Preserving a Piece of Pittsburgh’s Incline History Posted on October 31, 2014 by Grounded Strategies Pittsburgh is the only city in the United States that still has two operational inclines — you know them as the Duquesne and the Monongahela. Back in the heyday of steel milling and coal mining along the three rivers' shores, dozens of inclines connected downtown with the housing on the hills. Not only did they serve as people carriers, they also hauled freight, horses and buggies and, later, cars. One such incline that is no longer in use is the Knoxville…Read More
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 3 Posted on October 15, 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 3: Hamburg's Youth The journey continues! Today we talked with some of the most passionate people I have every met. We spent the morning with the Director of the Land Youth Office from the Ministry of Labor, Family and Integration as well as a consultant who is working with them. They reviewed the policies and directives which guide the…Read More
Get to Know…Crystal Tackett Posted on October 15, 2014 by Grounded Strategies Crystal Tackett served as a ReClaim Northside Ambassador in 2014. She used her time to build a community food garden in partnership with the Salvation Army. She is also trying to give away more veggies in her neighborhood. GTECH: Hi Crystal, so you aren't a native Pittsburgh, where are you from originally? Crystal Tackett: Saxonburg, Pa. G: What Northside neighborhood are you currently in? CT: I just bought my house in Fineview last year. Before that I lived in the…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
10 Reasons Why Pittsburgh Beer Lovers Should Go To Wet Hoptober Posted on October 2, 2014 by Grounded Strategies Here are 10 good reasons to attend Wet Hoptober Fest as told through memes. This original post appeared on beer-centric blog, Penny, Pints, Pittsburgh and is reposted with permission. 1. The hops were grown on a vacant lot in Garfield that GTECH turned into a hop oasis… Photo Credits- http://drafthouse.com/movies/the_sound_of_music_mothers_day_brunch_feast/austin 2. The wet hops were lovingly picked by real Pittsburghers’ hands… Photo Credits- www.eastendbrewing.com 3. East End Brewing Co. is supplying the beer…enough said there Photo Credits- http://frabz.com/2psi 4. Scott Smith and…Read More