Permaculture Design: Ecological Solutions to Planetary Problems Posted on July 22, 2019 by [email protected] For the purposes of sorting out the issues our world currently faces and quelling the fires which threaten to consume us there is one system of ethics that seems particularly well suited. This system, developed from the synthesis of indigenous wisdom about Earth systems and modern best practices in the management of human populations is called Permaculture. Coined by Bill Mollison, the term permaculture is a combination of the words permanent and agriculture (or culture). However, it is an approach…Read More
The Bigger Picture Posted on February 1, 2019 by wpengine A lot has been said and studied about the economics of vacant land and there is certainly more to say and study. When it comes to the economics of vacant land, it is best described as a negative externality, which if remains unmaintained creates a substantial social cost to its surroundings. There are obvious financial damages to our local institutions and subsequently the public as consumers of those public services. And there are far less measurable, but obvious impacts on…Read More
A Story of Vacant Land (Part 2): The Evolution Posted on January 10, 2019 by wpengine Have you ever wondered why or how the vacant lot next to your home got there? Obviously, a series of events had to happen to create that neglected space. Vacancy didn’t show up overnight. A combination of macro forces and micro decisions, each of which is interrelated led to what you see in so many of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods today. With over 27,000 vacant lots in the City of Pittsburgh, something has happened at a massive scale. Understanding the history and…Read More
A Story of Vacant Land (Part 1): Costs & Benefits Posted on November 12, 2018 by wpengine Numbers don’t lie. Well, if we are being honest, they sometimes do. As community leaders, advocates, and policy analysts, it’s our job to think critically about data. In short, numbers mean something, which is why it’s so important to contextualize them. They represent real people associated with real costs. When analyzing costs and benefits, nothing is more important than humanizing the numbers. Let’s consider some of the numbers and truths with regards to vacant lot maintenance. In Allegheny County, 67.3%…Read More
Attention to Detail Posted on October 5, 2018 by Grounded Strategies The quality of your environment is one of the greatest and most overlooked sources of happiness. CommunityCare stewards carry around butter knives so that they can clean the cracks in the sidewalks. LandCare contractors compare techniques because they take pride in their work. These examples illustrate the importance of community members playing a central role in greening their communities. When residents are the actors, greenspace maintenance takes on new meaning. It's not just about getting a job done, it's about making…Read More
Sustainability Education Posted on June 28, 2018 by wpengine We recently came across a study published in The Journal of Environmental Education focused on the effectiveness of sustainability education in four different unique schools. The study lead to interesting results about which methods of sustainability messaging are most effective at encouraging youth to be environmentally conscious members of society. Schools must immerse students in sustainable practices and possess a culture of equality and sustainability in order to impact students. After interviewing students at each of the four schools, this…Read More
LandCare Women Making a Difference in Hazelwood Posted on March 15, 2018 by Grounded Strategies Strengthening communities through vacant lot maintenance Have you ever wondered who maintains all of the vacant lots in Pittsburgh? With over 27,000 vacant lots in just the city alone, it takes a coordinated effort to care for this vast amount of vacant land. The City of Pittsburgh owns approximately 26% of Pittsburgh’s vacant lots and the URA owns another 5.2%, or around 1,400 vacant lots. If you haven’t really noticed a vacant lot in your community, chances are that it…Read More
Grab a seat at the roundtable. Posted on February 23, 2018 by [email protected] What are the building blocks of community change? Peter Block argues that the answer is small-scale, informal, and personal resident engagement: the roundtable. The Grounded Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Liaisons have been putting this idea to the test while reading Block's work Community: The Structure of Belonging. Each month, we meet to discuss project activities as well as to take part in a group discussion about the best ways to increase resident involvement and buy-in, essential ingredients for community health and sustainability. Last month,…Read More
Returning to Sustainable Return on Investment Posted on November 15, 2017 by Grounded Strategies This blog post was authored by GTECH's Research & Policy Intern, Lilli Kashef Hamadani. Email Lilli at [email protected]. Returning to Sustainable Return on Investment Measuring the Social, Environmental, and Economic Impacts of the URA LandCare Program GTECH has been working on evaluating its programs through a Sustainable Return on Investment (SuROI) methodology. You might remember when our intern, Kate, wrote about SuROI lingo and shared the results of GTECH's first SuROI analysis, which measured the social and ecological value of…Read More
Say Hello to the CommunityCare Stewards! Posted on October 20, 2017 by wpengine Meet the residents stewarding community greenspace through GTECH's new pilot program, CommunityCare. Our CommunityCare Pilot Program started in September and is now in full swing! GTECH is working closely with 11 CommunityCare Stewards that are maintaining and improving vacant land in the Homewood community. Our stewards are proud Homewood residents and passionate community members! They will dedicate 3 to 10 hours per month from now until May 2018 maintaining green and open spaces. In return, the stewards receive incentives of their…Read More
Green Spaces as Nature’s Medicine Posted on July 27, 2017 by Grounded Strategies Today's blog is by GTECH's Policy & Research Intern, Lilli Kashef Hamadani. Over the past two years, GTECH has been working with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to maintain vacant lots in Pittsburgh by contracting small business and nonprofits through the LandCare Program. Programs such as LandCare have been popping up all over the nation, and have been found to be largely beneficial to the residents, participants, and the city itself. Since programs like these impact thousands of residents nationally…Read More
Get The Election Choices Here! Posted on May 11, 2017 by wpengine People have been talking a lot about politics recently. Maybe you’ve noticed. Maybe you’ve wanted to do something about it. Maybe you’ve been struggling to find a way to make a difference. Sometimes government seems big, opaque, and far away, but next week we have a chance to vote in an election that will undoubtedly have real, tangible, local results. At GTECH, we work regularly with fantastic public officials (and aspiring public officials) throughout the county, from Mayors, to council people, to…Read More