Andrew Carnegie Library in Braddock, Pennsylvania
Braddock, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, once boasted a population 0f 20,000 people in the 1920's; it was the site of Andrew Carnegie's first steel mill and the first public library he built. But now the city lost 90% of its population, is crime ridden and its residents fled to other communities to find job security.
Enter John Fetterman the new mayor since 2005 who stands 6 feet 11 inches, weighs over 300 pounds and sports a tatoo on his left arm with the number 15104, Braddock's zip code ,and on the right arm five dates of murders that occurred there. He graduated with a degree from Harvard in Public Policy and initially worked with Americorps to help young adults earn their GED degrees. Recently, he has set about buying up homes (the average price is $6000 and there are some 300 vacant ones ) refurbishing them and then luring artists from around the county to settle there; he is often allowing them to stay rent-free.
This man has raw ambition, vision and drive and inspiring many other US communities to invite artists to help create a cultural infrastructure to stimulate capital development for rejuvenation and growth. Good luck, John!
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