government merger and regionalism at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's next town meeting Wednesday, May 26.
Officials tout merger benefits
Louisville, Ky. sees a new civic 'buzz'
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Jim McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In the first year after Louisville, Ky. merged with outlying Jefferson County, the new combined government was able to eliminate an $18 million shortfall in revenue by cutting redundant operations and services.
Panel: City in need of regional thinking
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Mike Wereschagin, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Imagine getting a congratulatory call from a friend in Cleveland when the Steelers beat the Washington Redskins.
Officials learn about Sweden's 'eco-cities'
Saturday, May 15, 2004
By Ann Belser, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Over nearly 25 years, Torbjorn Lahti has learned a few things about helping communities in Sweden use their natural resources wisely.
Vandergrift group invites planning expert for visit
Monday, May 10, 2004
By Jonathan Szish, Valley News Dispatch
VANDERGRIFT: The father of the Swedish town revitalization movement is coming to Vandergrift to give a free workshop on how his principles can be applied in western Pennsylvania.
Letters to the Editor
Friday, April 16, 2004
By David Ginns, Transportation Specialist
For economic growth, we need adequate transit funding
I am writing in response to the editorials regarding transit funding and the governor's economic stimulus package.
Sustainable Pittsburgh taking plan to communities
Friday, April 2, 2004
By Rick Stouffer, Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Municipalities across Pennsylvania need to refocus development efforts inward, to stop outward sprawl and to return economic investment and life itself to the towns and cities that first offered a quality of life most people today still desire.
Planners here meet on sharing tax base
Sunday, February 15, 2004
By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pennsylvania's planning code was amended recently to allow tax-base sharing between neighboring communities, but that innovation has flown beneath the public radar.
In Twin Cities, tax-sharing gives everyone slice of development pie
Friday, February 13, 2004
By Frank Reeves, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For Ray Reaves, a consultant who once headed the Allegheny County Department of Planning, Century III Mall in West Mifflin is symptomatic of a problem that has bedeviled the region for years.
Hispanic Chamber Names Director, Looks to Grow
Friday, January 30, 2004
by Maria Guzzo, Pittsburgh Business Times
The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania has hired a full-time executive director and is changing its name as it bids to revitalize the organization.
New study recommends regional planning
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Dona S. Dreeland, Editor, Sewickley Herald Star
I like the feel of coincidence. Last week’s presentation by Court Gould, founder and director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, a public-policy advocacy group, was a learning experience for all of us at Fern Hollow Nature Center.
Land use planning key to region's future sustainability
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Dona S. Dreeland, Editor, Sewickley Herald Star
Synergy and savings. These words are key to the sustainability of our region according to a new study called the "Southwestern Pennsylvania Citizens' Vision for Smart Growth."
Blairsville group nourishes big plans
Sunday, December 21, 2003
By Joyce Shannon, Pittsburgh, Tribune-Review
Blairsville wants a new downtown for Christmas.
The state Department of Community and Economic Development recently announced it would allocate $5,000 to the Blairsville Improvement Group for a downtown revitalization.
Route 28 'gateway' gaining support
Saturday, December 20, 2003
By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
People are lining up in favor of a less-expensive plan for reconstructing the two-mile stretch of Route 28 between the North Side and Millvale.
Panelists express support for study on regionalism
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
By Violet Law, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Panelists at a briefing Tuesday generally agreed with a new study that says Pennsylvania needs to devise a plan for economic development to compete with other states.
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
By Ervin Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
DUQ 90.5 FM is broadcasting Sustainable Pittsburgh's Champions of Sustainability lectures at 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sundays this month
Study calls for focus on established towns
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Reinvesting in Pennsylvania's established communities instead of supporting sprawl into outlying areas is a noble goal, but community leaders say it won't be easy.
Business Calendar: 12/7/03
Sunday, December 07, 2003
Compiled by Natalie Hill
WDUQ 90.5 FM, "Champions of Sustainability" series, 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Topic: "Racial Implications of Regional Development," with john powell, executive director of the Ohio State University Institute for Race and Ethnicity in the Americas.
Letters to the
Editor
Sunday, December 07, 2003
By Court Gould, Director
Race
and regionalism are addressed in timely broadcasts
Mayor Tom Murphy has raised public attention to the issue of race as
it relates to regional development and governance ("Murphy
Says Racism in Suburbs Bars Merger," Dec. 4).
Sunday, December 7, 2003
By Andrew Conte, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh and its suburbs spend so much time
fighting that the region has fallen behind more unified areas nationwide,
a new study finds.
The
view from outlying areas on Brookings study: Some agreement, some discord
Sunday, December 07, 2003
By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The study, released today by the Brookings
Institution, encourages the state to spend more money in
established areas rather than developing new areas.
Leadership
can solve problems, URA's Birru says
Sunday, December 07, 2003
By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mulugetta Birru, executive director of Pittsburgh's Urban
Redevelopment Authority who also teaches urban planning,
wasn't surprised at a statewide study by the Brookings
Institution that showed the Pittsburgh region was
struggling even more than other parts of the state.
Tax
breaks could boost reinvestment in old neighborhoods
Sunday, December 07, 2003
Brian O'Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pennsylvania, we have a problem. We're gobbling and paving record amounts
of land but we're not growing.
State
development spending driving migration from city
Sunday, December 07, 2003
By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pennsylvania is spending plenty of money on economic development, but it's
spending it in the wrong places.
Midweek
Perspectives: Clarke Thomas / The $33.3 billion question
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Can the region make smart use of federal and state money for
infrastructure and development?
Report
has us breathing uneasily
Friday, August 22, 2003
By Surendra Phuyal, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Area's air pollution 6th-worst in U.S.
New
Pittsburgh: Group seeks ban on funds for projects that abet sprawl
Thursday, June 19, 2003
By Jon Vandenburgh, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Sustainable Pittsburgh, seeking to spark public discussion and guide
political leaders as the region plans for growth, wants state funds and
other public subsidies to be withheld from projects that encourage sprawl.
Expert:
Regional alliances key to fighting sprawl
Sunday, June 01, 2003
By Ervin Dyer, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
To survive suburban sprawl, Pittsburgh needs stronger regional cooperation
that shakes the narrow focus of grassroots groups and stirs the
nonchalance of suburbanites, an expert in race and ethnicity said
yesterday at a conference in Pittsburgh on equity and urban growth.
Can
Pittsburgh learn to love bikes?
Sunday, May 18, 2003
By Tatyana Margolin, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Just after 5 p.m. on the last Friday of each month, cyclists gather by the
dinosaur outside the Carnegie Library in Oakland. They linger, socializing
as rush hour thickens. When it's just right -- bumper to bumper -- they
launch, en masse, into the middle of it.
Our
political palette has little more than gray and white
Monday, April 21, 2003
By Columnist Brian O'Neill
The saying goes that you are as old as you think you are.
Editorial:
Democracy and diversity / Politics in the Pittsburgh region is pale and
male
Sunday, April 20, 2003
One can quibble with both the terminology and some of the assumptions of a
study concluding that blacks and women in Western Pennsylvania "are
not well represented" in Congress, the state Legislature, mayor's
offices, municipal councils and school boards.
Report:
Top offices short on diversity
Thursday, April 17, 2003
By Ellen James, Tribune Review
The Pittsburgh political scene has been dominated by a few voices and,
according to a new report, this lack of diversity has negatively affected
the region.
Study:
Blacks, women still underrepresented in region's elected offices
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Blacks and women continue to be seriously under-represented in elected
offices at all levels of government in the Pittsburgh region, according to
a new study.
Forum seeks
answer
to suburban sprawl
By Bob
Schultz, Butler
Eagle Staff Writer
March 25, 2003
CRANBERRY TWP –
Government officials and planners gathered Thursday evening to talk about how to
develop cooperative projects that would foster “smart growth” and help get a
grip on suburban sprawl.
Officials
eye development strategies
Saturday, March 22, 2003
By Dominick DiRienzo, Tribune Review
The growth that has marked
Cranberry for several years is likely to extend up the Interstate 79 and
Route 19 corridors, local planning officials say.
State
Brief, 1/31/03
Friday, January 31, 2003
PENNDOT: Highway spending faulted
Businesses
savor the fruits of 'blight' -- special tax breaks
Sunday, January 12, 2003
By Columnist Brian O'Neill
The road to renewal is paved with self-deprecation. It seems you can
hardly build anymore without first saying the neighborhood is a dump, even
when it's not.
Ecologist
presents alternate planning
Sewage solutions should be creative
Thursday, November 07, 2002
By Don Hopey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
With Allegheny County trying to figure out how to stop raw sewage from
overflowing into rivers and creeks after every storm while also trimming a
$4 billion fix-it bill, maybe it's time to start thinking about solutions
outside the pipe.
Planning
is key part of economic growth
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
Valley Independent
As the road to economic revitalization continues throughout southwestern
Pennsylvania, communities must temper aggressive development efforts with
solid planning.
Sprawl,
racial disparities are major concerns for Western Pennsylvania
Monday, August 26, 2002
By Scott Deacle, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
When the federal government doesn't force the country to adopt pollution
curbs and other policies believed to promote sustainable development,
state and local leaders sometimes fill the void.
Report:
Region is making progress
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
By Gretchen M. Kline, Daily Courier
UNIONTOWN - A report on the long-term sustainability of southwestern
Pennsylvania including Fayette County was presented Tuesday, and
indicators suggest that the region has garnered success in areas such as
employment, but also suffered setbacks, such as sprawl.
Peduto
opposes Mon-Fayette link
Saturday, June 15, 2002
By Timothy McNulty, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Pittsburgh City Councilman William Peduto announced his opposition
yesterday to a proposed link between the Mon-Fayette Expressway and
Oakland, saying the plans are backward-looking and will dampen emerging
technology businesses in the bustling city neighborhood.
Area
sustains mixed grades
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
By Dave
Copeland, Tribune Review
Southwestern Pennsylvania received mixed grades for promoting
sustainability in a report released Monday by the public policy group
Sustainable Pittsburgh.
Area
sustains mixed grades
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
By Dave Copeland, Tribune Review
Southwestern Pennsylvania
received mixed grades for promoting sustainability in a report released
Monday by the public policy group Sustainable Pittsburgh.
Broad
review gives region mixed grades
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
By Donald I. Hammonds, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
There are plenty of pictures of the city and region around, but a snapshot
offered yesterday by a local public policy group provided a mixed picture
on how well the region is doing.
Deer
Creek Crossing tax break at crossroads
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
By Wynne Everett, Valley News Dispatch
PITTSBURGH: Allegheny County Council will consider tonight whether to
rescind a tax break for the proposed Deer Creek Crossing in Harmar.
Climb,
hike, kayak or pedal Pittsburgh outdoors, group urges
Thursday, April 04, 2002
By Bob Batz Jr., Post-Gazette Staff Writer
It's like a metaphor for spring, as Pittsburghers start to come outdoors
after being cooped up inside for way too long.
Diversity
should be top priority in region, study says
Friday, March 29, 2002
By Anthony
Todd Carlisle,Tribune Review
A
study commissioned by an organization that promotes economic growth says a
commitment from the corporate and educational communities is needed to
increase the region's diversity.
Turnpike
officials say expressway issues will be discussed in report
Saturday,
March 23, 2002
By Chris Buckley, Valley Independent
With two months to go before the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission releases
a study on the northernmost section of the Mon/Fayette Expressway, a
public policy advocacy group has issued an assessment of it.
Officials
eye development strategies
Saturday, March 22, 2003
By Dominick DiRienzo,
Tribune Review
The growth that has marked
Cranberry for several years is likely to extend up the Interstate 79 and
Route 19 corridors, local planning officials say.
Broader
study of Mon-Fay road pushed
Thursday, March 21, 2002
By Joe Grata, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
An advocacy group focusing on urban policy, land use and quality-of-life
issues wants the Pennsylvania Turnpike to conduct further studies on a
24-mile northern section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway to Pittsburgh and
Monroeville.
Sustainable
Pittsburgh seeks ways to keep improving region's quality of life
Thursday, January 31, 2002
By Joyce Gannon, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The offices of Sustainable Pittsburgh occupy a few compact, corner rooms
on the 13th floor of the Regional Enterprise Tower, Downtown.
Forum
airs fears about development toll road will bring
Thursday, January 17, 2002
By Erik Siemers, Tribune Review
While
proponents of the Mon-Fayette Expressway believe the toll road will spur
economic development in the Mon Valley, some opponents said Wednesday
night that it may bring the wrong kind.
Mon-Fayette
Expressway pros and cons are discussed
Thursday, January 17, 2002
By Don Hopey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
A preview of what to expect when the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
releases its draft environmental impact statement on the Mon-Fayette
Expressway project played out on the Music Hall stage at the
Carnegie Library of Homestead last night.
Group
wants to diversify Pittsburgh
Monday, December 3, 2001
By Anthony
Todd Carlisle, Tribune Review
The move to Pittsburgh for many minorities is usually short-lived,
according to some blacks.
Opponents
clash over Deer Creek Crossing plan
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
By Susan Jacobs, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
To some, the proposed Deer Creek Crossing shopping center would be the
death knell for the Allegheny Valley, permanently altering valuable land
and draining towns of small businesses.
Letter
to the Editor: Sustainable development is anything but anti-growth
October
29, 2001
By Court Gould,
In his Oct. 3 Midweek Perspectives piece, "Let's Get Moving,"
Joseph Kirk correctly acknowledges that the principles of sustainable
development are the most effective policy for enhancing our region's
quality of life and well-being.
Places:
Planners spend some time thinking 'smart' about growth
Tuesday, June 19, 2001
By Patricia Lowry, Post-Gazette architecture critic
Nearly 200 politicians, planners, local government officials and
interested others gave up a blue-sky Saturday recently to learn about
something called smart growth.
Scholar
says area sprawl worse than L.A.'s
Friday, June 08, 2001
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
To Bruce Katz, Pittsburgh is slowly sprawling out of control.
Traffic
studies contrast in views
Monday, May 14, 2001
By Gordon Ovenshine, Tribune Review
Two conflicting studies on
Allegheny County's transportation network are fueling debate about transit
priorities, the extent of traffic congestion in the region and possible
remedies.
Study
advocates mass transit
Tuesday, May 8,
2001
By Gordon
Ovenshine, Tribune Review
Allegheny County commuters encounter less rush-hour traffic congestion
than drivers in 64 other major U.S. regions, a study released Monday
shows.
Forum:
Pittsburgh's prosperity depends on diversity
October
15, 2000.
By Dr. Richard
Florida, Carnegie Mellon University,
We
were a city of immigrants. Reclaiming this tradition is a key to building a successful technology
economy.
Midweek
Perspectives: A plea for regional leadership
October 11, 2000
By Court Gould,
Director, Sustainable Pittsburgh
Transportation planning is a region's destiny. The
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission must change its
focus.
Letters
to the editor
September 6, 2000
By Beth Newman,
Amenities Coordinator, Sustainable Pittsburgh
Investing in our universities is among the
best ways to advance
We
can build better suburbs
June 11, 2000
By Paul R.
Flora
We
can build better suburbs The dread of sprawl could be reduced if
developers broke their cookie-cutter molds. Pending state
legislation can help, but home buyers
should demand more choice.
Pittsburgh,
let's wake up and play
June 11, 2000
By Dr. Richard
Florida, Carnegie Mellon University,
In
this new economy, attracting talented workers is the key. We have the raw material to make Pittsburgh a
magnet, and we can't afford to blow it Sunday.
John
G. Craig Jr.: Making Pittsburgh percolate
May 21, 2000
By John G. Craig,
Jr. Editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
How
amenities can help - and how cronyism corrodes.
New
Web site will map the region's green scene
January 31, 2000
By Don
Hopey,
Post-Gazette Staff Writer
A
map of places in southwestern Pennsylvania to hike, bike, camp, fish,
raft, canoe, snowshoe, bird watch, star gaze, rock climb, spelunk,
picnic, or view a moonrise or sunset will soon be only a click or two away.
Former
astronaut shares rosy global view
By Don
Hopey,
Post-Gazette Staff Writer, January 29, 1999.
Writer
Jay Apt, a former astronaut who logged more than 35 days in space aboard four shuttle flights,
brings a unique global view to discussions about sustainable development.
A
Q and A with EPA's Carol Browner
October 5, 1998
By Don
Hopey,
Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The
U.S. EPA administrator explains sustainable development, ozone emission rules and Clinton's
environmental achievements.
Development
panel plans for 'sustainable' future
September 30, 1998
By Don
Hopey,
Post-Gazette Staff Writer
A
future that includes sustainable development will require continued attention to the reduction of
pollution and consumption, a broad-based public education process, and
input from many usually silent sectors of the Pittsburgh
community.
Building
a better community: Sustainable planning under way in the city
September 29, 1998
By Don
Hopey,
Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Sustainable development, a fuzzy buzz-phrase, turns out to be as hard and real as houses on a mountain of slag overlooking a
sewage-polluted creek.
Urban
development panels to convene
September 26, 1998
By Don Hopey,
Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Sustainable
development. Whatszat? The latest, nebulous, environmental
buzz-phrase boils down to green-tinted, populist, economic responsibility.
Forum:
Smart growth for our town
September 6, 1998
By Larry J.
Schweiger, President, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, .
Too much of the economic development in
Western Pennsylvania
is an illusion. Larry J. Schweiger explains
why 'sustainable' growth
is our only choice.
Deer Creek Crossing: Newest instance of hodgepodge development
By Court Gould, Director, Sustainable Pittsburgh
Heinz School Co-Sponsors Symposium on Global, Regional Sustainable Development
Among
Worst in Nation Sewage Problems
Percolate Healthy Regional Discussion
By Court Gould
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