Buzz

The Allegheny Riverfront's plan brings the city closer together

Archdaily.com Wednesday, April 24, 2013

"With the advent of the High Line and the recent announcement about Chicago’s Bloomingdale Trail, it’s becoming clear that the ‘parkway’ is a powerful new force in urban planning, which has the potential to change the way cities around the world function. A new project in Pittsburgh seeks to harness these possibilities, as the city’s history of industry has left its stamp upon the city in the form of a rusting industrial riverfront. A plan by Saski Associates envisages re-using this space to create a green belt, tying the city closer together. By adding pedestrian, cycling and light-rail transport routes, and creating plenty of green spaces, they hope to tap Pittsburgh’s unrealized potential to be a river-front city, while encouraging geographical and social closeness amongst its communities.

Read the rest of the story here.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds - the owner/player paradox

NY Times Soccer Blog Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Pittsburgh Riverhounds right midfielder Jason Kutney leads a dual existence. Come gametime, he's just any other player - but after he steps off the field, he's part owner of the team. Thanks to his efforts and those of the other owners, Highmark Stadium is nearly complete. However, this duality comes at a cost to Kutney. The more he sweats the details of the stadium, team logistics, scheduling, and the like, the less time he has to commit to his team.

To read how Kutney makes it work, click here.

Don't call us Post-Industrial - We're simply Pittsburgh

The Atlantic Cities Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Post-modern, post-industrial, post-whatever. Sure, Pittsburgh had an industrial past, but why must it be defined by that alone? It's time for Pittsburgh - and other "post-industrial" cities Detroit, Cleveland, and Milwaukee - to start thinking about what our post-post-industrial future will look like and begin defining ourselves accordingly. Manufacturing still has a place in the modern world, and for a city to define itself as "post-industrial" is a mistake. After all, industry in the 21st century will likely have a different look and feel than the rusting smoke stacks and soot-filled rivers of manufacturing past.

To read more, click here.

Startup Weekend in Pittsburgh

Keystone Edge Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Get the lowdown on the Startup Weekend in Pittsburgh recently which attracted more than 100 pitches and ideas.

Read the full story here by Pop City's Marty Levine in our sister pub, Keystone Edge.

How gay culture influences Pittsburgh

Pridesource Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Pittsburgh has been shaped by gay culture more than the average citizen might realize, writes Andrew Collins in PrideSource. Even our beautiful skyline owes a debt of grattitude to the late, and also gay, architect Phillip Johnson, designer of PPG Place. Gay culture has infiltrated (or maybe we should say outfiltrated?) our art community - The Andy Warhol museum is a monument to a world famous gay artist, and the Mattress Factory features a permanent installation by artist Greer Lankton exploring her own sexuality and identity. Many of Pittsburgh's reknowned dining staples are owned by gays, as well. Part of Pittsburgh's charm comes from the acceptance, co-existence, and even melding of gay culture into the mainstream.

To read the PrideSource piece, click here.

The Saxifrage School: The city as campus

The Wall Street Journal Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Many of us have simply accepted that a college experience will cost more than buying a pair of Bentleys. Tim Cook isn't many of us. As the Wall St. Journal reports, his two year experiment, The Saxifrage School, offers classes at only $395 a piece and uses public space for classes and administrative offices instead of constructing a private campus to house its students. After all, Pittsburgh has plenty of apartments for rent, public libraries for textbooks, and coffee shops for classrooms. Why bother with expensive buildings and impractical isolation from the world outside of campus? Cook's dream is a Pittsburgh that is a city and a campus simultaneously.

To read the article, click here.

Bill Gates' investment in Acquion Energy

Silicon Republic Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Using seawater, manganese oxide, and a healthy investment from Bill Gates, Aquion Energy of Pittsburgh is poised to take the battery market by storm, reports Silicon Republic. By replacing all of the harmful chemicals and heavy metals in conventional batteries with more organic and inert materials, Aquion aims to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly battery that won't leach harmful substances into the soil when they are discarded. The proprietary technology for the batteries is based on research conducted by CMU's Professor Jay Whitacre.

To read the full story, click here.

Allderdice student writes op-ed: To All the Colleges that Rejected Me

Wall St Journal Wednesday, April 03, 2013

In a funny and biting editorial that has spawned controversy in social media, Allderdice senior Suzy Lee Weiss writes to all the colleges that rejected her. Don't feel too bad for her. Word is she's headed to the University of Michigan.

Read the op-ed here.

Food blogger Leah Lizarondo Shannon writes about the food revolution here

JamieOliver.com Wednesday, April 03, 2013

"Clearly, Pittsburgh is no stranger to revolutions," writes Leah Lizarondo Shannon. "And so it is only appropriate that Pittsburgh be the first to take on Jamie Oliver’s challenge to create a city-wide Food Revolution. At the One Young World Summit in Pittsburgh on October 2012, seven thought leaders, from different sectors raised their hands and accepted the charge.
While Huntington, WV and Los Angeles, CA were the first cities to experience such a revolution, Pittsburgh, PA is the first city to essentially, lead itself into it.

The revolutionaries are approaching change from different fronts, covering the city in initiatives that range from top-down to totally grassroots. Here are the magnificent seven:..."

Read the full article here.

Pittsburgh as one of 15 U.S. emerging downtowns

Forbes Wednesday, April 03, 2013

"The northeastern industrial hub's downtown, which by the late 1980s had succumbed to an exodus of businesses and people, has slowly begun to turn around. Class A office space as of the third quarter of 2012 was 94.5% leased, compared to 85% a decade earlier. PNC Financial opened a $170 million-plus office tower in 2009, with a $400 million second tower under construction now. The area's population was about 8,000, according to the U.S. Census, up 21% from 2000. Since 2009, 219 new housing units have come to market, with another 346 under construction, according to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. To put this in perspective, the number of residential developments has more than doubled in the past 30 years, the majority of new projects erected in the past seven."

See Pittsburgh and the other cities listed here.

The Beatles Were Fab and They Were Funny review with Stacy Innerst illustrations

New York Journal of Books Wednesday, April 03, 2013

In a review of the book, The Beatles Were Fab and They Were Funny, Stacy Innerst of Pittsburgh gets high praise for his creative and witty illustrations.

"The star atop such quips is Stacy Innerst’s acrylic paintings full of personality, redolent with thick brush strokes, and rich with relevant details. Mr. Innerst, who illustrated the writing team’s Lincoln Tells a Joke, again shows what it means to be in synch with the authors’ intent."

Read the review here.

How the Warhol Museum helped shake the dust off Pittsburgh

Good.is Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Since opening in 1994, The Warhol Museum has helped Pittsburgh drastically change its post-industrial image from a sootie, dirty rust-belt city to a thriving, artful and energetic up-and-comer to rival Portland, Oregon. With over 120,000 visitors per year, it's still one of the cultural hotspots of the city and continues to immortalize Pittsburgh's most memorable renderer of soup cans for natives and tourists alike.

To read more, click here.

The Sierra Club chimes in on the Pittsburgh shale coalition's ability to protect the environment

Huffington Post Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Sierra Club and a number of smaller environmental organizations are up in arms over the creation of the new Center for Sustainable Shale (CSSD) in Pittsburgh (read about it in Pop City), which was launched to develop tighter production standards on fracking. While some environmental activists argue that the term "sustainable shale" is misleading, the new center claims to offer a new path toward more responsible drilling.

To read more, click here.

PNC Park - #1 ballpark in the country

Trip Advisor Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Tripadvisor.com has named PNC Park the best ballpark in America. PNC Park managed to beat the Red Sox's legendary Fenway Park in Boston, and the Cubs' famous Wrigley Field in Chicago, thanks to the opinions and feedback of Tripadvisor's numerous customers and web-visitors. So what if the Pirates' record isn't as good as your team's? We've got a better ballpark.

To read more, click here.

Pittsburgh named in top 30 cities for young CEOs

Under 30 CEO Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Pittsburgh has been named one of Under 30 CEO's top 30 cities for young entrepeneurs, thanks in no small-part to our 30 regional colleges, including tier-1 research colleges CMU and Pitt, educating and creating talent locally. A sizable number of students in Pittsburgh tend to stay here after graduation, helping to place Pittsburgh on the map of entrepeneurial talent.

To read more, click here.