When you think of charming sidewalk cafes and bistros, adorable patisseries and streets lined with colorful awnings and pots overflowing with flowers, you're thinking of Pittsburgh, non?
Well, the city's hoping you will. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has set up a $2 million grant program to help give the city of steel a little European flair.
One of the goals of the Paris to Pittsburgh program is to make store and restaurant fronts more transparent, with large window or garage door-like openings that will allow patrons to move freely between the indoor and outdoor spaces. [...]
Under the program, matching grants can be used for a multitude of improvements, including awnings and umbrellas, flower boxes, outdoor tables and chairs, heating lanterns for dining in cooler weather, lighting, signs, landscaping, outdoor music and better access.
To the city, we say bonne chance.
And, hey, it could turn out great -- it's not like we can afford to travel to the real Paris anymore.
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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