Banjo, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from brunkfordbraun’s photostream

As Pittsburghers, we pride ourselves on being a city of neighborhoods. Eighty-nine separate and distinct geographic areas that together make one city.  We take great civic pride in our neighborhoods and we should. There is no questioning it — Mr. Rogers would be proud.  But, Pittsburgh (and all cities) is a gathering of people that goes far beyond borders on maps.  These communities are every bit as important as the neighborhood we call home.  They are part of us and we are part of them.  Communities are born when like-minded people gather.  Many times the people come from diverse backgrounds.  In Pittsburgh, we can see this happening all around us. 

FNTV (Footnote) came to Pittsburgh to discuss the topic of communities and here they found a city abundant with the culture of community building.  The video they created (view here) focuses on three communities: banjo players, a tattoo studio with a mission, and hula hoopers. As the host notes, “They didn’t set out to start a community, but something beautiful happened.”

This video makes me proud because it captures the reasons we love our city.  How do you put a value on community?  You can’t.  But, it is one of the most important reasons a person feels their life has meaning.  And Pittsburgh is rich in it.

Snowflakes., a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Andy.Schultz’s photostream

You are cordially invited to Councilman William Peduto’s Third Annual Holiday Fête!

Here’s the response card. You can print it and mail it with your check to:

People For Peduto
PO Box 9161
Pittsburgh PA 15224-0161

For inquiries please call 412-414-1430 or email Mike DeVanney at mike.devanney@gmail.com

UPDATE: Pay At The Door (Cash or Check) or Via Credit Card Here.

Veterans Day 2009 Chicago Soldier Field, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from kate.gardiner’s photostream

“It was the the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month…”

On November 11th, Pittsburgh celebrated Veterans Day. Filmmaker Chris Ivey has created a video with scenes from Pittsburgh’s 2010 Veterans Day Parade and Councilman Bill Peduto’s remarks at the Veterans Day Memorial Service at Shadyside Hospital. It also contains the councilman’s comments on building a WWII Honor Roll memorial in Oakland which currently does not have one.

Show Me Your Starts at Hayes Valley Farm, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from edibleoffice’s photostream

Urban farming is exactly what it sounds like: growing, processing and distributing food locally within cities and other nonrural areas. Why is there a push to help facilitate this movement? First, you need to know that 50% of the world’s population live in cities. Imagine the effort and cost and energy it takes to import all the food needed to feed a city of people. Now take in the fact that urban dwellers with the lowest income spend 40% to 60% of that income on food each year. And, what food is available for their purchase? Unfortunately, the poorer the neighborhood, the more likely it is to be a “food desert” — a place where it’s nearly impossible to find fresh produce.

This is where urban farming comes in. The benefits are enormous. First, it’s a sustainable practice because energy is not being expended on bringing food from the farm to the city (which also makes it cheaper to purchase). It not only increases the overall amount of food available locally to city dwellers, more importantly, it increases the availability of fresh, healthy, nutritional food. And, the benefits don’t stop there. Urban farming can provide a source of income, it can bring about community involvement, and it can replace urban blight with bountiful harvests. Moreover, most urban farming enterprises are less likely to use pesticides on produce or to utilize “factory farm” practices which have led to food recalls.

There are groups in Pittsburgh right now helping to promote responsible urban farming. These include: Engage Pittsburgh, Grow Pittsburgh, BurghBees and PittsburghPoultry (yes, it’s about more than just planting vegetables and fruit).

Pittsburgh City Council is currently considering a bill which would help to promote urban farming in the city of Pittsburgh. It’s needed because there are zoning issues when it comes to the agricultural use of land in our city. Here is a link to that legislation.

Finally, utilizing urban areas as opportunities for agriculture is happening throughout the world. In September, Councilman Bill Peduto was invited to participate in a small gathering of urban leaders in San Francisco which was hosted by CEOS for Cities. During the conference, representatives from Toronto gave a presentation on what they are doing to promote their city as a global leader in the locally produced food movement. You can view their PowerPoint presentation here.

This Property for Sale, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from wellsdunbar’s photostream

The following is an excerpt from Matt Taibbi’s new book, Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That is Breaking America. He explores how in our cash-strapped country, everything is up for sale at rock-bottom prices — including parking meters — including in our very own city:

“I was in a meeting where a bunch of American investment bankers were trying to sell us the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” he said. “They even had a slide show. They were showing these Arabs what a nice highway we had for sale, what the toll booths looked like . . .”

I dropped my fork. “The Pennsylvania Turnpike is for sale?”

He nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “We didn’t do the deal, though. But, you know, there are some other deals that have gotten done. Or didn’t you know about this?”

As it turns out, the Pennsylvania Turnpike deal almost went through, only to be killed by the state legislature, but there were others just like it that did go through, most notably the sale of all the parking meters in Chicago to a consortium that included the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, from the United Arab Emirates.

There were others: A toll highway in Indiana. The Chicago Skyway. A stretch of highway in Florida. Parking meters in Nashville, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and other cities. A port in Virginia. And a whole bevy of Californian public infrastructure projects, all either already leased or set to be leased for fifty or seventy-five years or more in exchange for one-off lump sum payments of a few billion bucks at best, usually just to help patch a hole or two in a single budget year.

The chapter also goes into some detail on the Chicago parking meter deal. You can read more here at Rolling Stone.

Brothers, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from By just.Luc’s photostream

Pittsburgh’s interfaith community gathered at two events during the third week of October. The Turkish Cultural Center reminded us that we are more similar than we are different and that peace begins with understanding and dialogue. The Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network showed us the struggle facing our local social justice movement and the strength to make things happen when Pittsburgh’s faith communities work together on the important issues.

Here’s a video of those events by Chris Ivey:

Neighborhood Trolley, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Matt Bargar’s photostream

As Pittsburgh continues to receive increased attention from those publications that measure and list, the inevitable conversation locally turns to how we could do a better job in redefining our image. For most of the country, we are still mired in an image of our industrial past. The best way to strip away that perception is by being a leader in green initiatives and discovering ways to assist our growing new economy.

But, others see it more like an advertising campaign — a way to “brand” Pittsburgh through imagery. Well, we should know better — substance is always stronger than image. But, if we are to go down the gilded road of marketing and positioning then we should at least learn from the words of a true ‘Burgher — none other than Mr. Rogers. I found this article very informative and hope it can serve as a guide for Pittsburgh and those who try to capture the uniqueness that so many others are discovering.

St_Pauls_Cathedral (5), a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from camrich345′s photostream

On September 6th, Pittsburghers joined Bill Peduto and special guests on a leisurely bike ride around Oakland and Pittsburgh’s East End as part of the Pedal Paddle Peduto Hike and Learn Series. Peddle Paddle Peduto is a series of three hiking, biking, and kayaking trips around Pittsburgh. Participants learn about Pittsburgh’s history and the vision for its future by key organizations involved in building the city’s next renaissance.

On this particular ride, they visited the religious institutions that call Oakland and the East End home. You can sign up for future Pedal Paddle Peduto events at Venture Outdoors.

Here’s a recap of that outing:

This is an excerpt of an article from Bill Peduto’s twice monthly newsletter. You can read the rest of it at Reform Pittsburgh Now (Part I, Part II). You can sign up to receive the newsletters here.

A lot of folks have asked me to explain to them what is going on down at City Hall with the Parking-Pension issue. I realize that most of you have some understanding from the media, but you still have questions and want to know what each of the different proposals will mean to you. Hopefully, I will be able to give you some information to better understand the issue and to know there are no easy solutions – and most don’t solve anything.

Please take a moment to take a poll on Pittsburgh’s parking assets and let your voice be heard.