Sustainable communities promote sustainable living by providing people with access to affordable housing, increasing their transportation options, lowering their transportation costs, and at the same time, protecting the environment to better support local economies. Being able to live in a diverse community that is close to where you work and where you can purchase local produce and patronize local businesses helps the environment, the local economy and your pocketbook. Additionally, healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods are communities where people want to live. With this in mind, two years ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined together to form The Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

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Rachel Carson is the Mother of the Modern Environmental Movement. She was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania in a farmhouse just 14 miles up the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh and went to college at what is now Chatham University. She received a master’s degree in zoology from the John Hopkins University and became only the second woman hired to a full-time professional position with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries in 1936. She was already a popular natural history author by the time her book, Silent Spring was published in 1962. Silent Spring documented the ecological and human damage caused by pesticides. While it received a storm of criticism from chemical companies, it led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides. But, it did more than that — it was the inspiration for the grassroots environmental movement and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter. In Pittsburgh, the Ninth Street Bridge was renamed for her on Earth Day, April 22, 2006.

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Last month, there was good news regarding the city’s pension system. An independent analysis conducted by the City Controller showed that actions by Council at the end of last year will enable the fund to be over 50% funded as was required under the State’s Act 44 legislation. There are several key factors to remember. The Council Plan, which was worked on in cooperation with Controller Lamb and the Oversight Board, does not require the city to give away its parking asset or the revenue from it. It does not, as the Mayor’s plan proposed, raise the cost of meters to the highest in the country. It does rely on additional revenue from the Parking Authority that required some increases to meters and these rates were raised effective June 1st, however, more needs to be done. Although it is disappointing that for the first six months of the year nothing had been administered, a majority of City Council has begun looking much further along than this year’s budget in order to analyze how the pension plan will affect future budgets for the next 15 years.

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Pittsburgh Cares, in partnership with Google and the HandsOn Network, is now accepting applications for Tech Corps VISTA, a new AmeriCorps VISTA program. The mission of Tech Corps VISTA is to help nonprofits be more effective in their use of technology — such as utilizing cloud based computing and applications specifically designed for the nonprofit community — in order to improve their overall outcomes and services. As posted on the Official Google Blog:

Community service has always been important to us. When thinking of ways we can give back, we often focus on where our strengths lie—namely, in technical knowledge. More and more frequently, Googlers who volunteer note that many incredible nonprofits around the U.S. lack the tech knowledge or resources that could immensely help their operations and their cause. With this in mind, we got together with the HandsOn Network, the volunteer arm of Points of Light Institute, to create the HandsOn Tech Corps, an initiative designed to help nonprofits effectively use technology to further their missions.

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Hawa Abdullah needs your help. Ms. Abdullah is a well known community activist in Darfur who works for the United Nations/African Union Mission In Darfur (UNAMID) at the Abu Shouk refugee camp. On May 6th, Ms. Abdullah was arrested by National Security personnel at her home. According to UNAMID information officers, she was “detained in contravention of the Status of Forces Agreement between UNAMID and the Government of Sudan.” Additionally, the Darfur Bar Association agreed that Ms. Abdullah should have immunity under that agreement. According to a Post-Gazette article, a northern Sudan government-backed website ran a photograph of Ms. Abdullah posed with a Bible and “accused her of converting from Islam to Christianity and trying to spread Christianity in the camps — a crime punishable by death under Islamic Sharia law.” Those who know her vehemently reject the charge. Prior to her arrest, the local Pittsburgh Sudanese community had been in contact with the 26 year-old Ms. Abdullah in an attempt to find out information on Darfur from someone on the ground. She had described the terrible conditions in the refugee camps and had said that the Northern Sudanese government would not let aid groups in to assist — the same Sudanese government which now holds her captive.

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The quality of our water has been a big issue in the news and even in local elections lately. An article in The New York Times in February reported that the dangers from hydrofracking were far greater than previously thought and that the wastewater produced from fracking “contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle.” They noted that a 2009 E.P.A. study — which had never been made public — warned that the waste produced from drilling the Marcellus Shale “is a threat to drinking water in Pennsylvania.” Pittsburgh City Council had already passed an amendment three months prior to that report which banned gas drilling in Pittsburgh — a first for any city in the state. This Monday, you can attend a discussion of local water issues and public health with environmental and academic leaders. At he meeting, Dr. Patty DeMarco, Director of the Rachel Carson Institute, Chatham University will discuss water issues and choices for the 21st Century. Dr. Charles Christen, Director of Operations for the Center for Healthy Environments & Communities (CHEC) at University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health will address the public health implications of water and Marcellus Shale development. Dr. Christen worked closely with Dr. Conrad “Dan” Volz who recently resigned as Director of CHEC. This discussion is free and open to the public and those attending will have the opportunity to ask questions.

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The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is the regional planning agency for our area (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland counties). According to SPC, “The Commission develops plans and programs for public investments; fulfills federal and state requirements for transportation, economic development, and local government assistance programs; and operates with public involvement and trust.” They direct approximately $33 billion in state and federal funds through 2030. The last time we wrote about SPC, they were taking public comments on their Public Participation Plan. This time, they have set up a public comment period and regional public meetings on the draft of their 2040 Long Range Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania. There are four components to the plan. You can review each by clicking on the following links:

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What makes a city desirable as a place in which we want to live? Is there a new American Dream in terms of how we live? These are some of the big questions tackled by a CEOs for Cities Strategy Session last month in Portland, Oregon. CEOs for Cities believes that “quality of talent, quality of place, and quality of opportunity, driven by quality of leadership” is what determines the success of a city and they attempt to nail down the facts on those factors. About 100 urban leaders from across the country gathered in Portland to look at how innovation is shaping cities and to learn why Portland has become a model for attracting talented young people. Councilman Bill Peduto was invited to attend and has been involved with the group since 2007. He has also served as a presenter previously.

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On April 4, 2009, Pittsburgh experienced one of its darkest moments. In the early morning hours of a cold, rainy, spring day, three police officers lost their lives while doing their job. It is a moment that none of us will ever forget. On that day, a makeshift memorial was created in the neighborhood of Bloomfield — home to one of the officers, Paul Sciullo. Flowers, prayers and remembrances were displayed for months at the corner of Cederville and Liberty as a tribute to all three officers. And, on that tragic day, Father John Dinello of Immaculate Conception-Saint Joseph Parish lit three candles in blue glass candle holders and placed them on the altar. The three candles were lit as a special intention to the three fallen heroes and remained aflame on the altar of Saint Joseph Parish for the next two years.

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Scenic Pittsburgh believes in the intrinsic beauty of our city. They know that our scenic vistas are not only good for the soul, they are good for tourism and our local economy. Their mission is to “preserve, protect and enhance the scenic beauty of the Pittsburgh region” and they do this by trying to save our city from the visual pollution of billboards. This issue is increasingly important as electronic billboards have made their way onto the scene. Scenic Pittsburgh notes:

Zoning regulations do not address the new technologies that make billboards brighter and more intrusive than ever. New electronic billboards present new hazards as they distract drivers with multiple moving messages. Most billboards in Pittsburgh, built before zoning regulations were enacted, are not in compliance with current zoning requirements. Content control for billboards is limited so ads can contain sexually explicit content or vile and hateful messages.

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