A security perimeter around the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where 1,200 delegates will meet, will force downtown companies to re-route employees and deliveries during the summit. Transit routes and parking garages may be affected. City public schools and some colleges will be closed both days of the summit, and local summit organizers have asked downtown business to consider allowing employees to work offsite those days. Downtown hotels and other businesses serving the convention center have been asked to develop plans to insure that staffers can get to work. The Allegheny Conference on Community Development, which is spearheading the city’s G-20 planning, has posted information for employers online.
Visit Pittsburgh, the city’s tourism bureau, has created an online press room for the 3,000 journalists expected to cover the meeting. “As companies contribute information, the site is becoming more robust.
We’re encouraging them to tell their stories,” says Phil Cynar, a spokesman for the Allegheny Conference. He adds that local companies like
Bayer Corporation are taking advantage of media attention to the city by tying their own web content to the G-20
meeting.
Other institutions are following suit. The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon University have joined forces to create www.edsmedspittsburgh.org, a site highlighting the re-invention of the region’s economy. The Mattress Factory, a contemporary art museum, has invited interested users to join a “real time, crowd-curated” site.
Source: Phil Cynar, Allegheny Conference
Writer: Chris OToole