GTECH’er in Germany: Day 1 Posted on October 13, 2014 by Grounded Strategies Share this post 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 practitioners in older, industrial cities in the US and Europe with the aim of promoting best practices for the revitalization and redevelopment of distressed urban areas. This trip’s theme is “Equity and Inclusion in Urban Regeneration”. I am excited to be joined by government officials, foundation representatives, private consultants, not-for-profit leaders, and others who work to support cross-sector partnerships, civic engagement, and implementation strategies to improve their respective cities. Pittsburgh along with other Rust Belt cities, like Youngstown, Ohio; Cleveland; Flint, Mich.; Detroit; and Seattle will be starting a dialogue with the movers and shakers in the German city of Hamburg. Starting tomorrow, we will focus on policies, programs, and physical development sites that aim to combine social inclusion and cohesion within urban regeneration efforts. I landed Sunday morning at 7:30AM (1:30 AM Pittsburgh time), immediately anticipating a nap. Yet, I was unable to resist the chance to begin exploring the beautiful waterfront city with a few of my new colleagues and friends. We wandered the quiet Sunday-morning streets, ate a delicious German brunch, found our way into the Tropical Botanical Garden at Stephen’s Square and topped it off with a canal and harbor tour–not bad on only 3 hours of sleep. Tomorrow the real fun begins! Stay tuned as my week unfolds and I will share what I am learning and hope you will help us bring some new lessons learned to the Pittsburgh conversation. – Evaine Have any questions that you’d like Evaine to ask while she is on her trip? Post yours in the comment section below.