The Pittsburgh Citizen

What's behind Pittsburgh's revitalization or alleged "renaissance"? That's the question that I'm exploring in this series of posts. There is no doubt that Pittsburgh, as both city and region, looks cleaner and brighter and has a hipper and more positive cultural tone than it did even a decade ago. Its problems are far from behind it, but Pittsburgh has undoubtedly come a long way. And compared to the state of the city 20 or 30 years ago, the changes are even more dramatic.

It's important to scratch the surface of this story, however. This post is about the now-vaunted "livability" of Pittsburgh.

PR supplied by the local G20 partnership sums up the recent news this way:

Chosen as the most livable city in the United States for the fifth year in a row - and the 29th most livable city worldwide by The Economist, Pittsburgh offers economic stability, culture, educational opportunities and natural beauty to residents. Forbes.com also named Pittsburgh as one of the most livable cities in America, noting the city's low cost of living, crime rates and unemployment.

Pittsburgh's reputation for livability depends two key, related factors: its "economic stability" and its "low cost of living." I put those phrases in quotation marks because they are quotations, not because they aren't true. They are true, and they are important. But they are weaknesses at they same time that they are strengths. Livability is a great thing; Pittsburghers are justly proud of the recognition of the city and region as a measure of just how far both have recovered since the collapse of steel. But "livability" based on "economic stability" carries some big risks.

Why?

First: Pittsburgh shines today partly because its peer cities continue to suffer so badly. By comparison with places like Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Louis, Pittsburgh is doing pretty well overall, and by comparison it was doing pretty well overall even before the recession that began last year. Pittsburgh's proud place is partly a version of the old joke in which a volunteer is called to step forward from a lineup -- and all but one member of the line take a large step backward. Pittsburgh took its big step backward back in the 1970s and early 1980s and since then has crept forward -- perceptibly but ever so slightly. In the main, its peers have taken those big backward steps more recently. But Pittsburgh has yet to make a substantial move forward.

Read more at Pittsblog.

[Part I is here]