The following story is set in Milwaukee. I hope there are neglected places in your city where similar stories may be told.
 
In the midst of active rail lines and towering industrial buildings, I find the activity of beavers most mysterious. Discovering the little haven of nature in a place so completely altered by humans is itself unexpected. The presence of a beaver, an animal also driven to modify its environment, seems miraculous and symbolic.
 
Against long odds, a wetland remains within the historic estuary of the Milwaukee River.

 
(The Center for Metropolitan Studies at the University of Pittsburgh invited David Mazmanian, a public policy professor from USC, to talk this past Friday. These are some thoughts on his talk on civic engagement and climate policy, and what it might mean for Pitt - though you can extend that to other GLUE cities)

With our conference just around the corner, it’s time we take a look at Larimer, the Pittsburgh neighborhood where we’ll be convening. 

Larimer’s story is like that of many Rust Belt cities that have struggled with population loss; a bustling, self-sustaining neighborhood that once housed 14,000 residents shrunk to just about 1,700 residents over the last decades. The population changes littered the landscape with abandoned homes and empty lots. Businesses left and crime moved in. 

On Saturday, May 21st, this year's class of Leadership Pittsburgh, Inc.'s Leadership Development Initiative brought the third annual PopUp! Pittsburgh event to fruition - Lights! Camera! Fineview!

The Young Preservationist Association (YPA) released its annual list of the Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh area. Inspired by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list, YPA created their Pittsburgh list to put a positive spin on preservation, highlighting historic buildings, main streets, and districts that have the potential to become unique destinations in the region. The scoring committee evaluates nominated sites by five criteria: a 50-year Threshold, Historic and Architectural Significance, Threats to the Site, Community Input, and Feasibility of the Solution.

While there is no monetary award for making the top of the list, the real prize is the publicity. Many property owners have used the list to attract attention to their sites and secure funding. Since YPA began compiling the annual list eight years ago, several buildings have become restoration success stories and several others have been stabilized for future reuse.

Last month, Ashoka Changemakers announced the finalists in their Sustainable Urban Housing: Collaborating for Liveable and Inclusive Cities competition. PUSH Buffalo was one of the 11 finalists, and GLUE asked you to vote for their project, as the winners would be decided by online voting. Changemakers announced the winners yesterday, and PUSH Buffalo was one of the three. The winning projects each receive a $10,000 award sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the American Planning Association, and the Department of State, to continue supporting the projects they've developed to help their communities.

On February 28th, The Great Lakes Commission is hosting its semi-annual meeting and its "Great Lakes Day" in Washington DC. Great Lakes Day is an annual event hosted by the Great Lakes Commission and the Northeast-Midwest Institute to convey a unified message to Congress expressing the Great Lakes region's priorities for legislation and appropriations to protect our environment and support our economy. Each year, regional organizations including the Commission, the Northeast-Midwest Institute, the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the Healing Our Waters

Leadership has changed in Michigan and many other jurisdictions in the Great Lakes Basin. One immediate challenge for incoming governors and premiers will be deciding how to proceed with existing state, provincial and regional commitments in climate and energy policy. The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy are sponsoring "Climate Change in the Great Lakes Basin: Policy Options and Public Opinion", a panel that will review current policy commitments and provide an overview of public opinion on climate change and public policy options. The panelists are: Christopher Borick, Professor and Director of the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion at Muhlenberg College; Erick Lachapelle, Assistant Professor of the D

EileenDiv recently uploaded this awesome shot of the Russel Center to GLUE's flickr pool. This mural is the largest of the midwest, and every time I see it--whether in person or not--there's a new facet of the mural I get sucked into. The new mural celebrates Detroit's history, especially through the chimera-like tribute to Detroit's Lions, Pistons, Red Wings, and Tigers.

Speaking of athletic tributes, Detroit got a shout-out at the Super Bowl during an awesome Chrysler commercial. With great shots of the city, an endorsement from Eminem, and the slogan "imported from Detroit", millions of Super Bowl watchers got to see a side of Detroit that the media doesn't often publicize....