Guide to the Nine Mile Run Greenway Project Records, 1945-2005 AIS.2006.19A

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Nine Mile Run Greenway Project Records
Creator
STUDIO for Creative Inquiry
Collection Number
AIS.2006.19A
Extent
14.33 Linear Feet (16 boxes and 5 oversized folders)
Date
1945-2005
Date
1995-2000
Abstract
The Nine Mile Run Greenway Project was a brownfield reclamation project between 1995-2000 in the City of Pittsburgh, Pa. The project was created and coordinated by Reiko Goto, Bob Bingham, and Tim Collins of Carnegie Mellon University's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry. The records contain material that documents the Nine Mile Run area's transformation from a brownfield site to a usable urban space that includes both housing and natural environments.
Language
English .
Author
Nickie Puit.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

The Nine Mile Run Greenway Project Records consist of planning and outreach materials related to the brownfield redevelopment of the Nine Mile Run area. This stream, which is situated in the City of Pittsburgh, flows into the Monongahela River across from the borough of Homestead. The project lasted between 1995 and 2000 under the direction of Tim Collins and Reiko Goto, who were fellows at Carnegie Mellon University's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at the time.

Nine Mile Run is a historic stream valley identified by Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr. in 1910 for its beauty as well as its wastewater. By 1928, the valley was selected by influential Pittsburghers for a city park but was subsequently purchased by a steel industry slag disposal firm, the Homestead Steel Company. Between 1930 and 1970 this area was used as a disposal location by Pittsburgh-area mills resulting in a 21-story high pile of slag, a by-product of steel making. The pile covered 238 acres along Nine Mile Run from the Squirrel Hill Tunnel to the Monongahela River shore.

In 1997 the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) of the City of Pittsburgh acquired the site from Duquesne Slag, a subsequent owner, and proposed to build 1,200 residential housing units and develop 100 acres of public space. The site's entire surface area was projected to be surrounded by a contiguous public space along the stream from Frick Park to the Monongahela River. This 238 acre acquisition is the largest in history of the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the project included the largest stream restoration in the United States by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The redevelopment of the Nine Mile Run area was a collaborative effort between artists, scientists, engineers, historians, and planners in conjunction with the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, a research center in the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. The general objective of the project was to develop a transferable model for use in reclaiming other urban brownfield sites.

At the close of the redevelopment process the environment was beginning to show signs of cleaner water. For the first time in 100 years three game fish (smallmouth bass, striped bass, and sauger) were found in the creek along with several other species of minnows and crayfish. The remediation of this area did not end with the project however; in the spring of 2001 the Nine Mile Run Watershed Council was created with the responsibility of conserving Nine Mile Run. The Nine Mile Run Watershed Council consists of both the City of Pittsburgh and upstream community members.

The two major actors in this project were Tim Collins and Reiko Goto. Collins is an artist-research fellow at the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University. His academic interests are focused around art and environmental change which can be seen in this project and, more recently, 3 Rivers 2nd Nature, both of which he co-directed with Reiko Goto. Goto's academic interests focus on ecological art projects, which can encompass both redevelopment and installation works.

Scope and Content Notes

The Nine Mile Run Greenway Project Records consist of correspondence, reports, financial records, minutes, outreach materials, journal articles, workshop planning and implementation files, photographic materials, recorded interviews and meetings, moving image recordings of tours and programs, and maps. The material mainly dates between 1995-2000.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Previous Citation

Nine Mile Run Greenway Project Records, 1945-2005, AIS.2006.19A, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Nine Mile Run Greenway Project Records, 1945-2005, AIS.2006.19A, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Nickie Puit from January-June 2013.

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into 11 series:

Series I. Correspondence

Series II. Research Data and Reports Collected

Series III. Financial Material

Series IV. Minutes and Agendas

Series V. Outgrowth Projects

Series VI. Outreach Presentations and Programs

Series VII. Project Planning Material

Series VIII. Reference Material

Series IX. Workshops

Series X. Audio-Visual Material

Series XI. Maps

Acquisition Information

Gift of Carnegie Mellon University in 2006.

Related Material

Three Rivers Second Nature Project Records, 1948-2005, AIS.2006.19B, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.). City Planning Commission
    • Pennsylvania State University
    • United States. Army Corps of Engineers. Pittsburgh District
    • Nine Mile Run Greenway Project (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • United States. Environmental Protection Agency
    • Allegheny County (Pa.). Health Department
    • Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh
    • University of Pittsburgh
    • Carnegie-Mellon University
    • STUDIO for Creative Inquiry
    • Summerset at Frick Park (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Allegheny County Sanitary Authority
    • Carnegie Museum of Natural History
    • Chester Environmental (Monroeville, Pa.)
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.). Water Department. Laboratory

    Personal Names

    • Gotò„, Reiko
    • Bingham, Bob (Robert C.)
    • Collins, Tim (Timothy M.)
    • Lyon, Sean

    Geographic Names

    • Nine Mile Run (Pa.)

    Genres

    • Floppy disks
    • CD-ROMs
    • Video recordings
    • Videocassettes
    • Audiotapes
    • Correspondence
    • Minutes
    • Maps

    Other Subjects

    • Hazardous waste site remediation -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Brownfields -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Reclamation of land -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Community development -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Parks -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Real estate development -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Factory and trade waste -- Environmental aspects -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Soil pollution -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Water -- Pollution -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Plant reintroduction -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Land use, Urban -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Urban renewal -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Riparian restoration -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Wildlife reintroduction -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Wetland restoration -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Social action
    • Environment

Container List