For you Pittsburgh City Residents..What signs do you see in your n-hood of being the 5th Poorest City

[By~Tor]

Originally Posted by COPANUT

Say what you want, but when you tear down projects and give Section 8 vouchers so those people can live in other neighborhoods, all you do is spread the problem. Those people will still be out of work. This area needs JOBS, pure and simple.

I have to agree. We have section 8 in my building, and the people in question run drugs and prostitution.... and, of course, do not "work" in any real term...

I'm against the widening of the Section 8 safety net, to begin with. It was meant to help single moms house their kids and get back on their feet, financially.... it was meant to be a temporary assistance, not a lifestyle...

I'm all for bringing back the W.P.A. from the Roosevelt years.... let the underemployed work for the feds, rebuilding our nations' infrastructure... but until they get off their asses and go to work somewhere, cut off the aid after a couple months....

[beeswax]

Originally Posted by RockLobster

...What signs do you see in your city neighborhood of poverty? And to follow up, Have the signs of poverty gotten worse in your part of the city over the past year or two?

I live on the Northside near Allegheny Commons Park. The lower half of the neighborhood, alongside West North Avenue, is great and is in the process of becoming even better. We have both renters and home owners around here. The upper part, higher on the hill, has some problems related to poverty and violence, such as houses in disrepair, garbage strewn on the hillside, and gardens & city trees that are left for dead. However, the hillside has great city views and lots of potential.

For instance, my neighborhood community planning committee is working to clean up old buildings and bring locally-owned businesses back into the area. There's also a group called the Old Timers that has older folks working with the kids in our neighborhood to steer them towards good choices (staying in school, learning, taking positive ownership of themselves and their neighborhood). Wouldn't it be nice if we had neighbors running shops on Federal Street and Brighton again and if some of the teenagers in this neighborhood could work nearby at their neighbor or family's shops?

Signs of positive change that I've observed in the last 11 months include the new library coming in on Federal Street, which broke ground in the spring because the community needs outgrew the older, historic building near the Children's Museum. Our new library should be up and running in 2010. That seems like a long way off, but it is a really positive change for the neighborhood. Another good thing is that famous Steeler Franco Harris owns a gorgeous house in the neighborhood and has a team working to fix it up. They've already repaired the red brick sidewalk in front of the house that looks nice and properly drains the rainwater into the street. And there are lots of community gardens and farmers markets around here that operate regularly, too. That's another good sign for this part of Pittsburgh, I think.

There's still a problem with people indiscriminately throwing their garbage on the sidewalks and streets, that I hope will not be as much of a problem when we get more garbage cans for our neighborhood. This could also be solved with recycling bins next to the garbage cans, too. It is easy to change these things but harder to get people to be less lazy and learn how to do it right. I think that most people on the Northside want better, so I am cautiously optimistic.

As for the poverty, the hillside streets in this part of town are in need of help. People need jobs, need help fixing their houses (and learning to care to fix them), and the neighborhood needs their participation. We can get it sorted out if we all help each other! All in all, the Northside is an undervalued gem in Pittsburgh, and pretty soon, we're going to be top notch and enjoying our Wilson's barbecue with satisfied smiles on our happy little faces.

Come over and check it out for yourself!

[beeswax]

I totally agree with the idea of bringing back the Roosevelt-era W.P.A. It was a brilliant program that helped citizens help themselves and make the country look great at the same time.

Pittsburgh is ripe for this type of program, with lots of people healthy enough to work who are ready to work, and lots of things that need to get done around here.

[sketchbooks]

It's obvious from looking at the city that low wages and underemployment are big factors, but my first thought upon reading that report was that there could be some correlation to the number of older people living on a fixed income here. It would be interesting to see a breakdown by age group or source of income.

By the way, as an artist I am all for bringing back the WPA. Make art as a government job- heck yeah : )

[Pitts64]

This is a working city that built this country. We are not interested in having vast amounts of show money. If you want phony cardboard money people stay in California with all the other weirdos. There are too many people here as it is!

We charge less because we make less and that's the way we like it.......

[shogun221]

Originally Posted by RockLobster

According to US Census figures, City residents have the fifth-lowest median household income among residents of larger cities around the country, at $32,363. Fifth place has us with the the 'cream of the crop' hot spots one would typically think as being the poorest of the poor. Detroit, Cleveland, Miami and Buffalo lead the pack followed by our burgh.

My two questions to us city residents is this. Firstly, What signs do you see in your city neighborhood of poverty? And to follow up, Have the signs of poverty gotten worse in your part of the city over the past year or two?

I'd like to point out that median income alone is not a sufficient indicator of poverty. When you factor in the lower cost of living Pittsburghers enjoy, the overall picture balances out somewhat. That in part explains why the city isn't the bombed-out wasteland the numbers and rankings might indicate.

[dugdogmaster]

Originally Posted by shogun221

I'd like to point out that median income alone is not a sufficient indicator of poverty. When you factor in the lower cost of living Pittsburghers enjoy, the overall picture balances out somewhat. That in part explains why the city isn't the bombed-out wasteland the numbers and rankings might indicate.

Exactly! This article was very misleading, which I think was pointed out earlier in the thread.