Pittsburgh's future - Roboburgh or back to the '70s? (Clairton: 2014, credit)

[VASpaceMan]

I'm a techie (software project manager) who's lived all over the country, is currently living in the DC area. Have little ones and have been looking for a friendlier, less pricy mid-sized metro (that has lots of tech jobs) with a better quality of life on the East Coast that’s drivable distance to family. I see Raleigh and Pittsburgh both fitting the bill. I’ve been very impressed by Pittsburgh every time I’ve visited. Impressed by it’s natural beauty, city assets, universities (e.g. CMU), the friendliness of the people. I’ve read a lot about how Pittsburgh is really becoming a tech hub with companies like Google, Uber, Oculus, etc, has become a center for robotics, and has been moving away from it’s dirty industrial past.

I was wondering if this future is in danger. The current administration was voted in by people wanting the return of jobs such as coal mining and other industrial blue color jobs. The administration has said it intends on rolling back government environmental protections because they are unnecessarily hurting business. The new head of the EPA essentially doesn’t think the EPA should exist. If pollution increases in Pittsburgh and the sky becomes black again, isn’t that going to cause tech companies and the people who’d work for them to move to cities with clean air?

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by VASpaceMan

I'm a techie (software project manager) who's lived all over the country, is currently living in the DC area. Have little ones and have been looking for a friendlier, less pricy mid-sized metro (that has lots of tech jobs) with a better quality of life on the East Coast that’s drivable distance to family. I see Raleigh and Pittsburgh both fitting the bill. I’ve been very impressed by Pittsburgh every time I’ve visited. Impressed by it’s natural beauty, city assets, universities (e.g. CMU), the friendliness of the people. I’ve read a lot about how Pittsburgh is really becoming a tech hub with companies like Google, Uber, Oculus, etc, has become a center for robotics, and has been moving away from it’s dirty industrial past.

I was wondering if this future is in danger. The current administration was voted in by people wanting the return of jobs such as coal mining and other industrial blue color jobs. The administration has said it intends on rolling back government environmental protections because they are unnecessarily hurting business. The new head of the EPA essentially doesn’t think the EPA should exist. If pollution increases in Pittsburgh and the sky becomes black again, isn’t that going to cause tech companies and the people who’d work for them to move to cities with clean air?

Take a step back, the shy isn't going to become black again. Turn off the propaganda, and turn on your brain/critical thinking.

[bluecarebear]

OP, you need to do your research on the air quality (we rank as one of the worst in the country), water pollution, and fracking of the Pittsburgh area. The tech companies opened a few small branches here despite our environmental reputation.

Uber is self-destructing so the company won't be leaving based on the sky turning black.

[PenguinsFan]

In short, no. You simply aren't going to see heavy industry operating again in the heart of Pittsburgh as most of the land has been repurposed already. In terms of air quality, the entire region is not as bad as what the air monitoring shows, as the worst which gets reported is directly near Clairton Coke Works. Not that it's pristine mountain air everywhere, but I think our topography contributes to isolated areas of worse air quality.

The state also has environmental rules and regulations, if the EPA sees it's power somewhat reduced or rules rolled back, it won't be a free for all. Effectively what happened with coal and coal fired power plants was that the EPA set standards for emissions, plants invested hundreds millions of dollars to meet them, then the standard are upped once again, essentially creating unattainable standards for power plants to meet. That combined with the rise of Marcellus shale as an energy source brought down prices to make it hard for coal to compete. Even if every coal fired plant came back on line, coal powered plants of today operate with far fewer emissions than in the days when the skies were dark with pollution.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by PenguinsFan

You simply aren't going to see heavy industry operating again in the heart of Pittsburgh as most of the land has been repurposed already. In terms of air quality, the entire region is not as bad as what the air monitoring shows, as the worst which gets reported is directly near Clairton Coke Works. Not that it's pristine mountain air everywhere, but I think our topography contributes to isolated areas of worse air quality.

You're correct. DTE's coking plant on Neville Island closed, which will have a significant positive impact on regional air quality. One of the few areas of heavy industry left within City limits is the McConway & Torley plant in Lawrenceville. But with improved stacks, their air quality should be improving.

The entire County doesn't suffer from poor air quality - but there are hotspots that do have poorer air quality. The first is downtown, due to diesel particulate emissions. The second is the Mon Valley, due to the remaining US Steel presence (Clairton coke works, Edgar Thomson works, etc).

[Mtl-Cns]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

OP, you need to do your research on the air quality (we rank as one of the worst in the country), water pollution, and fracking of the Pittsburgh area. The tech companies opened a few small branches here despite our environmental reputation.

Uber is self-destructing so the company won't be leaving based on the sky turning black.

Normally your posts are just annoying but this one was full of so much doom and gloom that it gave me a good belly laugh first thing in the morning so thanks I guess.

[Burghboy1]

Originally Posted by VASpaceMan

I'm a techie (software project manager) who's lived all over the country, is currently living in the DC area. Have little ones and have been looking for a friendlier, less pricy mid-sized metro (that has lots of tech jobs) with a better quality of life on the East Coast that’s drivable distance to family. I see Raleigh and Pittsburgh both fitting the bill. I’ve been very impressed by Pittsburgh every time I’ve visited. Impressed by it’s natural beauty, city assets, universities (e.g. CMU), the friendliness of the people. I’ve read a lot about how Pittsburgh is really becoming a tech hub with companies like Google, Uber, Oculus, etc, has become a center for robotics, and has been moving away from it’s dirty industrial past.

I was wondering if this future is in danger. The current administration was voted in by people wanting the return of jobs such as coal mining and other industrial blue color jobs. The administration has said it intends on rolling back government environmental protections because they are unnecessarily hurting business. The new head of the EPA essentially doesn’t think the EPA should exist. If pollution increases in Pittsburgh and the sky becomes black again, isn’t that going to cause tech companies and the people who’d work for them to move to cities with clean air?

Pittsburgh has some tech growth. Most of it is concentrated to a few neighborhoods of the east end. I know they are trying to promote Pittsburgh as Silicon Valley east. That is pretty much inaccurate. If you can get into that tech circle it can be lucrative. But this area of the east end has always been known for tech jobs due to the location of Carnegie Mellon University. The last decade it has expanded, grown and spilled over into another neighborhood.

Pittsburgh's momentum recently has been fragile at best. Recent articles have given credit to the gas drilling ramp up from 2009-2014 that kept the population at small growth and the economy stable, not the tech industry. Which is believable from the standpoint of spinoff jobs. The high tech has produced spinoff, but Aquion Energy just filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. They were a local startup HQ in the cities east end. They were a huge local success and growth story the last 5 years. They made batteries. The article states they ran out of money and now they are selling off assets.

Air quality still needs work. It has improved but it is still not where it needs to be.

I was impressed with Raleigh when I visited. IMO it is much nicer than Charlotte. We went along the corridor from Greensboro, Winston Salem to Raleigh. I can see why people like it there. There is a lot of money and growth.

Good luck with your job search.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by VASpaceMan

I was wondering if this future is in danger. The current administration was voted in by people wanting the return of jobs such as coal mining and other industrial blue color jobs. The administration has said it intends on rolling back government environmental protections because they are unnecessarily hurting business. The new head of the EPA essentially doesn’t think the EPA should exist. If pollution increases in Pittsburgh and the sky becomes black again, isn’t that going to cause tech companies and the people who’d work for them to move to cities with clean air?

Do people actually think that the steel mills are going to be rebuilt & reopened here??

[gg]

Originally Posted by stburr91

Take a step back, the shy isn't going to become black again. Turn off the propaganda, and turn on your brain/critical thinking.

This is really a great post. Short and to the point. It is amazing how the media/propaganda machine is effecting many people. Shame.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by Mtl-Cns

Normally your posts are just annoying but this one was full of so much doom and gloom that it gave me a good belly laugh first thing in the morning so thanks I guess.

For health reasons, it is good to let people know that the top ten lists and mentions on national tv about Pittsburgh being a new clean city are a little off base. I am only making the OP aware of the situation in the Pittsburgh region and all of the information can be found in a quick internet search. The sky looks clean but it may not be. You should not be upset, our situation is not stopping tech companies from coming here.