Amazing Shrinking City (Pittsburgh, Industry: insurance, lofts, crime)

[RockLobster]

As several have noted I believe the first push toward correcting the long standing population decline is having good political leadership in place. This alone is a major obsticle for this city and county. Some recent changes in the city council makeup show some promise but the mayor and couny executive positions are almost a lock election after election by the same party. And worse yet these positions have not been filled by the most politically ,economical or socially creative folks of that party. Oh where to start...

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by Katiana

^^^Agree. And as someone pointed out, Pittsburgh's last boom lasted 60 years. That is not bad. Pretty much two generations of workers had high-paying jobs in the blue collar sector. Then steel was "out". Yes, Pittsburgh needs a boom of some sort again. What they seemed to try to do was capitalize on other aspects that were already there such as education and health care, but obviously, that just isn't cutting it. I don't have the answer to "what" industry, but I think they need something else.

The other thing is that people have to be made to like living there. When the oil industry went bust in Denver in the 80s, it was said that some people were willing to take jobs in fast-food restaurants just to stay there. It wouldn't be impossible in Pittsburgh. Minneapolis is a city with a harsh climate that many people like to live in. Getting people to like Pgh would involve, at a minimum, fixing up the infrastructure, cleaning up the politics (as well as the city), that sort of thing. Many people are willing to live in cities where cost of housing is much higher, so low-cost housing isn't enough.

Thing is, I think a lot of people DO like living here. Pittsburgh is one of the few U.S. cities (New Orleans being another) that actually has a diaspora, which would explain all the Steelers bars in almost every major city. This is all anecdotal, but it seems to me like there are thousands of people all over the country who would love to move back if they had their old steel job waiting for them. I obviously can't link to it, but there's a Pittsburgh photos website, and reading the comments on it left me with this impression. The whole shrinking population came as a result of it being a one-industry town. I know the ketchup industry was and is based here, but you know what I mean.

Minneapolis is a good comparison, what with the weather and the crumbling bridges, both of which are worse in the Twin Cities. Maybe St. Paul would be a better comparison, since they're roughly the same size.

[lifepgh2op]

Originally Posted by creepsinc

I obviously can't link to it, but there's a Pittsburgh photos website, and reading the comments on it left me with this impression.

I believe the comments are on PittsburghSkyline.com - Professional Photographs from the great City of Pittsburgh

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by lifepgh2op

I believe the comments are on PittsburghSkyline.com - Professional Photographs from the great City of Pittsburgh

Thanks. I wasn't sure if it would be breaking the rules. I don't know what to think around here anymore. Also, to avoid the appearance of hijacking, let me say that I think the shrinking of Pittsburgh is slowing down. As gas goes up, more people will move closer in to the city, and there are plenty of neighborhoods waiting to be restored. It's happened all over the country, and if it can happen in Richmond, VA, it can happen anywhere.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by creepsinc

Minneapolis is a good comparison, what with the weather and the crumbling bridges, both of which are worse in the Twin Cities. Maybe St. Paul would be a better comparison, since they're roughly the same size.

A good comparison how? The Twin Cities area is booming. Minneapolis proper's population has been stable for about 30 years with minor fluctuations both upward and downward. St. Paul proper's population has trended upward since 1980. The summers are fairly similar but winters up there make Pittsburgh winters look positively balmy by comparison. And the infrastructure in the area is hardly crumbling either. In fact the place looks brand-new compared to Pittsburgh.

[Katarina Witt]

I have spent a good deal of time in Minneapolis, and I would agree with that assessment.

[BrianTH]

It is true Minneapolis's population has been stable since around 1980 (although for some reason it seemed to go up between 1990 and 2000 and has been estimated to go back down since). But before 1980 it went through the same wrenching population loss as most northern industrial cities, going from a peak of 521,718 in the 1950 Census to 370,951 in the 1980 Census.

What does distinguish Pittsburgh from cities like Minneapolis is the particularly sharp loss of population among young people in Pittsburgh concentrated in the 1980s thanks to the collapse of the steel industry. As we have discussed here before, that particular event has had echo effects through today, but I think if you hold that aside there otherwise isn't much difference in population trends between Pittsburgh and Minneapolis.

I agree Minneapolis feels "newer" than Pittsburgh, however. Which is basically true--from the mid-19th through mid-20th Century, Pittsburgh was a considerably larger city than Minneapolis, and it retains a substantial legacy of architecture and institutions from that era that contributes to its historic feel.

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It is true Minneapolis's population has been stable since around 1980 (although for some reason it seemed to go up between 1990 and 2000 and has been estimated to go back down since). But before 1980 it went through the same wrenching population loss as most northern industrial cities, going from a peak of 521,718 in the 1950 Census to 370,951 in the 1980 Census.

What does distinguish Pittsburgh from cities like Minneapolis is the particularly sharp loss of population among young people in Pittsburgh concentrated in the 1980s thanks to the collapse of the steel industry. As we have discussed here before, that particular event has had echo effects through today, but I think if you hold that aside there otherwise isn't much difference in population trends between Pittsburgh and Minneapolis.

I agree Minneapolis feels "newer" than Pittsburgh, however. Which is basically true--from the mid-19th through mid-20th Century, Pittsburgh was a considerably larger city than Minneapolis, and it retains a substantial legacy of architecture and institutions from that era that contributes to its historic feel.

Minneapolis IS newer, by about a hundred years. That's not what I was talking about.

[creepsinc]

Minneapolis is a river town with a large university presence and minimal light rail. They're doing something right there. Maybe if Giant Eagle can become the next Target, Pittsburgh will be back.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It is true Minneapolis's population has been stable since around 1980 (although for some reason it seemed to go up between 1990 and 2000 and has been estimated to go back down since). But before 1980 it went through the same wrenching population loss as most northern industrial cities, going from a peak of 521,718 in the 1950 Census to 370,951 in the 1980 Census.

What does distinguish Pittsburgh from cities like Minneapolis is the particularly sharp loss of population among young people in Pittsburgh concentrated in the 1980s thanks to the collapse of the steel industry. As we have discussed here before, that particular event has had echo effects through today, but I think if you hold that aside there otherwise isn't much difference in population trends between Pittsburgh and Minneapolis.

I agree Minneapolis feels "newer" than Pittsburgh, however. Which is basically true--from the mid-19th through mid-20th Century, Pittsburgh was a considerably larger city than Minneapolis, and it retains a substantial legacy of architecture and institutions from that era that contributes to its historic feel.

What also distinguishes Pittsburgh from the Twin Cities is that the Pittsburgh metro area is also losing population, or at the very best, is not growing at all in population; whereas the Twin Cities is growing pretty rapidly. It's a lot easier to seed a "back to the city" movement and stabilize the city proper's population when the health of the entire region is in good shape.