Pittsburgh City Council CityFarms Project

Resolution 2020-0299 Recommitted by City Council

Pittsburgh, PA:  April 28, 2020, Pittsburgh City Council recommitted Resolution 2020-0299. This bill would have authorized the Mayor and the Director of the Department of Public Works to enter into a Project Cooperation Agreement or Professional Services Agreements with Grounded Strategies for the purposes of implementing a CityFarms pilot project on city-owned vacant land. The resolution is expected to be updated to include an RFP process.

Grounded Strategies, an environmental advocacy organization, announced that despite the decision, they intend to continue building a partnership with the City, City Council,  the Council Committee on Public Works, and the Department of Public Works. They expect to reply to the RFP for the project once it is released.

Of the organization’s decision, Executive Director, Ariam Ford, said, “We are taking the long view. The fact that the stewardship of city-owned vacant land is in the spotlight is a big win for us. We will continue to put our energy into ensuring city-owned vacant land is recycled for productive community reuse, whatever the community determines that use to be. 

Our success will rely on building strong relationships with residents, partner organizations, city leaders, and officials around this cause. Specifically speaking, partnerships with groups like the Greater Pittsburgh Food Policy Council, Black Urban Gardeners (BUGS), and Grow Pittsburgh will be key to any effort involving farming city-owned vacant land ”

About Grounded: Grounded Strategies is using land as a medium for community change. Through collaborative projects and technical assistance to reclaim vacant and underutilized land, Grounded has built a rich history and reputation of working with underserved communities to develop equitable solutions for complex environmental and land-use issues.