Excellent article on Pittsburgh (Duquesne, Dallas: fit in, 2013, construction)

[zman63]

This person wrote how I see it. It is still true a few years later.

Rust Belt Realities: Pittsburgh Needs New Leaders, New Ideas and New Citizens | Newgeography.com

[jea6321]

I would disagree with much of the article compared to today.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by jea6321

I would disagree with much of the article compared to today.

What would you disagree with? I think most of the article holds true today other than maybe aside from electing Bill Peduto. He is an unknown. Things will either begin to change or stay the same.

[jea6321]

I dont see a major shift coming due to Peduto, but maybe. If his vision for having us be the new Portland has any weight, we may end up with an influx of new people coming this way. But again, I doubt it.

what I do see is construction projects of new housing going on all over the city. vacancy rates at close to zero and high demand, price increases for housing/retail space in much of the city. If we were on a such a terrible downswing that would not be present.

I dont see us as a boom town, but I think we will continue on the slow steady rise we have seen for some time to come. yes we have an aging work force, but we also have numerous universities with graduates who will have more opportunity to stay as the older generation retires. I know multiple people who left for greener pastures to return to pittsburgh for better quality of life ( im one of them)

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by jea6321

I dont see a major shift coming due to Peduto, but maybe. If his vision for having us be the new Portland has any weight, we may end up with an influx of new people coming this way. But again, I doubt it.

I hope not, let Portland be Portland and let Pittsburgh be Pittsburgh.


The idea of thousands of new youthful homeless "travelers" bumming money on our streets because this is the new "hip" place to be just isn't going to be tolerated that well by most of the folks around here.

Pittsburgh's personality isn't based on "free thinking" and "carefree" but on hard work and industriousness. Pittsburgh has been called the "most Presbyterian city on the planet", and that just doesn't fit in with this idea.


Maybe the outlying burbs around town can unite into "old Pittsburgh" with the old frame of mind if the center core decides to be Portland east.

[infoscott]

This looks to me like another article that beats up on Pittsburgh because it hasn't restored itself to its former glory. Yes, we all know that Eds & Meds have pulled us out of the depths, and not withstanding the baby boomers hitting retirement, probably not the recipe for Pittsburgh's long term revitalization. But also like many other articles like it, doesn't suggest a solution other than "support small business".

Regional government can't really support small business other than remove barriers for small business to succeed. It can't realistically try to draw in big business to the region, because to do that it competes with every other locality doing the same thing. The reason why the Dallas metroplex now has the majority of Fortune 500 headquarters is because of their low taxes and business friendly stance, the same can not be said of Pittsburgh.

What Pittsburgh needs to flout, that it has still held onto, is its logistic infrastructure and it's access to research universities. Cities like Austin and Boston have leveraged these advantages while Pittsburgh has not. We are not yet ready for the manufacturing that is ready to return to this country through the reshoring movement. Returning manufacturing jobs is the business PGH must go after!

My personal preference is to grow the green jobs that we have already in the region and attract more green manufacturers. I moved from Dallas to Pittsburgh almost two years ago precisely to help in that effort. We need more people to do that!

[pman]

Where Wages Have Grown the Most (and Least) Since the Recovery - Richard Florida - The Atlantic Cities

seems Pittsburgh held its own. if pittsburgh were to enable portland's food truck scene that would be a good thing

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by infoscott

What Pittsburgh needs to flout, that it has still held onto, is its logistic infrastructure and it's access to research universities. Cities like Austin and Boston have leveraged these advantages while Pittsburgh has not. We are not yet ready for the manufacturing that is ready to return to this country through the reshoring movement. Returning manufacturing jobs is the business PGH must go after!

Not sure how good is Pittsburgh's logistic infrastructure. Rivers are still good for moving coal, but speed seems to be the essences now. The railroad infrastructure legacy is good but hilly terrains are not favored for them and "Rails to Trails" seems to suggest that only some rail is needed. What I think Pittsburgh still lacks is a good intra- and inter- city highways. And air travel is becoming more important but access to the airport from anywhere in the metro area is not good.

The universities are useful so Pittsburghers should stop attacking them as "free-loaders". I'd even try to get Duquesne up to speed in research and have Pittsburgh create its own "Research Triangle" within the city which NC has been so successful at.

My personal preference is to grow the green jobs that we have already in the region and attract more green manufacturers. I moved from Dallas to Pittsburgh almost two years ago precisely to help in that effort. We need more people to do that!

But what is the most promising industry? Fracking. I have my doubts about "green jobs" as it's mostly a leftist dream rather than based on sound economics.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

I'd even try to get Duquesne up to speed in research and have Pittsburgh create its own "Research Triangle" within the city which NC has been so successful at.

They're all on the same street, so the triangle part isn't going to be easy.

[markson33]

The article, at best, is outdated. There is a fair amount of that grass-roots development and investment going on in Pittsburgh.

The article was also written prior to the Marcellus boom really getting underway.

Today, Pittsburgh has a very diverse economy. Its no longer just eds and meds.