English: Flag of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Image created by uploader based on and image at the North American Vexillological Association web site and other images on the web. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last Tuesday, we went to the ballot box and Bill Peduto was ellected to be the next mayor of Pittsburgh.  One of the reasons why I think Peduto is a great choice for Pittsburgh is the amount of time he spends studying other cities .

I  have personally had the opportunity to learn about cities that are similar to Pittsburgh through GLUE (the Great Lakes Urban Exchange).  GLUE was founded by a Pittsburgh native and a Detroit native with the purpose of bringing together folks from rust-belt cities, cities that are all struggling with similar post-industrial revolution problems.  I’ve attended GLUE conferences in Buffalo, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh and had the opportunity to learn about how other cities are tackling problems that Pittsburgh is also trying to deal with.  [Some of the GLUE supporters continue to share articles and ideas on the GLUE Facebook page here.  We are working to put together a future GLUE conference – keep an eye on the GLUE Facebook page for details]. Continue reading →