42 essays

Strong Communities

Safety, mobility, housing, schools, and public space: the ordinary conditions that decide whether people can build a life in a place.

Mt. Lebanon firefighters working outside a house at dusk, a ladder on the ground.

Every essay filed under Strong Communities, newest first.

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Oct 29, 2026Whose Community Is It, Anyway?3 min Sep 28, 2026The Return on a Place6 min Sep 25, 2026The Gold Helmet Is About the Firefighters Who Come After Us4 min Jul 30, 2026The E-Bike Problem Is Real.6 min Jul 18, 2026We Are Not Cutting Costs. We Are Consuming Our Inheritance.6 min Jul 3, 2026We the People at 2507 min Jun 4, 2026America at 2504 min May 7, 2026AI Will Not End the World. But It Will Change the Work.10 min Jan 17, 2026The Politics of Demolition3 min Oct 27, 2025The Next-Gen Civic Hero5 min Jul 27, 2025Not Just Voters, But Stewards3 min Jul 25, 2025America Was Built to Reach Outward5 min Jul 16, 2025More Than Just a Road4 min Jul 2, 2025The Measure of a Community Is How It Cares4 min Jun 7, 2025The Commons We Keep: Why Civic Spaces Matter5 min Jun 1, 2025The Coming Squeeze: How the Allegheny County Region Must Prepare for the Coming Era of Federal Austerity5 min May 22, 2025More Than Firefighting: A Year of Rediscovering Purpose in Public Service4 min May 19, 2025Democracy Isn’t a Spectator Sport. Tomorrow, It’s Game Day.2 min May 9, 2025Building Streets for People: A New Vision for Mt. Lebanon and Dormont4 min May 6, 2025Building the Future: Weather, Infrastructure, and a New Mandate for Southwest Pennsylvania6 min Apr 22, 2025The Perennial Wisdom of Earth Day3 min Apr 15, 2025End of the Line Economics: Why Pittsburgh Must Rethink Transit for Growth, Not Nostalgia5 min Apr 10, 2025Municipal Resilience in the Age of Retaliation: Preparing for the Local Impacts of the Trump Tariffs7 min Mar 23, 2025The Problem Isn’t Government, It’s How We Make It Work5 min Mar 7, 2025Building a Stronger Southwest Pennsylvania: A Strategy for Uncertain Times3 min Mar 2, 2025Saving Lives, Struggling for Funding5 min Feb 13, 2025The Promise and Fragility of Republican Ideals3 min Feb 13, 2025When the Federal Government Pulls Back3 min Feb 11, 2025Building the Future: Why America Must Keep Constructing Homes, Roads, Technologies, and Institutions3 min Feb 9, 2025Why Institutions Matter in a Democracy That Feels on the Brink3 min Jan 30, 2025The Power of Local Government: Innovating and Funding for a Resilient Future4 min Jan 28, 2025Investing in Resilience2 min Jan 26, 2025Regionalizing Fire and EMS Services is a No-Brainer5 min Jan 26, 2025Rethinking Zoning to Drive Economic Vibrancy in Suburban America3 min Jan 26, 2025Smaller Footprint Grocery Stores Could Revitalize Downtown America2 min Sep 10, 2023The Significance of Regionalizing Waste Stream Management3 min Jun 28, 2023Safe Streets Create Economic Prosperity4 min Jun 19, 2023Celebrating Pride in Mt. Lebanon4 min Apr 13, 2022Building a More Resilient and Sustainable Community2 min Jan 11, 2022Reimagining Streets for the Future4 min Jan 6, 2022A recommitment to democracy2 min Dec 17, 2021Commissioner’s Column: Community3 min

The ledger · 2021–2026

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Elsewhere in the archive

Effective Government

Whether a public organization can actually do what it says it will, and what it takes to get it there.

Fiscal Stewardship

Long-term obligations, capital planning, and the discipline to pay for the public systems we choose to use.

Democracy & Institutions

Whether people can still act together and finish what they start, in a township or a country. Local competence and national credibility are the same problem at different scales.