Dr. Bryant Scharenbroch is a soil researcher at Morton Arboretum and assistant professor of soil science at University of Wisconsin. Check out this article, from Deeproot Green Infrastructure about his urban soil studies. Here’s an excerpt: “Soil in the city has no real horizons, and it contains plenty of anthropogenic
Pittsburgh is a city of neighborhoods. There are 90 of them, after all. Each one has its own charms, and problems, and groups of people working to solve them. But, like individuals, these neighborhoods often focus on their own challenges, and sometimes forget that other neighborhoods are working on very
Chores. The grind. Tedium. Labor. Maintenance is rarely thought of fondly. And few people are inspired by sameness. We don’t wake up thinking, “Wow! My sidewalk remains unbroken! The trees in my park are still standing!” Instead we prefer to imagine our creations as permanent, somehow set apart from
Growing up in Chicago with a family full of homebodies, I rarely left the concrete jungle in my youth. Sure, Chicago is full of great parks (the city’s motto is Urbs in Horto, City in a Garden), but as someone with little hand-eye coordination, I never liked parks as a
Remember the acronym “NIMBY”? That’s how sociologists and cartoonists often characterize the visceral reaction that a proposed new development (airport, power plant, strip mall, etc.) will elicit among the residents of the surrounding community: “Not in my back yard!” ioby, however, is all about empowering local projects that bring positive change
[dt_sc_h6 class=””]What is Pittsburgh Blight Bootcamp? [/dt_sc_h6] November 7th was the first ever Pittsburgh Blight Bootcamp where residents, nonprofit professionals and government representatives were able to meet, mingle, and educate each other on topics surrounding the issues of vacancy and blight in the Pittsburgh region. Topics ranged from Resident Led Advocacy
Did you know that volunteering not only helps your community, but you benefit as well? According to the Corporation for National and Community Service there is a lot that you can take away from a workday, other than an immense sense of achievement. Check out their report and see if you
[dt_sc_hr_invisible /][dt_sc_fullwidth_section backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” opacity=”” parallax=”” backgroundrepeat=”” backgroundposition=”” paddingtop=”” paddingbottom=”” textcolor=”” class=”” first] Urban blight is often associated with decay, crime and instability. Blighted property is described by the Washington Post as “a contagious affliction.” Vacancy and subsequent blight begins to spread by depreciating adjacent property values, which discourages local
What is a Community Land Trust (CLT). Community land trusts are community-based organizations established to serve as long-term stewards of land and to protect long term affordability and access to housing and other community uses that are located on that land. Lands acquired by a community land trust remain in
Join us this Saturday! Check out more information on the bike tour here and to register.