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Press Release
Contact: Carnegie Mellon's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry Presents Comprehensive Report on Ecological Health of Allegheny County Artists Use New Research, Data Collection and Analysis To Evaluate the Region's Health
PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, an interdisciplinary arts research center, will present a report titled "Ecology and Recovery Allegheny County" at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 3, in the College of Fine Arts Great Hall (north wing). The report evaluates the ecological health and vitality of Allegheny County and is the first delivered by an arts institution to suggest strategies for improving the ecological health of a region.
The report is a culmination of five years of work from 3 Rivers 2nd Nature, a team of artists directed by STUDIO fellows Tim Collins and Reiko Goto. During that time, the team collaborated with scientists, architects and engineers to present techniques for preserving, conserving and restoring the region's environmental assets.
The report says uncontrolled development and the downstream impact of upstream development means Allegheny County may have to contend with a century or more of flooding from its rivers, streams and creeks. It also warns that recent development activity — such as steep slope housing, residential development downwind of a coke plant and a proposed riverfront highway — will be detrimental to the county's health. The report also provides recommendations for preserving river corridors.
Report highlights include:
"Only a few arts research centers like the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry can assemble an interdisciplinary team of artists, geologists, botanists, architects, planners, historians, regulatory experts and geographic information specialists to collaborate for this report," said Marge Myers, associate director of the STUDIO. "The five-year project was a significant work of public art that will have a lasting impact and serve the region for year's to come."
The mission of Carnegie Mellon's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, founded by Carnegie Mellon's College of Fine Arts in 1989, is to support interdisciplinary projects that connect the arts to academic disciplines, such as science, technology and humanities, that impact local and global communities. Additional environment-related STUDIO projects are MapHub, Riverboat Life and Hays Woods.
To obtain a copy of this report or for additional information contact Marge Myers at 412-268-3451. For any other information, contact Eric Sloss at 412-268-5765 or ecs@andrew.cmu.edu.
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"Ecosystems don't conform to political boundaries," said Heather Sage, director of outreach for Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture). "This work emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of resources at the regional level, and the need to rise above the barriers that politics often create when we work to improve the quality of life in our diverse communities."
The artists used various methods to collect data. They were the first private or government environmental agency to evaluate the ecological health of the region from a watershed scale (the region that drains into a river, river system or other body of water). They also armed local citizens with data-collection devices to obtain information about waterways in their neighborhoods. Some of the data was included in a National Academies' National Research Council report that suggests a comprehensive, watershed-based approach is needed to effectively address water quality problems in southwestern Pennsylvania.