Metropolis, Large City, Small City, or Mountain Town? (Pittsburgh, Washington: neighborhoods, college)

[Fiddlehead]

Hey all,

I have been trying to imagine Pittsburgh in my minds eye. The "Gotham City" like skyline suggests metropolis, the metro area stats say large city, the city proper stats say small city, and a recent poster described it as sort of a "Mountain Town" (Asheville? Blackburg? Missoula? Boise?) because of the greenery, hills, and isolation.

Which description do you think fits best, and why?

[gallacus]

Small city.

[WILWRadio]

A big little city that is similar to Cincinnati in some respects. Both cities have dozens of small to medium sized suburbs and neighborhoods that seem to have very distinct cultures separate of the city and metro area. No doubt this is due to the older populations that exist in these communities many of which are direct descendants of immigrants from their parents native homeland.

[highway29south]

Small downtown, larger suburbs- some city, urban like, others residential family oriented. Hilly and isolated are also true. From three directions, you cannot get into the city without crossing a bridge, going through a tunnel or both. Mt. Washington, a popular area to live, is right next to downtown over the river.

[BrianTH]

I'd say Pittsburgh is a small wedge of metropolis next to an overgrown college town surrounded by a smallish city shaped like a pasta bowl wrapped in a medium-large suburban area surrounded by strings of small towns and rural areas. Then the whole thing is thrown down and smashed into pieces and reassembled like one of those broken-pottery mosaics but on a lumpy surface.

I assume the nature of Pittsburgh is now clear.

[Fiddlehead]

Clear as Missouri River water....

I kind of grasp the concentric rings, pasta bowl string of towns idea.

What cause someone to drop the pasta? Financial meltdown? Hordes of equity nomads from California or Queens? Legions of eco-leaf lickers in pursuit of nirvana and a quarter ounce? Yinzers with low birth weights and high birth rates? The siren call of the West and bigger cities? Families in pursuit of cheap digs?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

What cause someone to drop the pasta?

Mostly erosion, it turns out.

[ctoocheck]

What cause someone to drop the pasta?

The bowl was hot.

[Hopes]

I say it's a mid-sized city.

There's a lot more to Pittsburgh than the city proper population statistics. Pittsburgh's metro area is rather spread out.

Allegheny County's population is 1,215,103. Pittsburgh greater metropolitian area population is 2,462,571.

Out of 362 metropolitian areas in the United States, Pittsburgh's metropolitian population ranks 22nd.

Hmmmm.....considering that ranking, I guess Pittsburgh is more like an upper-mid-sized city.

It might look like a mountain town, but that doesn't mean it's in the mountains. We're more in steeply carved foothills.

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by ctoocheck

the bowl was hot.

lol!