Pa. steel town hopes to make green comeback
VANDERGRIFT, Pa. (AP) — Imagine: It's 1895. A steel baron hires New York's Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted to build a town in western Pennsylvania where mill workers can live, work and play. By the turn of the century, Vandergrift's rounded buildings and roads flow along the contours of the Kiskiminetas River.
Reality: Much of what's left of that town is in the imagination.
So 114 years later, Vandergrift residents — from Baby Boomers who grew up during the town's heyday to students as young as their grandchildren — are reviving Olmsted's vision and making the community environmentally sustainable for the 21st century and beyond.
Their goal is to attract people to live or shop in the boutiques of the quaint town of just 5,000 people — which lost residents, jobs and allure along with steel.
From bringing back green spaces paved for parking to seeking how to harness electrical energy from river, Vandergrift is investing millions toward environmentally sustainable revitalization — a concept gaining popularity in Rust Belt towns.
via Pa. steel town hopes to make green comeback.
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