Greener Pastures

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Between 1946 and 1969, civic agencies began work to improve the city and plan for its future. Redevelopment included the creation of Point State Park at the confluence of the rivers, and the restoration of buildings *in the heart of downtown, known as the Golden Triangle. By the end of its first renaissance, the city and region had one of the nation's first smoke-control laws and a strategy for flood management, positioning Pittsburgh as one of the most environmentally progressive industrial cities.

In the 1980s, as the economics of steel production worsened and pressures from foreign competitors began to increase, the Iron City's steel foundation started to buckle. One hundred thousand jobs were lost, and community leaders were faced with a new set of challenges as families throughout the region left to find employment elsewhere. Pittsburgh once again needed to align its economic and environmental goals. Civic groups began coordinating with development agencies for cleanup and brownfield reclamation. The City of Pittsburgh worked closely with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to enact legislation for remediation and liability issues associated with previously contaminated sites. Several of these sites now host some of Pittsburgh's premier green buildings.

Today, sustainable development has moved to the forefront of Pittsburgh's third renaissance. With the highest dollar amount of foundation support per capita, Pittsburgh's philanthropic community is the driving force behind many bold initiatives.

In 1994 the Heinz Endowments created an environmental grant-making program, which has given more than $100 million to foster sustainable urban design, environmental enterprise, watershed protection and ecosystem restoration.

The Governor's Green Government Council strongly encourages the design of new buildings to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification criteria. The Departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources make LEED certification a specific requirement for all their buildings, and the Commonwealth currently boasts five LEED certified buildings and 29 LEED registered buildings. And the state has just received re-certification, under the Forest Stewardship Council's sustainable forest guidelines, for all 2.1 million acres of its forestland, the largest certified forest tract in North America.

Most importantly, the greening of Pittsburgh is being championed by a number of grassroots organizations whose mission is the transition from an extraction-based economy to an amenities based economy, where the quality of life is defined once again by Pittsburgh's geography, the beauty of its surroundings and character of its neighborhoods.

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