EVENT: Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 21, 2008, for the Fifth Annual Walk and Dine: a downtown(Pittsburgh)living tour. Make sure you check out www.DowntownPittsburgh.com for event details and to order your tickets. You can also order tickets by calling the PDP office at (412) 566-4190.

EVENT: Brighton Heights Chocolate House Tour, Sunday May 18, 1-5. BrightonHeights.org

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY Brooklyn Brownstone beyond your budget? Here's an 1859 townhome in a historic district for $164,900. Six rooms, marble bath, AC and more! Rent it now and save it for retirement. DETAILS

I'm here in Brooklyn, New York. Statistics released this morning show that foreclosures are up in the country, but also in New York (which many thought could escape the national housing crisis). Of the five boroughs, Staten Island is faring the worst, and Brooklyn the best. Pittsburgh of course is also suffering in this respect (called "undervalued" and "safe" a few short months ago). Still after years of construction investment in high-end residential properties, New Yorker's with less than high-end incomes are facing paying increasing percentages of their incomes to rental housing, and Pittsburgh remains quite affordable. I am able in part to finance my existence in New York with rental properties in Pittsburgh. While Pittsburgh won't escape the housing crisis, it is far from being among the hardest hit areas and investments there remain a viable option for those in higher-priced markets to supplement their income.

A web site called WalkScore lets you enter your address and be scored on the walkability of your neighborhood. Putting in my East Allegheny address, I get an 82. A random Arch Street address nets a 77. The 15212 zip code, however gets only a 43. My sister north suburban address is in the 30s, while the Shadyside zip code gets an 88. If your in the market for a home, the walk score is a good way to judge how convenient transportation will be, how easy it will be to walk outside and get the things you need and how much you'll need excercize equipment, a car or a gyme membership! Check it out by entering an address at http://www.walkscore.com

Finding Allegheny Allegheny has been a part of Pittsburgh for a century now and its identity has to some degree ceased to exist except in a few neighborhood names, an unappreciated center and as a neighborhood in the “Northside” of Pittsburgh.

Allegheny took longer to settle than Pittsburgh, but in the mid Nineteenth century historical accounts noted that prominent Pittsburghers preferred to live in “suburbs” like Allegheny.

Today we think of Allegheny more in terms of a central city than a suburb. The part of Allegheny closest to the river has become little more than an extension of downtown Pittsburgh.

This past year has seen much discussion over what’s to become of Allegheny’s Center, now known as Allegheny Center. Talks of new parks and “re-connecting the grid” abound. Yet in an area where countless people had businesses, worked, shopped and lived, only a handful of institutions have ownership stake in Allegheny Center today. “re-connecting the grid” will not be able to change that and only bring 21st century auto traffic into an area originally defined in the Nineteenth century.

Its true, there’s no sign of the Allegheny of 1850 there today, and even little of the Allegheny of 1900. But why not bring a little of the history back?

I’d like to throw a twist out there on an earlier suggestion, that of reconstructing the market house. Not the market house that many old timers remember, but a market house in a structure that would reach back to the original town. Rebuilding a building to replicate the original town hall would both take Allegheny back to her roots a market to bring life back into Allegheny.

The reconstructed building need not be on its original spot—the old Buhl Planetarium is there, it could be anywhere in Allegheny Center and there are plenty of spots where this building might fit. If it were constructed close to the place where the farmer’s market is held in the East Commons, that institution could simply be moved inside for fresh produce year-round.

Commemorating the anniversary of Allegheny’s annexation and approaching Pittsburgh’s 250th birthday, looking back before our own memories, before the age of steel to the age of canals and glass, grazing land and ship building will provide the best foresight into the future. Rebuilding the City Hall as a market would help provide this window for Allegheny.

Homes near transit are still selling! Read all about it!

I heard recently about a University graduate who was hired by a company which opened an office in Pittsburgh for no other reason than the fellow they hired didn't want to move. That says a lot for Pittsburgh and a lot for the importance for companies in being somewhere employees want to live.

Along those lines, I had an interesting exchange with someone in Memphis, Tennessee recently. We were discussing Memphis and its attributes. This person seemed to like her city, but it couldn't, in her opinion, top Pittsburgh. "I love Pittsburgh," she said, "though Memphis has its charms I can't imagine someone trading Pittsburgh for it."

This person obviously had been to Pittsburgh in recent times as it was clear any opinions she had weren't outdated. As I've discussed before, there are lots of people out there who love Pittsburgh and would love to live here if the opportunities were presented. To many of those moving here it might be the lure of an affordable market, yet here was someone in an equally affordable market who still thought well of Pittsburgh and its possibilities.

There are some out there with enough wealth that they can move here and have enough of a financial cushion that finding purposeful employment can take sometime. Still, most can't be lured by cost of living or even quality of life alone. They need an opportunity to bring them here. Its only when an opportunity in Pittsburgh can be weighed with an opportunity elsewhere that we'll get a substantial number of people looking at Pittsburgh as a real option.

For this reason, research should be done on just how well potential residents like Pittsburgh and the results presented to companies who need to be where employees want to live.

I just toured a house with some folks who I believe had been on the Deutschtown House Tour. It soon became apparent these folks had minimal appreciation for old houses and instead wanted to remove all the interior walls to create large, modern spaces. I really wish people who appreciated the antique nature of our homes could be found to live in them. I don't see much point in living like a Victorian, but I don't understand the desire to make these old townhomes look like a downtown condo with an old stairway. There's a certain charm in the antique, and unfortunately that seems lost on many of today's urban homebuyers. I'm big on city life, but there are those who are better suited to the suburbs. If you want big expanses of space, better to build new and slap in an old mantle.

If your house is listed at the high end of the pricing range and it hasn't sold, never fear--it could sell soon. According to an article in today's Post-Gazette, appreciation last month in the region topped fifteen percent. Sales, however were down. Is there a mass rush to buy property in Pittsburgh? There's some of that, but I suspect because of a tightening by lenders means the median price may be up because the middle and upper range houses are selling faster than those on the lower end of the price range. This reminds me of a cartoon I saw on a placemat in an East German restaurant in San Francisco. A girl sat slouched on a rock under sunshine and surrounded by flowers thinking about how to mentally make sunshine and flowers a bad thing. Yes folks, fifteen percent appreciation can't be all or even half bad.

On an urelated matter copper theives are still at it and now targeting Mount Lebanon and some other suburbs Watch the news story

Buy a Copper-Free Sticker for your window

More apartments will soon be available downtown as the Century Building is converted to accomodate rental units ranging in price from $525 to $1150. The building has long been one of my favorite and is ideally situated for use as a residential building. It's a half block from the Benedum and a half block from the Seventh Street Bridge, and will be steps away from the new grocery planned for the space at Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Seventh.

The other great building I'd eally like to see rehabbed (shown) is at the corner of Liberty and Seventh. I believe the use is already residential, but it definitely has that "signature" building quality and could use a restoration. There's even a building designed with this structure in mind on Market Street in San Francisco.

Yesterday Pop City Media was host to a panel discussion dealing largely with the reality and future of Pittsburgh. While each panelist had interesting insight, nothing could make ears perk up like they did when Warhol director Tom Sokolowski stood up and said something to the effect of Bob O’Connor’s death having been the best thing to that's happened to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately Sokolowski didn’t have the microphone when he was making his comments, but I would love to have heard more of what he had to say and hope he’s invited to a future panel.

O’Connor’s name was first brought up by Michael Edwards, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. Edwards applauded the former mayor’s simple vision of a clean and safe city. He also echoed a notion I’ve had for some time, that there’s nothing wrong with native Pittsburghers leaving. It’s only with the experience of other cities that many come to realize what a great city Pittsburgh is. The problem for us is a lack of energy and talent flowing in to replace them.

Lenore Blum, a professor of computer science at CMU seemed to disagree with Edwards when she lamented that only five percent of graduates stay in Pittsburgh, a percentage much lower than say Stanford. I suspect there was not the disagreement there might have appeared to be as it seems Edwards and Blum were talking about two different groups of people. Edwards might have meant the children of Pittsburghers and Blum students born elsewhere.

All the panelists seemed to agree there’s a buzz of sorts in Pittsburgh now we haven’t felt before, at least not recently. We’re on the verge of being in a happening place. I have myself observed that ten years ago it was hard to find a student or young person who didn’t want to move from Pittsburgh. I remember reminding one acquaintance of the availability of affordable housing here maybe ten years ago, to which I heard “you have your house, I’ll have a life.”

We don’t live in that Pittsburgh anymore. Now I hear many students—familiar with San Francisco and New York-- and young people say they would like to stay in Pittsburgh if the opportunity presented itself. Google recently opened its office here and gave as a reason that its employees wanted to live here. We may not realize it, but we’ve won half the battle already. Yet we continue to aim marketing efforts at students, when perhaps we’d get further by trying to get across to companies that the educated workforce that’s often tough to entertain likes Pittsburgh. With CMU ranking at the top of computer science schools to some degree the new Pittsburgh is here, they want to stay, but are often forced to leave. If we could get the message out to corporate America that potential employees want to live in Pittsburgh, that could at least put us on the radar for location scouts.

This could be a worthwhile project for Carol Coletta, President and CEO of a group called CEOs for cities. The only one to travel for the presentation, Coletta advocated catering to the retiring boomers, who large in number, also like much of what young workers like—condo life and a lively downtown. More, Coletta noted Pittsburgh's head start in green building, but sadly a fact that's been lost and the image shed to other cities "because your mayor is not engaged."

Oh, Blum also noted that to her knowledge, the CMU campus has never been visited by a Mayor. Mr. Ravenstahl may take note that it might be a good start to ask them to stay.

Finally Dr. Eric Beckman, the Chief Science Officer for a company he founded called Cohera Medical talked about a Silicon Valley misnomer-that the tech companies exist there because of advances made at Stanford. Beckman says instead its because Stanford teaches scientists to be entrepreneurs, that the region provides ways to connect scientists with business people and because there’s financing for projects that may not be much more than an idea scribbled on a napkin.

Grant Oliphant moderated the event and started out with a monologue on how we as Pittsburgh see our self. He quoted Jospeh Jaworsky from his book Syncronicity “We do not describe the world we see, but we see the world we describe.” That may sound like power of positive thinking garble, but with that in mind let me end with a quote from Lewis Mumford: "Mind takes form in the city; and in turn, urban forms condition mind."

Oh, and thank you Eve Picker for arranging such an important discussion.

Bicyclists don't want to live on the hills. Young homebuyers are often without autos--foot and bike primarily and if necessary transit. They want to live where they can get around town easily on a bike. No matter what the price, homes on a hill are out of the question.

Tonight at a meeting of the Pittsburgh Climate Change Initiative I heard of an innovation I was not aware of... a pully system to get bikes up hills. "They have them in Europe," I was told.

This would completely open up new worlds for Pittsburgh's bicyclists and bring more affordable housing within their reach.

If you have a climate change suggestion, there are several meetings coming up. Visit the Pittsburgh Cliumate Change Initiative on the web

I've wanted to have a half bath on the first floor for some time now, but without tearing out the back staircase there is no room for it. There is a space under the front staircase where there's enough room for a toilet, but not a sink. I thought about having a urinal and a sink installed, but it seems a lot of bother for half the usefulness! I heard about the great toilets in Japan (where space is at a premium) with sinks on the top of the toilet tank. I presumed it was a special toilet that I'd have to ship from Japan for who knows how much, but alas, there is light! The device is rather an adjustable retrofit sink that will fit over most any toilet tank! It uses water right from the tank allowing you to pee, fush and rinse without using extra water. The best part, it's only $89 plus shipping! If you have a space that's not quite big enough, take advantage of an improvisation that Japan has known for years and save water too! LINK

Photo:Retail businesses in residential buildings help New Hope, PA thrive with sidewalk traffic making the area attractive to residents and visitors alike.

Neighbors Chime In On Zoning

Respondents to a recent City Home News survey like the idea of having small shops and other businesses being opened in residential buildings. From Greenwich Village to Savannah, small shops and offices in residential buildings help to keep a city healthy and vibrant. Good examples here are Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside as well as Craig Street and Atwood Street in Oakland.

Eighty-eight percent of readers responded "yes" to the question of "Many cities have small shops mixed into urban neighborhoods, sometimes with boutiques in old houses. Should this be encouraged/allowed in Pittsburgh?" Just eleven percent responded "no."

Opposition to commercial uses in Pittsburgh partially comes from the idea that an existing commercial business would buy up houses and tear them down for parking if the houses were zoned for commercial uses. There are many examples of this happening. The solution may be to create a new zoning category for small retail businesses that don't occupy more than the typical ground floor square footage of a typical house, say 1,000 SF. They should not allowed to accomodate for parking, with the business relying primarily on foot traffic.

Another possibility could be an ordinance allowing artists who work in their home to hang a shingle and sell their products from their living room. This could apply to the entire city or just specific districts.

Also creating additional historic districts and protecting buildings from demolition could allow for commercial uses, encourage lively neighborhoods and prevent a suburbanization effect when properties are demolished for parking.

I agree with the majority of respondents when they say shops should be able to open in residential buildings, because single-use neighborhoods--places where there is primarily or exclusively housing-- is a suburbanizing affect of another sort. Photo: Imagine how Chestnut Street could benefit from small shops and galleries in the homes...

One of the great experiences in life can be bringing an old house back from the edge of oblivion. Its increasingly difficult these days to find a house with enough character to invest a lot of time and energy in. Dunn Real Estate currently has a home listed that in my opinion, has what it takes (if you do) to be a great home. Its a Victorian with a central hall, only four rooms and an attic, but the rooms are of a decent size. It needs everything from the interior to the exterior, but all of the details and charm are intact (if you can see through the mess). Not only that, but there's a view of downtown Pittsburgh. Check it out at Dunnrealtor.com or drive by 840 Vista Street in East Allegheny/Spring Hill.

Most respondents to a recent City Home News blog poll chose a food co-op over major grocery chains as their most wanted neighborhood addition. Thirty-one percent of respondents chose the co-op compared to twenty-five percent who chose Trader Joe’s. The chain called Wegmans tied with Whole Foods for third place, both with eleven percent. Giant Eagle Marketplace and ALDI tied for fourth place, each with nine percent. Two percent chose the “other” category. Forty four readers voted in the poll.

I had been aware of how much watering all these flowers was adding to the water bill, but never really thought there was something that could be done about it. This weekend I found an article about collecting rainwater. I thought about it for a minute and couldn't quite comprehend how exactly one does this. Yet, even a small city townhouse the amount of water that goes onto the roof and down the spout would seem considerable. Placing a (covered) plastic barrel at the bottom of your downspout with an overflow hole or hose at the top would likely allow the collection of enough water to at least keep the plants watered. These systems could also help in seperating rain water from sewer water in a city that has only one line in most of it.

Collecting rainwater isn't new of course. I remember a house on Ohio River Boulevard that had a large barrel in the attic that held a water supply before the days of indoor plumbing. A windmill ran a pump that sent the rainwater collected to the attic. A large underground cavern held the rainwater. "Rainbarrels" were also commonplace yard "ornaments" before the days of indoor plumbing.

I haven't tried this yet and I don't have a good idea of where one can buy a large plastic barrel locally. There are a number on this web site starting at about $109.00 plus shipping. If anyone knows where to purchase a rainbarrel locally or has a rainwater-collecting system, please let me know.

The Wall Street Journal recently publiched an article about green building running head into historic preservation. I have two basic thoughts on this. First, you don't have to get carried away with either, and second, like historic preservation, green living is a mindset rather than a strict set of guidelines that must be adhered to.

Regarding the article the author fails to consider that restoration itself is a green practice because it involves recycling and hey, you can have a much greater impact recycling a home than you can a plastic bottle. More, in the case of townhomes, I would be an uninsulated townhome attached on two sides could use less energy per square foot that a fully insulated house with five sides (roof) exposed. Its also about the size of your living space. An uninsulated smaller space will use less energy than a green palace that's way oversized.

Saving energy is great, but I don't think we need to get really crazy with the energy-saving stuff. Putting windmills in the yard, solar panels on the roof and collecting rainwater is nice, but doing the little things, insulating the attic and filling cracks matters most. There's a diminishing return when you go too far beyond that. Remember by living in an old house instead of a new one you're already keeping alot of debris out of a landfill.

I had replaced some of the windows in my home, and while they aren't bad now I wish I hadn't. I wasn't aware of the alternatives available then, and as the article points out there are even more available now. A company called Jeld-wen will create a new sash for old frames that's insulated. A local company called Allied Millworks will also build a sash to fit an old frame. No, in terms of energy-efficiency, they might not be as good as replacement windows with frames, but in terms of historic preservation they're not as good as old single-pane windows with wavy glass.

They are a good way to embrace two worthwhile fields of thought.

Western Pennsylvania and Ohio dominate a new list of the most affordable towns to live in. This ranking doesn't deal with cities specifically. Smaller communities near Pittsburgh include Penn Hills, West Mifflin and Brentwood. Maple Heights, Ohio
outside Cleveland also made the list as did towns in New York State and Michigan. My advice? Why live in Penn Hills when the City of Pittsburgh is so affordable? As Ed Koch once asked, "Have you ever lived in the suburbs? It's wasting your life."