Tag Archive: SCDN
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PRP-PCM Implementation and Tracking Workshop
Leave a CommentRegister here
FREEStill figuring out projects to implement to meet Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) requirements? Built a Best Management Practice (BMP), but wondering what to report? Have Pollutant Control Measures (PCMs) requirements that need attention? Come learn more about PRP/PCM management at Southwestern PA Commission’s Water Resource Center’s May workshops.
Presented by: Mike LaSala, LandStudies
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Building Re-Tuning: An Energy Sustainability Series
Leave a CommentBuilding Re-Tuning Workshop: 2 of 3
Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program
FREEPlease join PennTAP for the second of three Building Re-Tuning (BRT) workshops being offered in the Pittsburgh area. The February workshop will focus on the fundamentals of BRT including how to use low-cost tools and workbook calculations for an energy-conscious facility.
BRT is a systematic low cost/no cost approach to ensure that buildings are operating at maximum efficiency. BRT can reduce facility energy costs for government buildings, community colleges, or K–12 schools. This program has been designed for PA municipality, school district, and community college professionals who work within building operations, physical plant, maintenance, grounds, EHS or sustainability.
This multi-media training includes a webinar, guest speakers, and two building walk-throughs in regional facilities. Additionally, a webinar will be made prior to the workshop and is intended to be a prerequisite.
PennTAP is offering 6 Maintenance Points through the Building Re-Tuning Workshop to individuals looking to maintain their Building Operator Certification (BOC) credentials!
Space is limited, so register early!
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Practical Lessons in Winning Public Support for Infrastructure Project
Leave a CommentLet’s face it – winning public support for unfunded infrastructure mandates is difficult to do. Public officials (both elected and unelected) constantly struggle to communicate the value of infrastructure investments in a way that builds broad-based support from constituents. This session covers the best strategies for planning and successfully engaging the public on difficult-to-win topics like infrastructure investments, tax increases, and municipal compliance activities.
Speaker: Mark Heckmann, Castle Shannon Council President
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Practical Lessons in Winning Public Support for Infrastructure Project
Leave a CommentLet’s face it – winning public support for unfunded infrastructure mandates is difficult to do. Public officials (both elected and unelected) constantly struggle to communicate the value of infrastructure investments in a way that builds broad-based support from constituents. This session covers the best strategies for planning and successfully engaging the public on difficult-to-win topics like infrastructure investments, tax increases, and municipal compliance activities.
Speaker: Mark Heckmann, Castle Shannon Council President
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Building Re-Tuning: an Energy Sustainability Series
Leave a CommentBuilding Re-Tuning Workshop: 1 of 3
Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program
Fay-Penn Business Event Center
Fayette County, PA 15146
FREEPlease join PennTAP for the first of three Building Re-Tuning (BRT) workshops being offered at the Fay-Penn Business Event Center. The November workshop will focus on the fundamentals of BRT, including energy benchmarking and creating an energy-conscious facility.
BRT is a systematic low cost/no cost approach to ensure that buildings are operating at maximum efficiency. BRT can reduce facility energy costs for government buildings, community colleges, or K–12 schools.
The BRT workshop includes a webinar, guest speakers, and two building walk-throughs in regional facilities. The webinar will be made available the week of October 29, and is intended to be a prerequisite to the workshop.
Space is limited, so register early!
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October Events Roundup
Leave a CommentOctober was an exciting month for Sustainable Pittsburgh, full of opportunities to learn and connect with leaders, experts, and motivated community members! Below are highlights from some events in which SP engaged:
PML Summit
October 5-6, 2018The 119th annual summit of the Pennsylvania Municipal League (PML) was held in Cranberry Township. Elected and appointed officials from across the state gathered to connect and network with colleagues, attend informative and educational sessions, discuss issues facing the Commonwealth’s municipalities, share resources and best practices, establish legislative policy, and elect officers and members of the Board of Directors for the coming year. A new organizational logo and tagline, “Strength Through Engagement,” were announced; a new website will follow in early 2019. A summary video of the day can be found here.
Additionally, Jim Price, Sustainable Community Manager at Sustainable Pittsburgh, held an open workshop in the morning to discuss the Sustainable PA Community Certification with interested attendees, and presented an educational session in the afternoon with planners from the City of Pittsburgh on how municipalities can use the EcoDistricts protocol for community development.
North American Passive House Network Conference
October 17-21, 2018The 2018 annual conference and expo for the North American Passive House Network was in Pittsburgh at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where sessions included topics such as policy and zoning, social equity, health and wellness, and technological innovations. Passive House principles can play a pivotal role in increasing sustainability for projects and communities by reducing energy demands and costs, increasing indoor air quality and occupant comfort, and providing safe, engaging spaces across a range of housing types and uses.
Rail~Volution Conference
October 21-24, 2018Rail~Volution’s theme, “Building Livable Communities with Transit,” was explored in depth during the annual conference, this year at the Wyndham Grand in Pittsburgh. The conference discussed the links between land use, transit, and development through four days of sessions and mobile workshops, highlighting the transit infrastructure and development that currently exists, the work being done to advance both technology and equity, and inspiring stories of successes across North America. Local leaders and employees told Pittsburgh’s story and hopes for a more equitable future, while experts from dozens of cities shared their knowledge and lessons learned.
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SCDN Webinar: Urban Agriculture – From Vacant Properties to Green Space
Leave a CommentNovember 15 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Register Here
FREEThe presence of vacant properties is a challenge that municipalities face every day, but these spaces can be utilized to benefit the community in several ways: returning properties to the tax rolls, improving community engagement, fostering economic development, and combating food insecurity.
Interest in urban agriculture and community gardening has seen a major resurgence in the last 15 years. As municipal leaders seek ways to improve the quality of life for their neighborhoods, community gardens have shown to cultivate resident engagement and productive community partnerships. Utilizing vacant lots as green space in some communities has also revealed an improvement in air and water quality, helping with stormwater issues and even calming local traffic.
As a response to rising interest in community gardening, Grow Pittsburgh formed in 2005 and has since become a go-to resource when it comes to self-sustaining urban agriculture in the region. Join Local Government Academy in partnership with Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Sustainable Community Development Network (SCDN) as we host speaker Rayden Sorock, Director of Community Projects at Grow Pittsburgh, for a webinar describing best practices for starting an urban agricultural project. Learn which policies municipalities can adopt to facilitate growing food, and then hear from Rebecca Bradley, Manager of Wilkins Township, about a real community garden project.
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PCCA Floodplain Management Course
Leave a CommentFloodplain Management Course 273
PA Construction Codes AcademyThis is the field deployed version of the FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI) MI E273 course. This course is designed to provide an organized training opportunity for local officials responsible for administering their local floodplain management ordinance. The course will focus on the NFIP and concepts of floodplain management, maps and studies, ordinance administration, and the relationship between floodplain management and flood insurance.
This course is intended for local officials responsible for administering local floodplain management ordinances, including but not limited to floodplain management administrators, building inspectors, code enforcement/zoning officers, conservation agents and commissioners, planners, city/county managers, attorneys, engineers, and public works officials. Federal/State/regional floodplain managers also are encouraged to attend. The course is designed for those officials with less than 3 years of floodplain management experience.
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Influence our region’s transportation future- take the survey!
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Please take 5 to 10 minutes of your time to share how you get around and make our region a better place to commute. Make My Trip Count is a survey of Pittsburgh region commuters to figure out how Pittsburghers regularly travel to work or school – and how that commute could be improved. By sharing your transportation decisions and challenges, you can directly influence our region’s transportation future. All personal information collected will remain confidential. Survey responses will be used to better inform transportation decisions, access, and choices. Respondents who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing to win one of twenty $50 Visa gift cards. Make your voice heard by completing the survey! Follow the link below to get started.
“The Make My Trip Count survey has deepened our understanding of how people move throughout the city,” says City of Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto. “With clear actionable data, we’ve been able to address Pittsburghers’ real transportation needs as we continue to support the city’s economic transformation.”
Make My Trip Count is a strategic study of Pittsburgh’s commuting patterns. The survey is managed by Green Building Alliance in collaboration with the Allegheny Conference, Allegheny County, Bike Pittsburgh, the City of Pittsburgh, Duquesne Light, EMC Research, Healthy Ride, Innovate PGH, Oakland Transportation Management Association, Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Pittsburgh Parking Authority, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, and Sustainable Pittsburgh. Make My Trip Count is supported by the Hillman Foundation, Duquesne Light, and the Microsoft Corporation.
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Sharpsburg, Millvale and Etna Pass Complete Streets Policies
Leave a CommentSeptember 27, 2018
As part of the Triboro EcoDistrict Initiative, the Boroughs of Sharpsburg, Millvale, and Etna have joined over 1,300 municipalities across the United States and adopted Complete Streets Policies, becoming just the second, third and fourth communities in Allegheny County to do so.
A Complete Streets Policy is a tool that municipalities use to set the vision for the streets of their community. They help ensure that streets and sidewalks are safe and accessible to people of all ages and abilities, whether they walk, bike, take transit, drive, or roll a wheelchair by ensuring that all users of a roadway are considered early in a street project’s design process. Complete Streets Policies puts the onus on decision makers to show why all modes can’t be accommodated, as opposed to the community needing to prove why the accommodation is necessary.
“Everywhere we visit, people want to be able to safely walk around their neighborhood,” says Eric Boerer, BikePGH Advocacy Director, “Complete Streets Policies help make sure their vision for a healthy and safe community come first.”
For the past two years, a diverse coalition, consisting of nonprofit and government agencies including the Congress of Neighboring Communities (CONNECT), Bike Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Economic Development, Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, the American Heart Association, Allegheny County Health Department, and others have provided Allegheny County municipalities with the education, advice, support, and technical resources to assist in their adoption of Complete Streets policies.
Late last year, Sharpsburg become the first municipality in the County outside of Pittsburgh to adopt a Complete Streets policy. This August, the Boroughs of Millvale and Etna joined ranks, passing resolutions only a week apart.
The passing of Complete Streets policies is in alignment with the Triboro EcoDistrict, a partnership among the Millvale-based nonprofit New Sun Rising, the Etna Economic Development Corp., Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization, and evolveEA that is promoting coordinated sustainable community development throughout the Boroughs of Millvale, Etna and Sharpsburg with a focus on six systems — mobility, air quality, water, energy, food, and social equity.
“Complete Streets policy adoption among the Triboro partners at the Boroughs of Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg further demonstrates that multi-municipal collaboration is the norm, not the exception,” shares New Sun Rising’s Triboro EcoDistrict Director Brian Wolovich.
“In Sharpsburg, where nearly one-third of households don’t have access to a personal vehicle, safe walking and biking routes and connections to public transit have a huge impact on residents’ quality of life and access to opportunity,” says Brittany Reno, executive director for Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization and Sharpsburg Borough council president. “A commitment to Complete Streets in Sharpsburg has meant a strengthened focus on public health, safety, and freedom of movement for all the people who live and visit here.”
By setting expectations as early as possible, Complete Streets Policies will help future development and road projects succeed, earning the trust of the community from the beginning.
“The Complete Streets policy helps us look holistically at how transportation happens in our community and how we can enable it to happen in an equitable manner for all, said Mary Ellen Ramage, Manager of Etna Borough. “When surveyed, mobility was the issue residents said affected them the most in their daily lives. This encourages and teaches us to see the whole picture and not just the surface of the road when planning projects.”
All three municipalities have previously demonstrated leadership in sustainability by earning certification through the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification program, which recognizes and promotes municipalities in Pennsylvania for completing actions in all aspects of sustainability. A Complete Streets Policy is a comprehensive way to use sustainability principles to strengthen a community’s mobility options, and is reflected in the Sustainable PA Community Certification Assessment in Section 21, Mobility.