The Reinventing of Pittsburgh

Posted by Sheila Redick on January 08, 2009

The New York Times today featured a piece on Pittsburgh's successful efforts to reinvent itself as a center for healthcare and education, pointing out that even in today's economic slowdown the unemployment rate in that city is at 5.5 percent (below the national average), that housing values are on the rise and that foreclosures have pretty much been a non-issue.

The article also raises the question of whether Pittsburgh can act as a model for cities like Detroit, where unemployment has reached 10 percent and is likely to grow.  While a valid question, it's our view that the term "model" be used loosely.  Can Detroit (or any other city struggling to find its foothold in a knowledge economy) duplicate Pittsburgh? Absolutely not.  Can Detroit and other cities achieve success by evaluating their inhernet strengths and assets and putting them to use in new industries the way Pittsburgh has?  We think so.

It's encouraging that a city that had all but been written off has come out on top and is, in fact, thriving.  And that the innovation that got Pittsburgh to where it is today was tried and tested in its own time of economic crisis.  Let that be a lesson (or model, if you prefer) for all cities today.