Entrepreneur: Pittsburgh the paradigm "recovery and rebirth" city

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by clownloach

On one hand, some of these blighted areas have architecturally impressive structures that can be acquired on the cheap

That is a good point; both South Side Works and the Waterfront utilize parts of the old mills in their design.

[Goodjules]

Just read this in the e-newsletter from CEOsfor Cities.com
"Partner News

The Rockefeller Foundation has selected Eve Picker, developer, civic entrepreneur, and organizer of the CEOs for Cities Cluster in Pittsburgh, for a month-long practitioner residency at the Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy.

For the past 20 years, Eve has focused on the challenges facing Pittsburgh and her work has contributed to the revival of Pittsburgh's inner city and downtown. Eve founded PopCity and cityLIVE!.

The Bellagio Center provides an arena for exploring new ideas and finding solutions to some of the most difficult global problems. During her time at Bellagio, Eve will think about how to export her experience in Pittsburgh to the broader national and international arenas."

[BrianTH]

clownloach,

I think you are right that brownfield development is a tricky business. People complain when it starts off with a bunch of national brand retailers, but those are the sorts of businesses that can immediately draw customers to a new development. Done right, eventually the development will turn into something more organic.

You are also right that I am a big advocate of slow, diversified, growth. Eds, meds, and tech are a big part of the current story, but we also do things like provide professional and financial services for the region, energy is a growing sector, various government agencies at all levels are located here--basically, we are the capital city of our own little region.