Vote for Your Favorite GTECH Jack-o-Lantern Posted on October 28, 2014 by Grounded Strategies Halloween is just around the corner and the GTECH staff got into the spirit by carving up a few pumpkins. Take a moment and vote for your favorite pumpkin. The winner will be announced on Friday. And the winner is... Katherine! Thank you to all who voted. Have a safe and happy Halloween!Read More
Metabolic: A Systems Approach to Action Posted on October 23, 2014 by Grounded Strategies What if you could revitalize a brownfield not only in a ecological way, but also create an active, useful, economically-viable, creative space? What if all the building were made of entirely recycled material and waste wasn't disposed of, but rather reused? This morning Eva Gladek, CEO and founder of Metabolic -- a clean tech development and systems consulting firm based in Amsterdam, spoke to a group of GTECH staff, SCC members and partners about a project that embodied just that. The De Ceuvel, or Cleantech Playground,…Read More
GTECHer in Germany: Day 5 Posted on October 17, 2014 by Grounded Strategies This week, our Director of Operations and Programming is in Germany! Follow Evaine on a wonderful learning opportunity and journey this week. Screen Shot of Nexthamburg's website Demographics and Inclusion Our final day of programming was really about debriefing what we’ve learned and how we are going to apply it to our work at home. At 6 pm we had one final presentation and discussion with Julian Petrin from Nexthamburg. It was a conversation about demographics, inclusive and participatory planning,…Read More
GTECHer in Germany: Day 4 Posted on October 16, 2014 by Grounded Strategies This week, our Director of Operations and Programming is in Germany! Follow Evaine on a wonderful learning opportunity and journey this week. Tackling the G word We arrive at Hafen City University -- a public university focused solely on the built environment and urban development -- to have a panel discussion with a few exciting guests. The panel included: Andreas Kaufmann, an urban planner from Leipzig, Germany who started his own company, Büro Kaufmann; Mei Ling Liem, a strategic advisor from…Read More
GTECHer in Germany: Day 2 Posted on October 14, 2014 by Grounded Strategies This week, our Director of Operations and Programming is in Germany! Follow Evaine on a wonderful learning opportunity and journey this week. DAY 2: 4 Modes of Transportation 9:00A: Hamburg's Director of the Department of Land Use Planning, Susanne Metz, and Head of Housing, Matthias Kock, spent an engaging two hours giving us some context on the population and planning work that is being done in the city. We are learning about the Green Net plan which looks at…Read More
GTECH’er in Germany: Day 1 Posted on October 13, 2014 by Grounded Strategies This week, our Director of Operations and Programming is in Germany! Follow Evaine on a wonderful learning opportunity and journey this week. This week, I have the privilege of joining a Case Study Trip to Hamburg, Germany; a Cities in Transition (CIT) initiative organized by the Urban and Regional Policy Program of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and financially supported by the Kresge Foundation. The goal of this trip is to foster exchange and networking among policymakers and…Read More
Welcome Ambassadors Posted on October 10, 2014 by Grounded Strategies This week, GTECH welcomes 37 new ambassadors into our family through the ReClaim McKeesport, ReClaim Northside and ReEnergize Pittsburgh programs. ReClaim McKeesport ReClaim Mckeesport is GTECH's first-ever vacant land Ambassador program held outside of the city. These 11 residents are excited and ready to start reclaiming vacant lots in their neighborhoods. ReClaim Northside This is our third year working in the Northside neighborhoods. The ReClaim Northside Ambassadors are eager to learn how to transform some of the Northside's 5400 vacant lots into…Read More
Thank You for Attending Wet Hoptober Fest! Posted on October 10, 2014 by Grounded Strategies Cheers and thanks to all who came out and supported GTECH at the 2nd annual (sold out!) Wet Hoptober Fest. Together we raised nearly $4500 that will go towards reclaiming some of the 27,000 vacant lots in the City of Pittsburgh. PHOTOS FROM WET HOPTOBER In case you missed the event, here are a few of our favorite pictures and a few words from attendees. All photos are courtesy of East End Studios. If you'd like a full-resolution copy, please email Sara. …Read More
5 Reasons We Are Working in McKeesport Posted on September 5, 2014 by wpengine ReClaiming Vacant Lots in McKeesport: 5 Reasons Why We are There. This fall, 10 McKeesport residents have the opportunity to clean and green vacant lots in their neighborhood. This is GTECH Strategies’ first vacant land Ambassador program outside of the City of Pittsburgh. In honor of that, James Snow, the project manager for ReClaim McKeesport, gives you his top five reasons why we chose to work with the City of Mckeesport to create new community green spaces. 1. The…Read More
On Air with McKeesport-based Tube City Online Posted on August 25, 2014 by Grounded Strategies James Snow, GTECH project manager, and A.J. Tedesco, Director of Community Development for McKeesport, spoke on-air with Jason Togyer of Tube City Online's new program, "Two Rivers, 30 Minutes" about our upcoming launch of the ReClaim McKeesport Ambassador Program. This is the first GTECH program focused on vacant land outside the City of Pittsburgh, illustrating that this is an issue in other parts of Allegheny County. James talked about how GTECH uses vacant lots to bring a community together. The ultimate goal of…Read More
Vote for Vacant Land Project Posted on July 29, 2014 by Grounded Strategies Want to share another idea - post in the comments.Read More
Save the Date! The Third Annual Two Wheels Lots of Green Bike Tour. Posted on June 6, 2014 by Grounded Strategies Explore Some Urban Green during the Pittsburgh Bike Fest. The 3rd annual bike tour, Two Wheels Lots of Green, will take place August 16, during the 2014 Pittsburgh Bike Fest organized by Bike Pgh. The bike tour take riders on a journey through Pittsburgh neighborhoods and highlights the residents who are repurposing former vacant, urban lots into positive, green places. Looking for questions about sponsorships, partnerships, volunteer opportunities or anything in between? Fill out the form below, and we will get in touch.…Read More