Some of Pittsburgh’s greatest assets are our walkable business districts and neighborhoods. These business districts support our economy, provide meeting places for residents, and create the “small-town” feel that makes Pittsburgh so special and unique compared to similarly sized cities. We have to preserve these human-scale neighborhoods and business districts and enhance them through smart planning and development that encourages walking, biking, and public transportation.

More than $2 billion of new development and investment has taken place in my Council district over the past 10 years. Every one of these developments has gone through a robust community process and has been tailored to be profitable while meeting the needs of the community. This strategy of development is good for developers because it builds trust within the community and it is good for our neighborhoods because it leads to increased property values and community-enhancing goods and services. It is time to employ this strategy throughout the City of Pittsburgh.

New neighborhood at Penn Circle North, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from real00′s photostream The Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development (PPND) works to improve underserved neighborhoods and the lives of their residents by providing early strategic capital and expertise, mobilizing public and private investments, and building leadership. Examples of their success include giving support [...]

Chicago City Hall Green Roof, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK’s photostream For those who care about the environment, it can be easy to become disheartened. The subject was never brought up in any of the presidential debates last year. In an attempt at “evenhandedness” the media gives time to those who [...]

East Allegheny Skyline View, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from joseph a’s photostream PCRG (Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group) dedicates itself to the revitalization of urban neighborhoods. Since 1988, this coalition of nonprofit community-based organizations and their partners has worked to build complete communities that are safe and stable and that have fair access to [...]

Ben, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Chewonki Semester School’s photostream Happy New Year, Pittsburgh! If you’re looking for something new to do in 2013, or if you’ve resolved to go more green, or even if you just want to save some money, then a trip to the Pittsburgh Green House should be on [...]

UPMC Shadyside Hospital’s 10-year master plan defines what future development will look like and how expansions will be addressed to minimize the impact to adjacent neighborhoods. In getting the required community input, UPMC Shadyside has conducted community meetings with residents and businesses, a formal design review, a traffic study, a Planning Commission hearing and, most recently, a presentation to City Council. You can see their presentation to Pittsburgh City Council here. The latest version of the complete UPMC Shadyside Hospital Project Area Master Plan can be viewed here and an archive of other associated documents is available here.

Our region’s abundance of water has played a vital role in our history. The confluence of rivers made for a natural site for both early trading posts and military forts. Our rivers were critical to early glass manufacturing and iron production. The development of the steel industry was dependent not only on access to coal, iron ore, and limestone via water transportation, but also on the abundance of that water for cooling and metal manufacturing. But, as manufacturing disappeared as a force in this region, the importance of our rivers diminished as an asset for economic development. The same pattern repeated itself throughout the Rust Belt and the Sun Belt emerged as an economic hotbed. Now, the Sun Belt is facing a crisis — a water crisis.

The proposed development by the Buncher Company across much of the waterfront land in the Strip District has not yet received City Council approval for TIF financing, however a rezoning plan is making its way through Council and is the first step to the development moving forward. Council will hold a Post Agenda discussion and a Public Hearing on this important development and I encourage you to make your voice heard. The Post Agenda will be held on Monday, September 24th at 1:00 PM in Council Chambers and the Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 25th at 1:00 PM.

Habitat for Humanity has long been known for building simple, decent and affordable housing with volunteer labor — including the labor of those who inhabit the homes that are built. The houses are sold at no profit and financed with affordable loans. To date, Habitat has built over half a million homes around the world. Now, Habitat may become know for another major achievement: building the biggest net-zero project in the country — an entire community which won’t consume more energy than it actually produces.