Pittsburgh Is New “In” City Of 2012

[EastSideHBG]

hlang84, CBS Local - Pittsburgh-3 days ago

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Have you heard? The Steel City has a new title.

The Washington Post just named Pittsburgh the new “In” city.

The skyline says it all. The breathtaking view from Mount Washington is just one of the reasons The Washington Post named Pittsburgh the new “In” city, stripping the title from Portland, Ore.

“Where can you find a better view of Pittsburgh than up here, because you come up here with a pair of binoculars and you can look everywhere just about in this city,” says Alphonso Randolph, of Pittsburgh.

The scenery draws people from near and far. Several men visiting from Germany stopped to take some pictures on Friday afternoon.

Arthur Lea, who is visiting from London, was beyond impressed.

“It’s quite pretty; it’s a lot prettier than I thought it would be, especially on a nice day,” said Lea.

Other factors considered were the Steel City’s reasonable rent, art and all the biking and walking trails.

“It’s outstanding; it’s stress-relieving, you enjoy the beauty of the city, it has a whole different look from here,” said Jan Kaminski, a Pittsburgh resident.

And then, there’s also the world famous food.

http://beta.local.yahoo.com/news-pittsburgh-city-2012

[MonkeyRonin]

Okay, I totally agree, but this is the third thread in about a week on this topic.

[Centropolis]

You gotta keep da hype on! But seriously, in a larger sense I think that's true.

[bunt_q]

You mean it's Portland-east, don't you?

[JManc]

It's becoming popular because Glowrock moved there.

[brickell]

I won't deny that cities can't turn around, but it still seems to me that Pittsburgh has a lot further to go than other "it" cities. More power to them, but it's still in Western PA. You still have to convince people to stay once the hype brings them in.

Maybe cherry picking but it was the first thing to come to mind...

"PERCENT OF THE TOTAL POPULATION WHO ARE 65 YEARS AND OVER - United States -- Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area; and for Puerto Rico
Universe: Total population more information
2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates "
(trying to take a big enough sample to not make this a city v city argument)

Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area 17.3
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area 17.3
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL Metro Area 16.0
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY Metro Area 15.7
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH Metro Area 15.2
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI Metro Area 13.3
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area 13.1
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ Metro Area 12.3
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Metro Area 11.4
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area 11.3
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA Metro Area 11.1
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area 8.8
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area 8.1

[Centropolis]

That probably doesnt mean much for any kind more recent demographic shift. PGH is probably missing a shit-ton of boomers and gen Xers considering how small the suburbs are -relatively speaking. Lots of age in place Grammies and Grampies.

[RobertWalpole]

In my experience, P'Burgh has very hot and yet surprisingly humble women.

[The Gibbroni]

I had a blast in Pittsburgh! Hockey weekend. Just sayin'..

[liat91]

The first time I saw Pittsburgh was coming in southbound on I-279 at night. What a brilliant introduction that was! I can definitely see this city bouncing back. It has some beautiful suburbs as well, sometimes showing up in major movies. i.e. Kittanning. Pittsburgh still has enough of a entertainment and retail apparatus in the core to become the East Coast's version of Portland and then some. It's also got a much larger regional population to draw from.

All the luck, Pittsburgh!!!

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by JManc

It's becoming popular because Glowrock moved there.

Thanks for the laugh this morning!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Okay, I totally agree, but this is the third thread in about a week on this topic.

Yeah, but the other two were blatant city vs. city threads. and I had to close them.

Aaron (Glowrock)

[MolsonExport]

Pittsburgh West (Portland) is the New "Out" City of 2012.


In all seriousness, during my one and only visit to the Pitts, I was pleasantly surprised by the city.

[bunt_q]

I've always been disappointed by Pitt (apart from the obviously gorgeous setting). Not much about PA in general really resonates with me.

That's why it's up to Glowie to set me straight next time I'm passing through.

[Cirrus]

If Pittsburgh invested in transit the way Portland has, *then* Pittsburgh could become the new *it* city. It has great bones, but it has been underinvested-in so much for so long that it has a long way to go. The subway to Northshore is a nice first step, but it's only a first step.

Want a litmus test: When you can get from downtown Pittsburgh to Oakland and Shadyside on a train, then Pittsburgh will have arrived.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Not much about PA in general really resonates with me.

I guess having some of the nation's must urban cities (something that also extends to the smaller centres - which is quite rare in the US) isn't something that resonates with you?

Not that you have to like it of course, but Pennsylvania should certainly have at least some redeeming qualities for anyone on this site.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

If Pittsburgh invested in transit the way Portland has, *then* Pittsburgh could become the new *it* city. It has great bones, but it has been underinvested-in so much for so long that it has a long way to go. The subway to Northshore is a nice first step, but it's only a first step.

Want a litmus test: When you can get from downtown Pittsburgh to Oakland and Shadyside on a train, then Pittsburgh will have arrived.

I don't see that happening in the next 20 years or more, quite honestly. Pittsburgh's infrastructure is positively ancient, the roads need major amounts of money just to keep them passable. However the busways are in good shape, and it's already pretty easy to get to Oakland via the busway. I honestly believe that spending money on other infrastructure in Pittsburgh is more important than a shiny new rail line. So many bridges, tunnels, etc... So much in the way of utilities, sewer, flood control. So much just to keep things from literally falling apart.

Perhaps there could be a way of putting rail along 5th/Forbes for a reasonable cost, but I somehow doubt it. I can think of many other things that need to be improved first. One of the most important, get the buses back to being funded properly, as opposed to the pittance they are currently getting.

And good ol' bunt, next time you're going to be anywhere near here, give me a call, damn it! Haha

Aaron (Glowrock)

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

If Pittsburgh invested in transit the way Portland has, *then* Pittsburgh could become the new *it* city. It has great bones, but it has been underinvested-in so much for so long that it has a long way to go. The subway to Northshore is a nice first step, but it's only a first step.

Want a litmus test: When you can get from downtown Pittsburgh to Oakland and Shadyside on a train, then Pittsburgh will have arrived.

On the note of transit - I have a question for anyone highly familiar with Pittsburgh: how heavily used are all the rail corridors around the city?

Because there seems to be a whole lot of them and they pass through or close to many of the neighbourhood/suburban centres, and as such - if not too busy - would seem like a natural fit for the construction of a whole lot of rapid LRT for a low cost.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

I guess having some of the nation's must urban cities (something that also extends to the smaller centres - which is quite rare in the US) isn't something that resonates with you?

Not that you have to like it of course, but Pennsylvania should certainly have at least some redeeming qualities for anyone on this site.

It's to do with the presence of the in-laws as much as PA itself. I will say, though. In my experience, the people of PA - especially in the smaller centers - have very little appreciation for how good they have it (with the preservation of so much of their urban/built heritage). They need to spend more time, I think, in the emptied-out main streets of the midwest, so they'll know what the alternative looks like.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

On the note of transit - I have a question for anyone highly familiar with Pittsburgh: how heavily used are all the rail corridors around the city?

Because there seems to be a whole lot of them and they pass through or close to many of the neighbourhood/suburban centres, and as such - if not too busy - would seem like a natural fit for the construction of a whole lot of rapid LRT for a low cost.

For the most part, many of them are VERY heavily used, MonkeyRonin. There are probably in the range of 100 trains per day that use the main rail line perhaps 1/4 mile from my townhouse. Unfortunately, I haven't noticed too many "dead" areas of old railway, they seem to be used quite a bit.

Of course, I haven't seen all of them, but at least from the ones I HAVE seen, I don't think commuter rail would work very well due to so much freight traffic.

Aaron (Glowrock)