Thrival Innovation and Music Festival

Pittsburgh has gotten a lot of attention recently from Uber's launch of its first fleet of autonomous vehicles. However, this is only the latest milestone in a long history of innovation in transportation and infrastructure. From railroads and bridges to trolley cars and airports, Pittsburgh has been at the center of many transitions, both good and bad. Today, the city's (usually) positive repuation around its bridges and rivers are juxtaposed with notoriety for unintuitive roads, crumbling infrastructure, bad drivers, and poor accessibility.

We invite Stan Caldwell (Executive Director of Traffic21), Sean Luther (Executive Director of Envision Downtown), Ian Neumaier (Founder of Find Some Flow), and Allison Plummer (Co-founder of Transit-Source), to discuss these changes and their significance for the future.

Cities change. Neighborhoods evolve. These are all widely accepted truisms; however,  in communities that have experienced disinvestment followed by new development, there is often a struggle to form a shared identity between long-time residents and newcomers. But there is an opportunity to bridge this gap by recognizing that the existing “authentic community” is (and was) never truly static. By viewing our cities and neighborhoods as constantly evolving places of innovation marked by the fingerprints of individuals from all walks of life, a new sense of authenticity can be discovered. Ray Gastil, Director of City Planning at the City of Pittsburgh, Dr. Daniel Campo, Professor in Architecture and Planning from Morgan State University, Janera Solomon, Executive Director of the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, and Matthew Lister, Director at Gehl Architects will explore this topics in depth and share perspectives from a variety of viewpoints.

Transforming from  "Steel City" to "the best place to live" and "Hot new food town," Pittsburgh has rebranded itself as a leader in living innovation.  Dr. Vonda Wright, Orthopaedic Surgeon, author and change-maker shares her vision for transforming Pittsburgh from "Healthcare city" to the "healthiest city" by harnessing our technology, community and corporate power to build a city that lives more.

She is joined by digital health evangelist, Nick Adkins, BikePGH Executive Director Scott Bricker, City of Pittsburgh Chief Resilience Officer Grant Ervin, and Fitt.co founder Anthony Vennare.

Since Pittsburgh's anointment as America's #1 food city, there has been much celebration about the ascension of the city's culinary culture and community. This is great, however, there's a need for an open and transparent conversation about what this actually means long term, and if this type of notoriety is sustainable in the long-term. How do you build from here? What are the necessary steps needed to maintain the momentum? Does everyone have access to these benefits (short answer: no)? It doesn’t just end with food. The culture extends itself into a culture of microbreweries and craft beer that industry leaders that also make Pittsburgh their home.

Beyond education and medicine — commonly referred in Pittsburgh as “eds and meds” — the art scenes have been transformative to the social fabric of entire cities. But what can separate one art town from another? Why is one city “better” for artists than the next? Is it talent, or perhaps a network? What are the key ingredients to sustaining and supporting an arts community outside of traditional hubs such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco?

Okay, so most cities aren’t Austin, TX. In fact, there’s only one of those. And virtually no one still needs introduced to South By Southwest or Austin City Limits — or Coachella, or Lollapalooza, for that matter. So let’s move past the typical examples of music industry stalwarts in a handful of American cities and begin to figure out what those who are off the beaten path are doing to make their voices heard, forge a unique identity, champion themselves as destination venues, and offer their own contribution to a rapidly changing marketplace.