Lisa Austin, Civitas

Creating the Made in Erie Marketplace

Erie needs bold changes to reduce blight, encourage homesteading and preservation, improve our collective finances, and make the city safer, block by block.

Diminish Blight by Repopulating Erie  

An overview of Erie's effort to reverse the decline of the city's urban core. 

Lisa Austin on how the EMTA board needs transit stakeholders.

Civitas presents an "interview" with The Congress for New Urbanism in mind.

How a design competition is creating and shaping local business. 

John Nordquist, former Milwaukee mayor and author of The Wealth of Cities, comes to Erie.

Civitas members Lisa Austin and Stephen Sonnenberg discuss the importance of porches in fostering healthy communities. 

With crime, poverty, and taxes all on the rise in Erie, spending money to save the Viaduct may appear to be a misuse of limited available resources. However, the Viaduct is a good investment, because it holds promise for revitalization and will maintain East Avenue's connection to the surrounding areas. 

Good design makes business sense, but how do designers make products look "better", and what can Erie do to attract more designers? 

#BuyLocal, #SupportLocal

The imminent closing of Shur-fine on West Eighth Street will result in a food desert.

New Orleans' Crescent City Farmers Marketplace and what Erie could learn from it. 

Four ways to improve Erie.