From Industrial to Post-Industrial:(Re)Development in Pittsburgh and Braddock
Thursday, October 26, 2023
2:00pm - 5:00pm
Pittsburgh and its neighbor Braddock have been hailed as leaders in post-industrial redevelopment, the former for its surprising ascendance in the 1990s, the latter for a more DIY approach made famous by now-U.S. Senator John Fetterman. This tour will visit three major industrial redevelopment sites from the last 20+ years, where we will hear from participants and experts who can unpack this complicated history, present, and future:
Downtown Braddock, where we will hear from representatives of The Hollander Project, a co-working space and business incubator for women entrepreneurs from Braddock and the surrounding Mon Valley.
the Homestead Steel Works Pump House in Munhall, an important part of the U.S. labor movement now part of The Waterfront mall redevelopment, where we will hear from interpreters from the heritage-oriented nonprofit organization Rivers of Steel.
Hazelwood Green in Pittsburgh, an ongoing 178-acre waterfront redevelopment of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company, where we will hear from a Pittsburgh city planner and a community activist involved in anti-gentrification and displacement efforts related to the project.
A portion of the ticket price will go to snacks from Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, a not-for-profit organization that addresses structural employment issues and food access.
Topics from the tour will be further explored during the session "Contesting the Contested City: Towards a New Understanding of Creative Placemaking."
Tour leaders:
Michael Carriere, Professor of History, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Rebecca Kiernan, former Director of Sustainability and Resilience, City of Pittsburgh
David Schalliol, Associate Professor of Sociology, St. Olaf College
Representatives of the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, the Hollander Project, Hazelwood Initiative, Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, and Rivers of Steel