St. John’s Green The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) owns a large vacant lot in the neighborhood of Brighton Heights that was the former home of the St. John’s Hospital. As the URA is looking for a new plan for the space, they’ve asked a few partners to lend their expertise. Ecologists from Chatham University have done an ecological assessment of the site which will help to inform which uses make the most sense. GTECH has been working to gather input from Brighton Heights…Read More
Blight Working Group The Blight Working Group is a collaboration between technical assistance organizations and City of Pittsburgh municipal leaders that aims to bring information to communities regarding resident-driven actions against blight. Started in 2015, the Blight Working Group has held an annual "Blight Bootcamp" event to share resident-driven approaches, technical assistance, and showcase partner organizations in the fight against blight throughout Allegheny County.Read More
ReClaim South 2.0: Sustaining Momentum ReClaim South: Sustaining Momentum was launched in 2015 to further bolster and support existing Ambassador projects implemented during the original ReClaim South program. ReClaim South: Sustaining Momentum provided both returning and new Ambassadors with additional skills, tools and resources necessary for improving Ambassador projects. Ambassadors were exposed to a wide variety of trainings as well as other large-scale greenspace and community development projects occurring in Hilltop neighborhoods. Programming partners included the Hilltop Alliance, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC) and Neighborhood Allies.Read More
GTECH on the Go The concept of GO! began as a an innovative idea to deliver pop-up programing in an engaging and friendly way. The idea was formed in September of 2012 and has since been applied in many unique ways. Our goal is to serve as a literal and symbolic vehicle of innovation and change brought to neighborhoods. We use these tools and methodologies to reach new audiences, invite them to participate in community-centric activities and learn what they know and love best.Read More
Healthy Homes Incentive Program (HHIP) Health problems created by poor indoor air quality can be mitigated by a well performing, energy efficient home. Let us help make energy efficiency improvements easier and less expensive for you to take advantage of in Allegheny County. Benefits Navigating the energy efficiency market isn’t easy. Let us use our expertise to connect you to trustworthy contractors and financing options available near you. Free expert advice navigating the home energy efficiency marketplace For home energy efficiency investments of $5,000 or…Read More
Route 51 Green Blvd Property Acquisition Planning Study In Winter 2015-Spring 2016, GTECH worked with Economic Development South (EDS) to identify land to serve as an established greenway, protecting and improving land for a variety of open space uses along Route 51 and Saw Mill Run. The long-term vision for this project is to create a Green Boulevard to improve the environmental, social, and economic health of the corridor. GTECH’s role in the creation of the Route 51 Green Boulevard was to develop and apply a decision making…Read More
Resilience in Community Development In an effort to maximize the social inclusion, equity, and participation of Pittsburgh’s most vulnerable communities in The City’s new Climate and Resilience Plan GTECH, with financial support from Neighborhood Allies in partnership with The City of Pittsburgh’s Office of Resilience has conducted six months of targeted research to apply this planning process to a community development context. Through a range of national best practice benchmarking, primary interviews, expert testimonials, and local focus groups GTECH has honed overarching observations combined…Read More
Pittsburgh Conservation Corps (dba Landforce) Planning Throughout 2015, the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, GTECH Strategies, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, UrbanKind, and the Allegheny Land Trust used support from the Hillman Foundation to research national models and inform the scaling and growth of the Emerald Trail Corps. After examining over 25 programs in 15 cities, including site visits to Seattle Conservation Corps, the San Francisco Conservation Corps, Oakland Civicorps and The Greening of Detroit, the team helped develop an exciting and dynamic model to expand the…Read More
ReClaim McKeesport Ambassadors ’15 ReClaim McKeesport was a year-long education program that assists community members in implementing change on vacant land. In McKeesport alone, there are over 2500 vacant lots. Program participants serve in the role of Ambassador to implement a green project on a vacant property of their choosing. Throughout 2014 - 2015, the cohort of community Ambassadors attended educational sessions and workshops, learning about the ways that vacant lots impact the community and thinking about ways to transform these vacant properties in…Read More
ReClaim Northside Ambassadors ’15 GTECH initiated the ReClaim Northside program after working with Northside residents to survey each and every one of the Northside’s 5405 vacant lots. This survey helped us to understand the state of blight in the Northside and to learn what work is already being done. You can check out the data by clicking this link. Ultimately, GTECH learned that Northside residents have a need for more outdoor community spaces and have thousands of vacant lots in need of some love.…Read More
One Northside Asset Inventory Mapping (AIM) The goal of the One Northside Asset Inventory Mapping effort (AIM) was to create an entire Northside asset inventory and map that will inform the planning and design of an inter-neighborhood connectivity system. This system will link identified neighborhood assets, such as historical sites, gardens, parklets and other uniquely Northside landmarks. A key component of the One Northside AIM project was the creation of a collaborative student workforce between three of the region’s academic institutions. During Spring and Summer 2015,…Read More