Braddock, Pennsylvania was birthed of American industrial wealth: located near Pittsburgh, the town’s population of 20,000 once enjoyed the economic and cultural benefits of being home to a Carnegie steel mill and a free public library, one of the first he constructed. But today Braddock is a nearly-deserted, impoverished and crime-ridden home to 2,500 people, a post-industrial remnant of the bustling city it once was.
The mayor of Braddock, John Fetterman, has gone to great lengths to implement innovative solutions to the town's woes: re-purposing buildings into community centers, green spaces, and group homes, creating an art gallery, building playgrounds, and more. A graduate of the Wharton School, Fetterman is rewarded for his mayoral efforts with a salary of $150 per month. He has reduced the homicide rate to zero during the six years that he's been mayor, through his urban renewal efforts.
Braddock’s website: http://www.15104.cc/
I'll be working with a photographer, Emma Raynes, on this story. Emma and I studied sociocultural anthropology in a master's program at The New School for Social Research. We'll spend a day in Braddock, talking to residents about how Fetterman's reforms have impacted their lives, observing the built environment, and learning about Braddock's history.
The story will focus on how the mayor has implemented these solutions - where and how he obtained the funding, how he was able to mobilize workers or volunteers - as well as what the effects have been, and what he's in the progress of doing.
