Why is Pittsburgh one of the few cities with population continuously declining every year despite its good reputation? (Wilkinsburg: crime rates, big house)

[SunshinepleasePgh]

Originally Posted by SunshinepleasePgh

People have a difficult time wrapping their head around the amount of time and money it would take to fix things. It has taken decades for sunbelt cities to be where they are with continuous growth and infrastructure. Those places did not grow or build infrastructure in a year or even a decade. There is a lot of worry and concern over things not in anybody’s control.

It will take decades and probably longer to fix Pittsburgh and grow the population again. That is saying from this year onward it continues to grow and change. The harsh reality is that isn’t happening. Issues today have been issues for the better part of 70-100 years. Look up the reason why the URA was created in the 1950s. Pittsburgh’s decline has been a problem for decades. Pittsburgh is still one of the most air polluted cities. Has it gotten better yes but it is still one of the most polluted in the country. That’s at least 150 years in that category.

Things aren’t going to change and I feel bad for the poster. Damaging his mental sanity for something he has no control over and has been a problem for nearly 100 years now. Life is too short. Pittsburgh is what it is. If you can’t accept that you gotta move on.

In 20 years the poster will be in a different stage in their life. It is also likely Pittsburgh will still be as it currently is. Small areas changing that’s it. Have they broke ground on the arena site yet? We are coming up on 10 years soon. I can’t wait till the pirates and Steelers ask for new stadiums in 10 years again. There is a better likelihood of that happening than fixing infrastructure in this town.

Pittsburgh city paper article. Interesting how Pittsburgh is the second least dense urban metro just ahead of Atlanta. It is apparent if you are unhappy here you are just wasting away precious years of you life. Change ain’t a coming anytime soon.

https://m.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburg...t?oid=15198090

[gg]

Originally Posted by SunshinepleasePgh

Pittsburgh city paper article. Interesting how Pittsburgh is the second least dense urban metro just ahead of Atlanta. It is apparent if you are unhappy here you are just wasting away precious years of you life. Change ain’t a coming anytime soon.

https://m.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburg...t?oid=15198090

City Paper generally is a waste of time to read of course, but the article has some points. Personally I hope Pittsburgh stays about the same, but keeps getting younger. The traffic here is way more than I ever remembered because of the younger people working and less retired.

Pittsburgh is on a great path and a great demographic with a lot of foreign people in the East End that go undetected because they are called, "white". Very nice blend. If you take away the drug dealers killing each other, Pittsburgh's murder rate would be insanely low.

It is a great city. My biggest complaints are weather (can't do anything about that) and pollution. I wish our air was cleaner, but Ohio blows a lot of crap over here and it just hangs around due to the mountains. Same with the clouds.

[216facts]

Originally Posted by gg

City Paper generally is a waste of time to read of course, but the article has some points. Personally I hope Pittsburgh stays about the same, but keeps getting younger. The traffic here is way more than I ever remembered because of the younger people working and less retired.

Pittsburgh is on a great path and a great demographic with a lot of foreign people in the East End that go undetected because they are called, "white". Very nice blend. If you take away the drug dealers killing each other, Pittsburgh's murder rate would be insanely low.

It is a great city. My biggest complaints are weather (can't do anything about that) and pollution. I wish our air was cleaner, but Ohio blows a lot of crap over here and it just hangs around due to the mountains. Same with the clouds.

Hopefully the PA government doesn't say that. I hate excuses to not act.

Ohio has its share of pollution problems and I wan't them all posted on the front page - no excuses. The Lake is dirty - it needs cleaned. The air is dirty - fix it. And yes, taxpayers ante up.

[gg]

Originally Posted by 216facts

And yes, taxpayers ante up.

I suggest lowering taxes and regulating companies that pollute. High taxation kills the economy which in turn kills business.

[Joe_P]

Pittsburgh city paper article. Interesting how Pittsburgh is the second least dense urban metro just ahead of Atlanta

Pittsburgh has its share of sprawl, but the metro is unique with countless not really suburbs old industrial towns that have a dense structure, but at this point they just count as sprawl.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Joe_P

Pittsburgh has its share of sprawl, but the metro is unique with countless not really suburbs old industrial towns that have a dense structure, but at this point they just count as sprawl.

I honestly don't know of a city that doesn't have sprawl. Sprawl is necessary for so many reasons. In some cities sprawl was the only affordable option and people wanted to live in the city, but couldn't afford it. Some say "white flight", but that was to find better schools for their kids for the most part and a very long time ago. At this point in Pittsburgh, people are mainly leaving because the costs are too high in the city in neighborhoods not filled with crime. Pittsburgh is just too expensive for a lot of people so they move to Sharsburg, Etna Homestead and other places.

[PGH423]

Originally Posted by SunshinepleasePgh

Pittsburgh city paper article. Interesting how Pittsburgh is the second least dense urban metro just ahead of Atlanta. It is apparent if you are unhappy here you are just wasting away precious years of you life. Change ain’t a coming anytime soon.

https://m.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburg...t?oid=15198090

We still have the second least expensive housing out of 30 metros in that list (just slightly ahead of Cleveland and behind Detroit).

[gg]

Originally Posted by PGH423

We still have the second least expensive housing out of 30 metros in that list (just slightly ahead of Cleveland and behind Detroit).

And if you want to compare those two cities, Pittsburgh's crime rate is wildly lower than both of those lousy crime ridden cities.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by gg

. At this point in Pittsburgh, people are mainly leaving because the costs are too high in the city in neighborhoods not filled with crime. Pittsburgh is just too expensive for a lot of people so they move to Sharsburg, Etna Homestead and other places.

Copy that!

[SunshinepleasePgh]

Originally Posted by Joe_P

Pittsburgh has its share of sprawl, but the metro is unique with countless not really suburbs old industrial towns that have a dense structure, but at this point they just count as sprawl.

You are correct. Most of the towns existed because of their own industry not because of Pittsburgh. That’s why there is over 100 governments in the county. Everybody was able to have their own because they could. Even municipalities such as McKeesport and many others In Allegheny county had their own industry. They weren’t suburbs of Pittsburgh. McKeesport was the second largest municipality in the county at one time with 55,000 residents. National Tube Works was the economy there. 10,000 people employed there. McKeesport population is now around 19,000 residents. That is a huge decline and if followed the loss of those industries.

In Atlanta’s case the suburbs exist because of Atlanta’s growth not because each area outside of the city had their own separate industry as in Pittsburgh’s case.

Originally Posted by gg

I honestly don't know of a city that doesn't have sprawl. Sprawl is necessary for so many reasons. In some cities sprawl was the only affordable option and people wanted to live in the city, but couldn't afford it. Some say "white flight", but that was to find better schools for their kids for the most part and a very long time ago. At this point in Pittsburgh, people are mainly leaving because the costs are too high in the city in neighborhoods not filled with crime. Pittsburgh is just too expensive for a lot of people so they move to Sharsburg, Etna Homestead and other places.

🙄. Good lord. They are leaving Pittsburgh because they want to and they can. Just talked to another mid 30s couple with two kids under 5. They sold their house in squirrel hill and moved to Warrendale.

It’s a city for singles or young couples without kids. A few of the neighborhoods gentrified because of the new children’s hospital, the colleges and some high tech offices like google. Once people have kids or start a family they are gonzo from the city and possibly the region. Others that complain are stuck due to their own fear of trying something new. Basically a fear of the unknown.