Green Playces’ Art Partners Posted on January 28, 2016 by wpengine We have worked hard to make our Green Playces a program that fosters creative partnerships. We’ve developed a close working relationship with Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST) to convene local educators and community groups and create curricula. We’re bringing in interested schools beyond existing Green Playces locations to collaborate and improve each project and get more youth involved. We establish lasting relationships with each of our primary Green Playces Partners to ensure long-term maintenance. The list goes on. On…Read More
Green Playces is Developing Creative Partnerships Posted on January 25, 2016 by wpengine With our Green Playces Initiative, one of the key indicators of success is the quality of partnerships that we make around the project. Since these sites belong to community organizations and the people that live, work and play in the area, it's critical that these projects reflect what the residents want and need, and that there is a strong base of support to use the projects and keep them vibrant. We're rethinking the way we approach partnerships, and expanding our networks to…Read More
Vacant Land Inspiration – Green Stormwater Infrastructure Posted on January 19, 2016 by wpengine What if we could simultaneously transform two sets of liabilities into assets? Massive financial investments are currently pouring into the Pittsburgh region to manage stormwater in order to 1) reduce combined sewer overflows and 2) improve water quality. Utilizing vacant land to manage stormwater represents an opportunity to improve community economic, environmental and social health through the transformation of two large sets of liabilities into assets. Cities across the nation, such as Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Tallahassee, are repurposing vacant land…Read More
Thank You! Posted on January 13, 2016 by wpengine Thanks to our generous supporters GTECH was able to raise $28,459 in the $15K for $15K year end campaign! With the great success of this campaign we will be able to continue to support Ambassadors like Angela transform a blighted, vacant lot into a space of opportunity and inspiration for all to thrive. Not only will the $28,459 support activities like Angela’s in 2016, it will also ensure: That vacant lots are transformed into vibrant community-driven green spaces for youth with Green Playces…Read More
ROCIS: What I learned Posted on January 11, 2016 by Grounded Strategies Let's start with a bit of trivia - True or False: According to the EPA, the air inside the typical home is just as polluted as the air outside. The answer is False, but maybe not for the reason you think. Believe it or not, according to the EPA, air inside the average home is two to five times more polluted than the air outside. I learned firsthand about this through participation in the second round of the ROCIS Low Cost Monitoring Project.…Read More
5 Funding Sources to Help Sustain Your Greening Projects Posted on January 8, 2016 by wpengine Quick recap on the steps to implement a vacant lot project: 1. Use Lots to Love to select your lot and guide you through gaining access to the space. 2. Gather community input and support for your project. 3. Implement your project. 4. Sustain the project by holding events, maintaining and enhancing the space. In this blog, we explore step #4. Below are 5+ potential funding sources to help sustain your vacant lot greening projects. Love Your Block Love Your Block is a…Read More
Words of Wisdom and Reflection from a GTECH Ambassador Posted on December 31, 2015 by wpengine With the holidays upon us, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment – whether it’s attending the endless holiday parties and family gatherings or running out to get a gift for that last impossible-to-buy-for person on your list – before we know it it’s January and we haven’t gotten a chance to relax and reflect on the past year. Here at GTECH we’re not immune. It’s been a mad dash to get everything finished before the holiday break,…Read More
Co-Designing with Hilltop Residents Posted on December 24, 2015 by wpengine Urban environments are continuously transitioning. As a result, the narrative of permanence in these areas is lost due to shrinkage caused by vacancy (Burkholder 2012). Vacancy is a huge problem facing U.S. cities that once relied heavily on the revenue from industrial production. The moniker "Rustbelt" is one that describes such cities spanning the upper Midwest and parts of some Northeastern states. Many of these cities struggle with turning the corner, and while some have successfully navigated the changing landscape, many continually work…Read More
Resilience in Your Community Posted on December 11, 2015 by Grounded Strategies So we've talked about resilience in a national context, about policies and million dollar grants and about resilience on a city level. But what does all of that mean for the average person? For someone just trying to get by, who doesn't work in sustainability or in disaster relief. How does resilience influence my daily life? Resilience is important everywhere. It gets a lot of attention in this day and age because of the looming threats of climate change, the increasingly…Read More
Two New Green Playces Posted on December 4, 2015 by wpengine Last month we celebrated the opening of Green Playces:Homewood – the second of five Green Playces to be created by the end of next year. Every community is different. Every Green Playce ought to reflect that difference. We just hope to tie some common threads between these different Playces, the first of which is in the name. So let’s explore the differences (and the similarities!) between our first two Green Playces. It’s time to Venn Diagram: In the Northside, we took…Read More
Pittsburgh’s First Blight Bootcamp Posted on November 24, 2015 by wpengine November 7th was the first ever Pittsburgh Blight Bootcamp where residents, nonprofit professionals and government representatives were able to meet, mingle, and educate each other on topics surrounding the issues of vacancy and blight in the Pittsburgh region. GTECH had the honor of being a central organizer of the Pittsburgh Blight Bootcamp as a member of the Pittsburgh Blight Working Group, a partnership between the City of Pittsburgh Office of the Mayor and Permits, Neighborhood Allies, PCRG, the Design Center of…Read More
The Challenges of Reclaiming Vacant Land Posted on November 10, 2015 by Grounded Strategies Creating something new out of a vacant lot isn't always easy. There are a number of challenges a person can run into, but getting access from the property owner can be one of the toughest ones. This was the case for Bridget Little, an Ambassador for GTECH's ReClaim Northside program. This is her story. Bridget, along with many of her neighbors, had been eyeing a large vacant lot in Allegheny West for quite some time. In fact, some had already put…Read More