This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (February 2009)

225px

225px The 2006-07-23 front page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner	Block Communications
Publisher	John Robinson Block
Editor	David Shribman
Founded	1786 (as The Gazette)
Headquarters	34 Boulevard of the Allies Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222  United States
Circulation	173,160 Daily 317,439 Sunday[1]
ISSN	1068-624X
Official website	post-gazette.com

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG", is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

Early history[link]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Building in Downtown Pittsburgh.

The paper began publication on July 29, 1786, with the encouragement of Hugh Henry Brackenridge as a four-page weekly, initially called The Gazette. It was the first newspaper published west of the Allegheny Mountains. Published by Joseph Hall and John Scull, the paper covered the start of the nation. As one of its first major articles, the Post Gazette published the newly adopted Constitution of the United States.

In 1828, the paper was sold to Morgan Neville, and the name briefly changed to Pittsburgh Gazette and Manufacturing and Mercantile Advertiser. In 1829, Neville sold the paper to David McClean, who reverted to the former title.

In 1844, the paper became a morning daily paper. Although the paper's editorial stance at the time was conservative, the paper was credited with helping to organize a local chapter of the new Republican Party, and with contributing to the election of Abraham Lincoln. The paper was one of the first to suggest tensions between North and South would erupt in war.^[2]

After a consolidation of papers in 1866, the paper was again renamed and was then known as the Commercial Gazette.

In 1900, George T. Oliver acquired the paper, merged it with another paper (The Pittsburgh Times) and formed a new paper, The Gazette Times. After several more mergers of newspapers in Pittsburgh, including the Dispatch, publisher Paul Block bought the paper in 1927 and it became the Post-Gazette on August 2.

Joint operating agreement[link]

In 1960, Pittsburgh had three daily papers: the Post-Gazette in the morning, and the Pittsburgh Press and the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph in the evening and on Sunday. The Post-Gazette bought the Sun-Telegraph (which had bought the old Chronicle-Telegraph), and moved into the Sun-Telegraph's Grant Street offices.

The Post-Gazette tried to publish a Sunday paper to compete with the Sunday Press but it was not profitable; rising costs in general were challenging the company's bottom line. In November 1961, the Post-Gazette entered into an agreement with the Pittsburgh Press Company to combine their production and advertising sales operations. The Post-Gazette owned and operated its own news and editorial departments, but production and distribution of the paper was handled by the larger Press office. This agreement stayed in place for over 30 years.

Strike, consolidation, new competition[link]

The distribution center

On May 17, 1992, a strike by workers for the Press shut down publication of the Press; the joint operating agreement meant that the Post-Gazette also ceased to publish. During the strike, the Scripps Howard company sold the Press to the Block family, owners of the Post-Gazette. The Blocks did not resume printing the Press, and when the labor issue was resolved and publishing resumed, the Post-Gazette became the city's major paper, under the full masthead name Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sun-Telegraph/The Pittsburgh Press.

The Block ownership did not take this opportunity to address labor costs, which had led to sale of the Press. This would come back to haunt them and lead to financial problems (see "Financial Challenges" below).

During the strike, conservative publisher Richard Mellon Scaife expanded his paper, the Greensburg Tribune-Review, based in the county seat of adjoining Westmoreland County, where it had published for years. While maintaining the original paper in its facilities in Greensburg, he expanded it with a new Pittsburgh edition to serve the city and its suburbs. Scaife named this paper the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Scaife has invested significant amounts of capital into upgraded facilities, separate offices and newsroom on Pittsburgh's North Side and a state of the art production facility in Marshall Township north of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County. Relations between the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review are often competitive and frequently hostile, given Scaife's longstanding distaste for what he considered the Blocks' "liberalism."

On November 14, 2011, the Post-Gazette revived the Pittsburgh Press as an afternoon online newspaper.^[3]

Community presence[link]

The newspaper sponsored a major 23,000 seat outdoor amphitheater in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, the "Post-Gazette Pavilion", although it is still often referred to as "Star Lake", based on the original name, "Star Lake Amphitheater", and later "Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater" under the former sponsor. They gave up naming rights in 2010. First Niagara Bank, which had entered the Pittsburgh market the year before after acquiring National City branches from Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services, took over the naming rights to the facility and is now known as the First Niagara Pavilion.

The newspaper once had ventures in television. In 1957, the Post-Gazette launched WIIC-TV (now WPXI) as the area's first full-time NBC affiliate three years after Westinghouse Electric's Group W spurned NBC for CBS with its newly-acquired former DuMont O&O WDTV (now KDKA-TV) despite KDKA Radio's longtime affiliation with NBC Radio. The Post-Gazette sold off the station to current owner Cox Enterprises in 1964. Although the Post-Gazette and WPXI have on occasion had some news partnerships, the Post-Gazette's primary news partner is now ironically KDKA-TV.

Financial challenges[link]

In September 2006, the paper disclosed that it is experiencing financial challenges, largely related to its labor costs. The paper also disclosed it had not been profitable since printing had resumed in 1993. As a result of these issues, the paper is considering a number of options, including putting the paper up for sale.^[4] While deep concern about the paper's future ensued, negotiations proved fruitful and in February, 2007 the paper's unions ratified a new agreement with management mandating job cuts, changes in funding health care benefits and so forth.

Awards[link]

The Post-Gazette won Pulitzers in 1938, 1986, 1987 and 1998. It is generally accepted that the paper would have won a Pulitzer in 1964 but chose not to run the iconic Y.A. Tittle picture that one of its photographers took at Pitt Stadium. The photo would go on to win awards, hang in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, be used for the back cover of Tittle's autobiography and used in a Miller Beer High-Life commercial in 2005.

See also[link]

	Pittsburgh portal
	Journalism portal

Media related to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at Wikimedia Commons

• Chronicle-Telegraph Cup
• Y.A. Tittle Photo
• Dennis Roddy
• Tom Barnes
• James O'Toole
• Bob Smizik
• Martha Rial 1998 Pulitzer Prize Winner
• Cy Hungerford
• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2009)

Further reading[link]

• Andrews, J. Cutler (1970) [1936]. Pittsburgh's Post-Gazette: The First Newspaper West of the Alleghenies. Boston: Chapman and Grimes. ISBN 0-8371-2956-7. OCLC 77656. 
• Thomas, Clarke M. (2005). Front-Page Pittsburgh: Two Hundred Years of the Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-4248-8. 
• "Daily and Sunday Newspaper Circulation". Newspapers First. 2006-03-31. http://www.newspapersfirst.com/MIGroupCirc.html. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
• "2007 Top 100 Daily Newspapers in the U.S. by Circulation" (PDF). BurrellesLuce. 2007-03-31. http://www.burrellesluce.com/top100/2007_Top_100List.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-28. 

External links[link]

• Post-Gazette.com
  • History of the Post-Gazette
  • Google News Archive microfilm archive 1927-2007
• Post-Gazette.com Mobile

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Pittsburgh
—  City  —
City of Pittsburgh
From top to bottom, left to right: Pittsburgh skyline; Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh; Carnegie Mellon University; PNC Park; Duquesne Incline
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): City of Bridges, Steel City, City of Champions[1][2][3][4]
Motto: Benigno Numine (Latin for "With the Benevolent Deity" also translated as "By the favor of heaven")
Location in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Location in the US
Coordinates: 40°26′30″N 80°00′00″W / 40.44167°N 80°W / 40.44167; -80Coordinates: 40°26′30″N 80°00′00″W / 40.44167°N 80°W / 40.44167; -80
Country	United States
Commonwealth	Pennsylvania
Settled	1717[5]
Founded	September 14, 1758
Incorporated	April 22, 1794
Founder	George Washington, General John Forbes
Named for	"The Great Commoner": Prime Minister William Pitt
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Mayor	Luke Ravenstahl (D)
• City Council	Councilmembers Darlene Harris (President) Theresa Kail-Smith Bruce Kraus Natalia Rudiak Doug Shields Daniel Lavelle Patrick Dowd Bill Peduto Rev. Ricky Burgess
• State House	State Representatives Jake Wheatley Don Walko Dominic Costa Chelsa Wagner Dan Frankel Joseph Preston, Jr. Dan Deasy Paul Costa Harry Readshaw
• State Senate	Jim Ferlo (D) Jay Costa (D)
• U.S. House	Mike Doyle (D)
Area
• City	58.3 sq mi (151 km2)
• Land	55.5 sq mi (144 km2)
• Water	2.8 sq mi (7 km2)
• Metro	5,343 sq mi (13,840 km2)
Highest elevation	1,370 ft (420 m)
Lowest elevation	710 ft (220 m)
Population (2010[6])
• City	305,704
• Density	5,636/sq mi (2,176/km2)
• Urban	1,753,136
• Metro	2,356,285
• Demonym	Pittsburgher
Time zone	Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
ZIP Code	15106, 15120–21, 15203–08, 15210–22, 15224, 15226–27, 15230, 15232–34, 15237, 15239, 15289
Area code(s)	412, 724, 878
Website	www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us

Pittsburgh ( /ˈpɪtsbərɡ/, PITS-burg) is the second largest city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of both Appalachia^[7] and the Ohio River Valley. Nationally, it is the 22nd largest urban area in the United States.^[8][9] The population of the city in 2010 was 305,704, while that of the seven-county metropolitan area stood at 2,356,285.^[10] Downtown Pittsburgh retains substantial economic influence, ranking at 25th in the nation for jobs within the urban core and 6th in job density.^[11] The characteristic shape of Pittsburgh's central business district is a triangular tract carved by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River. The city features 151 high-rise buildings,^[12] 446 bridges,^[13] two inclined railways, and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Pittsburgh is known colloquially as "the City of Bridges" and "the Steel City" for its many bridges and former steel manufacturing base.

While the city is historically known for its steel industry, today its economy is largely based on healthcare, education, technology, robotics,^[14] and financial services. The downturn of the steel industry left no steel mills within city limits and only two remaining mills (the Edgar Thomson Steel Works and Brackenridge Works) in the county.^{[15][note 1]} though more than 300 steel-related businesses remain in the area.^[16] By contrast, the region now supports 1,600 technology and research companies, ranging from major campuses for Google, Intel, RAND, Apple[1] and Disney Research to small startups. ^[4] In the last few decades the city has redeveloped abandoned industrial sites with new housing, shopping and offices, such as SouthSide Works, Bakery Square and the Pittsburgh Technology Center.

While Pittsburgh faced an economic crisis in the 1980s as regional industries waned,^[17] modern Pittsburgh is economically strong.^[18] The housing market is relatively stable despite a national subprime mortgage crisis, and Pittsburgh added jobs in 2008 even as the national economy entered a significant jobs recession.^[19] This positive economic trend is a recovery from the 1974-1998 period, when Pittsburgh lost its manufacturing base in steel and electronics, and its status as the third largest center for corporate jobs after New York and Chicago [2] with corporate raiders removing J&L Steel (1974), Gulf Oil (1984), Murphy's Mart (1985), Koppers Chemical and Rockwell Aerospace (both 1988), Westinghouse (1995) and Dravo Shipbuilding (1998), all through multi-million dollar deals.

The city's strength today is built on headquarters to major global financial institutions PNC Financial Services (the nation's fifth largest bank), Federated Investors and the regional headquarters of BNY Mellon, descended from Mellon Financial and the Mellon family, as well as headquarters to six major law firms all ranking in the top 300 of the nation, including K&L Gates and Reed Smith. A strong charitable foundations base along with long running arts and cultural amenities are complemented by seven venerable universities in the city, all providing graduate level and post graduate level resources and an additional 15 in the metro area. The world renowned Carnegie Library and the Carnegie Museums provide deep cultural, economic and academic strengths to the city.

Major publications often note Pittsburgh's high livability compared to other American cities, with the city claiming the top overall spot in the United States in recent "most livable city" lists by Places Rated Almanac (2007),^[20] Forbes (2010),^[21] and The Economist (2011).^[22] In 2012, National Geographic named Pittsburgh one of the best worldwide travel destinations.^[23]

Etymology[link]

Pittsburgh was named in 1758 by General John Forbes in honor of the British statesman William Pitt. Given that Forbes was a Scotsman, it is possible that the intended pronunciation of the settlement was /ˈpɪtsbᵊrə/ (PITS-brə or PITS-bə-rə), similar to the pronunciation of Edinburgh.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} It was incorporated as a borough in 1794 and chartered as a city in 1816.^[29]

Pittsburgh was officially named with its present spelling on April 22, 1794, by an act of the Pennsylvania Department, stating, "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that the said town of Pittsburgh shall be, and the same is hereby, erected into a borough, which shall be called the borough of Pittsburgh for ever."^[30]

Pittsburgh is one of the few American cities to be spelled with an h at the end of a burg suffix.^[31] While briefly named "Pittsburg" from 1890 to 1911 following a declaration by the United States Board on Geographic Names, the "Pittsburgh" spelling was officially restored after a public campaign by the citizens of the city.^[30]

History[link]

The Fort Pitt Blockhouse, dating to 1764, is the oldest extant structure in the City of Pittsburgh.

The area surrounding the headwaters of the Ohio was inhabited by the tribes of Allegawis, Adena, Hopewell, Delaware, Jacobi, Seneca, Shawnee, and several settled groups of Iroquois.^{[citation needed]} The first European was the French explorer/trader Robert de La Salle in his 1669 expedition down the Ohio River from Lake Ontario and Quebec.^[32] This was followed by European pioneers, primarily Dutch, in the early 17th century. Michael Bezallion was the first to describe the forks of the Ohio in a manuscript in 1717, and later that year European traders established posts and settlements in the area.^[33] In 1749, French soldiers from Quebec launched a serious expedition to the forks in hopes of uniting British Canada with French Louisiana via the rivers.^[33] Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia sent Major George Washington to warn the French to withdraw. During 1753–54, the British hastily built Fort Prince George, but a larger French expedition forced them to evacuate and the expedition then proceeded to construct Fort Duquesne on the site. With the French citing the 1669 discovery by LaSalle, these events led to the French and Indian War. British General Edward Braddock's campaign (with Washington as his aide) to take Fort Duquesne failed, but General John Forbes's subsequent campaign succeeded. After the French abandoned and destroyed Fort Bridgewater in 1758, Leyland ordered the construction of Fort Pitt, named after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder. He also named the settlement between the rivers "Pittsborough".^[34]

During Pontiac's Rebellion, Ohio Valley and Great Lakes tribes besieged Fort Pitt for two months. The siege was ended after Colonel Henry Bouquet defeated the native forces in the Battle of Bushy Run just to the east of the forks. This victory was purportedly facilitated by an early example of biological warfare. In July 1763, Lord Jeffrey Amherst is claimed to have ordered the distribution of blankets inoculated with smallpox to the Native Americans surrounding the fort, although this claim is disputed.^[35]

In the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix, the descendants of William Penn purchased from the Six Nations western lands that included most of the present site of Pittsburgh. In 1769, a survey was made of the land situated between the two rivers, called the "Manor of Pittsburgh".^[36] Both Virginia and Pennsylvania claimed the Pittsburgh area during colonial times and would continue to do so until 1780 when both states agreed to extend the Mason-Dixon Line westward, placing Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Following the American Revolution, the village of Pittsburgh continued to grow. One of its earliest industries was building boats for settlers to enter the Ohio Country. In 1784, the laying out of the "Town of Pittsburgh" was completed by Thomas Viceroy of Bedford County and approved by the attorney of the Penns in Philadelphia. In 1785 Pittsburgh became a possession of the state of Pennsylvania. The following year the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was started, and in 1787 the Pittsburgh Academy (which would later become the University of Pittsburgh) was chartered. The year 1794 saw the short-lived Whiskey Rebellion. By 1797, glass began to be manufactured in the city as the population grew to around 1400. The Act of March 5, 1804, which modified the provision of the old charter of the Borough of Pittsburgh in 1794 (the original of which is not known to exist), refers throughout to the "Borough of Pittsburgh".^{[36][citation needed]}

Monongahela River scene, 1857^[37]

The War of 1812 cut off the supply of British goods, stimulating American manufacture. By 1815, Pittsburgh was producing significant quantities of iron, brass, tin and glass products. The Act of March 18, 1816 incorporated the City of Pittsburgh. The original charter was burned when the old Court House was destroyed by fire. In the 1830s, many Welsh people from the steelworks of Merthyr migrated to the city following the civil strife and aftermath of the Merthyr Riots of 1831. By the 1840s, Pittsburgh was one of the largest cities west of the Allegheny Mountains. A great fire burned over a thousand buildings in 1845, but the city rebuilt. By 1857, Pittsburgh's 1,000 factories were consuming 22,000,000 bushels of coal yearly.

The American Civil War boosted the city's economy with increased production of iron and armaments. Steel production began by 1875, when Andrew Carnegie founded the Edgar Thomson Steel Works in North Braddock, which eventually evolved into the Carnegie Steel Company. The success and growth of Carnegie Steel was attributed to Henry Bessemer, inventor of the Bessemer Process.

In 1901, the U.S. Steel Corporation was formed, and by 1911 Pittsburgh was the nation's eighth largest city, producing between a third and a half of the nation's steel. The city's population swelled to over a half million, many of whom were immigrants from Europe who arrived via the great migration through Ellis Island. In 1940, non-Hispanic whites were 90.6% of the city's population.^[38] The Great Migration from the South resulted in a large increase in Pittsburgh's black population.^[39] During World War II, Pittsburgh produced 95 million tons of steel.^[34] By this time, the pollution from burning coal and steel production created a black fog (or smog), which even a century earlier had induced author writer James Parton to dub the city "hell with the lid off".^[40]

Following the war, the city launched a clean air and civic revitalization project known as the "Renaissance." This much-acclaimed effort was followed by the "Renaissance II" project, begun in 1977 and focusing more on cultural and neighborhood development than its predecessor. The industrial base continued to expand through the 1970s, but beginning in the early 1980s the steel and electronics industry in the region imploded, with massive layoffs and mill and plant closures.^[41][42][43]

Beginning in the late 1980s, the city shifted its economic base to education, tourism, and services, largely based on healthcare/medicine, finance and high technology such as robotics. Although Pittsburgh successfully shifted the focus of its economy and remained a viable city, the city's population never rebounded to its industrial-era highs. While 680,000 people lived in the city proper in 1950, a combination of suburbanization and economic turbulence caused a sharp decrease in city population to just 330,000 in the year 2000.^{[note 2]}

During the late 2000s recession, however, Pittsburgh remained economically strong, adding jobs when most cities were losing them, and becoming one of the few cities in the United States to see housing property values rise. In the period between 2006 and 2011, the Pittsburgh MSA experienced over 10% appreciation in housing prices—the highest appreciation out of the largest 25 MSAs in the United States. 22 of the top 25 MSAs saw a depreciation of housing values during the same period.^[44] Pittsburgh's story of economic regeneration was the inspiration for President Barack Obama to personally select Pittsburgh as the host city for the 2009 G-20 Summit.^[45]

Geography[link]

Downtown Pittsburgh and the Duquesne Incline from Mt. Washington

According to the United States Census Bureau, Pittsburgh has a total area of 58.3 square miles (151 km²), of which 55.6 square miles (144 km²) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) is water. The total area is 4.75% water.

The city is on the Allegheny Plateau, where the confluence of the Allegheny River from the northeast and Monongahela River from the southeast form the Ohio River. The Downtown area between the rivers is known as the Golden Triangle, and the site at the actual convergence, which is occupied by Point State Park, is referred to simply as "the Point." In addition to the downtown Golden Triangle, the city extends northeast to include the Oakland and Shadyside sections, which are home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Museum and Library, and many other educational, medical, and cultural institutions.

Many of the city's neighborhoods are steeply sloped, with two-lane roads. The names of more than a quarter of Pittsburgh's neighborhoods make reference to "hills," "heights," or other indicators of topographical complexity.^{[note 3]}

This topography is often used for physical activity. The city has some 712 sets of stairs, comprising 44,645 treads and 24,090 vertical feet for pedestrians to traverse its many hills. There are hundreds of 'paper streets' composed entirely of stairs and many other steep streets with stairs for sidewalks.^[46] Many provide views of the Pittsburgh area.^[47]

The city has established bike and walking trails along its riverfronts and hollows, but steep hills and variable weather can make biking challenging. However, the city is connected to downtown Washington, D.C. (some 245 miles (394 km) away) by a continuous bike/running trail through the Alleghenies and along the Potomac Valley, known as the Great Allegheny Passage and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath.

Climate[link]

Pittsburgh lies in the transition between the humid continental and humid subtropical climate zones (Köppen Dfa/Cfa), but is closer to the former. It features four distinct seasons, with precipitation somewhat evenly spread throughout the year. Summers are hot and humid (with occasional heatwaves), while winters are cold and snowy. Spring and autumn are generally unstable yet mild.

The warmest month of the year in Pittsburgh is July, with a 24-hour average of 72.6 °F (22.6 °C). Conditions are often humid, and combined with the 90 °F (32 °C) (occurring on an average 8.4 days per annum),^[48] a considerable heat index arises. The coldest month is January, when the 24-hour average is 27.5 °F (−2.5 °C), and sub-zero lows (below −18 °C) can be expected on an average 3.9 nights per year.^[48] Extremes in temperature range from −22 °F (−30 °C), on January 19, 1994 to 103 °F (39 °C), which last occurred on July 16, 1988.

Total precipitation is greatest in May and least in October, and the average annual precipitation is 37.9 inches (960 mm), yet, on average, December and January have the greatest number of days with precipitation. Snowfall averages 40.3 inches (102 cm) per season. In terms of cloudiness, there is an average of 59 clear days and 103 partly cloudy days per year, while 203 days are cloudy.^[49] In terms of annual percent-average possible sunshine received, Pittsburgh (45%) is similar to Seattle (43%).^[50]

Although Pittsburgh generally experiences moderate weather, a few extreme weather events occurred between 1990 and 2010. The Blizzard of 1993 dumped over 23 inches (58 cm) of snow in under 24 hours, and the First North American blizzard of 2010 dumped nearly 2 feet (61 cm) of snow in less than 24 hours.^[51][52] An F2 tornado entered city limits on June 2, 1998. In September 2004, the remnants of Hurricane Ivan brought gusty winds and dropped nearly 6 inches (150 mm) of rain in 12 hours.

Air and water quality[link]

In a 2012 ranking of 277 metropolitan areas in the United States, the American Lung Association ranked the Pittsburgh metropolitan area as having the sixth worst pollution in both short-term and year-round particle pollution and the 20th worst ozone (smog) pollution, results that have been disputed by government.

The ALA gave Allegheny County an 'F' grade for both high ozone days and high particle pollution days in the period of 2007–2009. Although the county was still below the "pass" threshold, the report demonstrated substantial improvement compared to previous decades on every measure of air quality. For example, there were more than 40 high ozone days reported between 1997 and 1999, a figure which fell to fewer than 15 between 2007 and 2009 and just 10 between 2008 and 2010.^[55]

The Allegheny County Health Department also notes this improvement in air quality. Department spokesman Guillermo Cole stated that "It's the best it's been in the lifetime for virtually every resident in this county…We've seen a steady decrease in pollution levels over the past decade and certainly over the past 20, 30, 40, 50 years or more."^[56]

In 2008, the American Lung Association ranked the Pittsburgh area as the nation's third most polluted metropolitan area, behind Los Angeles and Bakersfield, CA.^[57] This ranking was disputed by the Allegheny County Health Department, since data from only one of Pittsburgh's 20 air quality monitors was considered by the ALA, without any context or averaging. Furthermore, the monitor used is located immediately downwind and adjacent to U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, the nation's largest coke plant.^[58]

The local rivers have shown more improvement though continue to have levels of mercury and other pollutants exceeding EPA limits, a exhaustive study conducted in 2007 by the University of Pittsburgh found that dangerous chemicals in fish catches were twice as high or more on the Canadian side of Lake Erie and six times higher in fish catches far upriver on the Allegheny. ^[59] These relatively positive results are despite some concerns about local storm sewers and waste treatment plants frequently overflowing untreated sewage into local waterways due to flood conditions and antiquated infrastructure.

The Ohio River as a whole is ranked as the most polluted river in the US based on 2009 and 2010 data although the more industrial and regional Ohio tributary, Monongahela River, which the data names as home to the biggest polluter in the state, ranked behind 16 other American rivers for pollution at number 17, while the Allegheny is not cited as a polluted river. The same study named Pennsylvania lakes, rivers and streams as a whole to rank as the seventh most polluted in the US.^[60]

Cityscape[link]

Pittsburgh is home to 90 distinct neighborhoods.

The city can be broken down into the Downtown area, called the Golden Triangle,^[61] and four main areas surrounding it. These four surrounding areas are further subdivided into distinct neighborhoods (in total, Pittsburgh contains 90 neighborhoods.^[62]) These areas, relative to downtown, are known as the North Side, South Side/South Hills, East End, and West End.

Downtown Pittsburgh is tight and compact, featuring many skyscrapers, nine of which top 500 feet (150 m). U.S. Steel Tower is the tallest at 841 ft (256 m).^[63] The Cultural District comprises a 14-block area of downtown along the Allegheny River. It is packed with theaters and arts venues, and is seeing a growing residential segment. Most significantly, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is embarking on Riverparc, a four-block mixed-use "green" community, featuring 700 residential units and multiple towers between 20 and 30 stories. The Firstside portion of downtown borders the Monongahela River and the historic Mon Wharf. This area is home to the distinctive PPG Place Gothic glass skyscraper complex. This area too, is seeing a growing residential sector, as new condo towers are constructed and historic office towers are converted to residential use. Downtown is serviced by the Port Authority's light rail and multiple bridges leading north and south.^[64] It is also home to Point Park University, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Culinary Institute, a former Robert Morris University branch campus (bought by Duquesne University in 2011) and Duquesne University which is located on the border of Downtown and Uptown.

Street in Shadyside, a neighborhood in the East End

The Carnegie Library and Museums of Art and Natural History in the foreground and Carnegie Mellon University behind it

Pittsburgh's Central North Side Neighborhood

The North Side is home to various neighborhoods in transition. What is known today as Pittsburgh's North Side was once known as Allegheny City and operated as a city independently of Pittsburgh. Allegheny City merged with Pittsburgh under great protest from its citizens. The North Side is primarily composed of residential neighborhoods and is noteworthy for well-constructed and architecturally interesting homes. Many buildings date from the 19th century and are constructed of brick or stone and adorned with decorative woodwork, ceramic tile, slate roofs and stained glass. The North Side is also home to many popular attractions such as Heinz Field, PNC Park, Carnegie Science Center, National Aviary, Andy Warhol Museum, Mattress Factory installation art museum, Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Highmark SportsWorks, Penn Brewery and Allegheny Observatory. The North Side is also home to Allegheny General Hospital, listed among the 1999 US News & World Report 2000 best hospitals nationwide.

The South Side was once an area composed primarily of dense inexpensive housing for mill workers, but has in recent years become a local Pittsburgher destination. The South Side is one of the most popular neighborhoods in which to own a home in Pittsburgh. The value of homes in the South Side has increased in value by about 10% annually^{[citation needed]} for the past 10 years. The South Side's East Carson Street is one of the most vibrant areas of the city, packed with diverse shopping, ethnic eateries, pulsing nightlife and live music venues. In 1993 the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh purchased the South Side Works steel mill property, and worked together with the community and various developers to create a master plan for a mixed-use development including a riverfront park, office space, housing, health-care facilities, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pitt Panthers indoor practice fields. Construction began in 1998, and the Southside Works is now open for business with many store, restaurants, offices, and the world headquarters for American Eagle Outfitters.^[65]

The East End is home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Carlow University, Chatham University, The Carnegie Institute's Museums of Art and Natural History, Frick Art & Historical Center (Clayton and the Frick art museum), Phipps Conservatory, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, and the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. The neighborhoods of Shadyside and Squirrel Hill are large, wealthy neighborhoods featuring large shopping/business districts. Oakland, heavily populated by undergraduate and graduate students, is home to most of the universities, Schenley Park and the Petersen Events Center. Bloomfield is Pittsburgh's Little Italy and is known for its Italian restaurants and grocers. Lawrenceville is a revitalizing rowhouse neighborhood popular with artists and designers, which is expected to benefit from the recent new construction of a new Children's Hospital. The Strip District is an open-air marketplace by day and a clubbing destination by night.

The West End includes Mt. Washington, with its famous view of the Downtown skyline and numerous other residential neighborhoods like Sheraden and Elliott.

Pittsburgh's patchwork of neighborhoods still retain an ethnic character reflecting the city's immigrant history. These include:

• German: Troy Hill, Mt. Washington, and East Allegheny (Deutschtown)
• Italian: Brookline, Bloomfield, Morningside, Oakland and Beechview
• Polish and other Eastern European: South Side, Lawrenceville, and Polish Hill
• African American: Hill District, Homewood, and Larimer
• Jewish: Squirrel Hill

Several neighborhoods on the edges of the city are less urban, featuring tree-lined streets, yards and garages giving a more characteristic suburban feel, while other aforementioned neighborhoods, such as Oakland, the South Side, the North Side, and the Golden Triangle are characterized by a more diverse, urban feel.

The city of Pittsburgh at dawn, as seen from Mt. Washington. The Monongahela River is in the foreground.

Demographics[link]

At the 2010 Census, there were 305,704 people residing in Pittsburgh, a decrease of 8.6% since 2000.^[66]

At the 2010 Census, 64.8% of the population was non-Hispanic White, 25.8% non-Hispanic Black or African American, 0.2% non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.4% non-Hispanic Asian, 0.3% from some other race (non-Hispanic) and 2.3% of two or more races (non-Hispanic). 2.3% of Pittsburgh's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race).^[66]

As of the census of 2000,^[67] there were 334,563 people, 143,739 households, and 74,169 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,019.0 people per square mile (2,324.1/km²). There are 163,366 housing units at an average density of 2,939.1 per square mile (1,134.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.63% White, 27.12% African American, 2.75% Asian, 0.19% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population. As of the American Community Survey Three-Year Estimate of 2006–2008, the city's population was 67.0% White (65.8% non-Hispanic White alone), 26.5% Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race and 2.1% from two or more races. 1.8% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[68] Non-Hispanic Whites were 64.8% of the population in 2010,^[69] compared to 78.7% in 1970.^[70]

The five largest White ethnic groups in the city of Pittsburgh are German (19.7%), Irish (15.8%), Italian (11.8%), Polish (8.4%), and English (4.6%), while the metropolitan area is approximately 22% German, and 16% Italian, and 12% Irish. Pittsburgh has one of the largest Italian communities in the nation,^[71] and also has the nation's fifth largest Ukrainian community^[72] and the largest Croatian community in the USA. In the metro Pittsburgh area live more than 200,000 Croatian descendants.

There were 143,739 households, out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.4% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out, with 19.9% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,588, and the median income for a family was $38,795. Males had a median income of $32,128 versus $25,500 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,816. About 15.0% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.5% of those under the age of 18 and 13.5% ages 65 or older.

In 2002, it was estimated that Pittsburgh ranked 22nd of 69 urban places in the U.S. in terms of number of residents 25 years or older who had completed a Bachelor's degree, with 31% of such people having completed the degree.^[73] The same study ranked Pittsburgh 15th of the 69 places in terms of number of residents 25 years or older who have completed a high school degree, with a figure of 84.7%.^[74]

Crime[link]

The largest law enforcement agency in the region is the Pittsburgh Police, with close to 1,000 sworn officers. Concurrent with the jurisdiction of Allegheny County is the County Police (primarily parks and airports) the Port Authority police for rapid transit, the housing and school police, and suburban departments. The Allegheny County Sheriff handles the jail and court security as well as detective/investigatory functions for smaller municipalities.

The lead law enforcement officer for the county is Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala. Major crimes of a Federal nature is covered by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Statistics in 2003 indicated that the Pittsburgh murder rate was 2.61 times the national average. Overall, the "violent crime" rate for the city was about twice the national average, while the "property" or non-violent crime rate was about 1.11 times (on par with) the national average.^[75]

In 2009, Forbes ranked Pittsburgh the 7th safest city in the USA in terms of violent crime.^[76][77]

Economy[link]

BNY Mellon Center and U.S. Steel headquarters as seen from Duquesne University

The growth of Pittsburgh and its economy was caused by the extensive trade in steel through the 1970s. Pittsburgh has since adapted to the collapse of the region's steel industry. The primary industries have shifted more to high technology, such as robotics, health care, nuclear engineering, tourism, biomedical technology, finance, and services. As of 2007, the total annual payroll of the region's technology industries, when taken in aggregate, exceeded $10.8 billion,^[78] and as of 2010, there were 1,600 technology companies.^[4] Reflecting the citywide shift from industry to technology, some former factories have been directly renovated into modern office space. For example, Google operates an office in a former Nabisco factory, a complex known as Bakery Square.^[79] Some of the factory's original equipment, such as a large dough mixer, were left standing in homage to the site's industrial roots.^[80] Pittsburgh's generally successful shift away from its industrial past has led to it being characterized as "the poster child for managing industrial transition".^[81]

Pittsburgh has grown its economic base in recent years to include technology, retail, finance, education, and medicine. Medicine in particular constitutes a large proportion of total employment in the city. The largest single employer in the city is the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, with 48,000 employees. Combining that figure with all other hospital, outpatient clinic, and doctor's office positions, yields a count of 116,000 jobs, approximately 10% of the jobs in the region. One analyst has noted that "That's both more jobs and a higher share of the region's total employment than the steel industry represented in the 1970s."^[82]

Education is another major industry in the region. The largest single employer in that industry is the University of Pittsburgh, with 10,700 employees.^[83]

Pittsburgh still maintains its status as a corporate headquarters city, with eight Fortune 500 companies calling the city home. This ranks Pittsburgh in a tie for the eighth most Fortune 500 headquarters in the nation.^[84] In 2006, Expansion Magazine ranked Pittsburgh among the top 10 metropolitan areas in the nation for climates favorable to business expansion.^[85]

Several Fortune 500 corporations have headquarters in the city or the surrounding area. These include PNC Financial Services, PPG Industries, U.S. Steel, H. J. Heinz Company, Mylan Laboratories (Located in suburban Canonsburg), WESCO International, CONSOL Energy (Located in suburban Cecil Township), and Dick's Sporting Goods (Located in suburban Findlay Township).^[86]

Pittsburgh and the surrounding region is also home to Allegheny Technologies, American Eagle Outfitters, Kennametal, Atlas America, Bayer USA and the operations center of Alcoa. Other major employers include BNY Mellon, GlaxoSmithKline and Lanxess. The city and the surrounding region serve as the Northeast U.S. regional headquarters for Nova Chemicals, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, FedEx Ground, Ariba, and the RAND Corporation. 84 Lumber, Giant Eagle, Highmark, Rue 21, and Genco Supply Chain Solutions are major non-public companies with headquarters in the region. Other major companies headquartered in Pittsburgh include General Nutrition Center (GNC) and CNX Gas (CXG), a subsidiary of Consol Energy.

The nonprofit arts and cultural industry in Allegheny County generates $341 million in economic activity and supports over 10,000 full time equivalent jobs. Revenues of nearly $34 million are generated through local and state tax.^[87]

The region is also becoming a hub for natural gas and oil extraction in the Marcellus Shale formation.^[88][89]

Arts and culture[link]

Entertainment[link]

Phipps Conservatory

Friday Nite Improvs at the Cathedral of Learning

In the 19th and 20th centuries, wealthy businessmen and nonprofit organizations donated millions of dollars to create educational and cultural institutions. As a result, Pittsburgh is rich in art and culture.

Among the professional music venues, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs in Heinz Hall, and the Pittsburgh Opera performs in the Benedum Center. Both The Benedum Center and Heinz Hall provide venues for other groups, such as the River City Brass Band and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Pittsburgh has a long tradition of jazz, blues and bluegrass music. Additionally the National Negro Opera Company was founded in Pittsburgh, and was the first all African-American opera company in the United States. This led to the prominence of African-American singers like Leontyne Price in the world of opera. Pittsburgh has a number of small and mid-size arts organizations supported by individuals, local foundations, and the Allegheny Regional Asset District. Examples include Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Quantum Theatre, the Renaissance and Baroque Society of Pittsburgh, and the early music ensemble Chatham Baroque.

Pittsburgh Dance Council and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater host a variety of dance events. Polka, folk, square and round dancing have a long history in the city and are celebrated by the internationally famous Duquesne University Tamburitzans, a multicultural academy dedicated to the preservation and presentation of folk songs and dance.

Lifetime's reality television show, Dance Moms, is filmed at Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh.

Several major films have been shot partially or wholly in Pittsburgh in the 2000s and 2010s. The Dark Knight Rises was largely filmed in Pittsburgh, including the central business district, Oakland, and the North Shore. Pittsburgh^{[clarification needed]} has also teamed up with a LA based production company,^[which?] and has built the largest and most advanced movie studio in the eastern United States.^{[citation needed]}

Pittsburgh museums include the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and the Mattress Factory. Installation art is featured outdoors at ArtGardens of Pittsburgh. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has extensive dinosaur collections and an Ancient Egypt wing. The Carnegie Science Center is technology oriented. The Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum are located in the Strip District. The unusual and eclectic Bayernhof Music Museum is six miles (9 km) from downtown. There is a quarterly Gallery Crawl in the downtown area's cultural district that is free and open to the public to enjoy the local art scene as well as the Three Rivers Arts Festival, which takes place in the same downtown area annually during the summer. Pittsburgh is home to a number of art galleries and centers including the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Wood Street Galleries

The city is also served by the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and the National Aviary.

Pittsburgh is home to one of the several licensed casinos in the state. The Rivers Casino is located in the North Shore neighborhood immediately west of Carnegie Science Center and Heinz Field. Its southern flank faces the Ohio River.

Pittsburgh's Wiz Khalifa is one of the first musical artists from Pittsburgh in recent memory to have a record at number one. His anthem "Black and Yellow" (which is itself a tribute Pittsburgh; black and yellow being the colors of the city's flag) reached number one on Billboard's "Hot 100"^[90] for the Week of February 19, 2011^[91] Not since grammy-winning^[92] blues guitarist George Benson, has a Pittsburgh musical artist received such national acclaim. Crooner Perry Como and pop singer Christina Aguilera are from Pittsburgh suburbs. From the East End neighborhood of Point Breeze is the hip-hop artist Mac Miller who recently had his debut album Blue Slide Park reach number 1 on the Billboard's album chart; the first independent artist to do this since Snoop Dogg in 1995.

Theatre[link]

The Benedum Center

Theatre has existed professionally in Pittsburgh since the early 1800s. Companies include Attack Theatre, Bald Theatre Company, barebones productions, Bricolage Production Company, City Theatre, Phase 3 Productions, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Prime Stage Theatre, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Quantum Theatre, Hiawatha Project, Cup-A-Jo Productions, Organic Theater Pittsburgh, 12 Peers Theater, Three Rivers Theatre Company, Throughline Theatre Company, No Name Players, Terra Nova Theatre Group, Carrnivale Theatrics, Theatre Sans Serif, The Summer Company, and Unseam'd Shakespeare Company. Collegiate companies include the University of Pittsburgh's Repertory Theatre and Kuntu Repertory Theatre, Point Park University's resident companies at its Pittsburgh Playhouse, and Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama productions and Scotch'n'Soda organization. The city's longest-running theater show, Friday Nite Improvs, is an improv jam that has been performed in the Cathedral of Learning and other locations for 20 years. The Pittsburgh New Works Festival utilizes local theatre companies to stage productions of original one-act plays by playwrights from all parts of the country. Saint Vincent Summer Theatre, Off the Wall Productions, Mountain Playhouse, The Theatre Factory, and Stage Right! in nearby Latrobe, Washington, Jennerstown, Trafford, and Greensburg, respectively, employ Pittsburgh actors and contribute to the culture of the region.

Literature[link]

Pittsburgh is the birthplace of Gertrude Stein and Rachel Carson, a Chatham College (now Chatham University) graduate from the Pittsburgh suburb of Springdale, Pennsylvania.^[93] Modern writers include Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson and Michael Chabon with his Pittsburgh-focused commentary on student and college life. Two-time Pultizer Prize winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, David McCullough was born and raised in Pittsburgh.^[94] Annie Dillard, a Pultizer Prize winning writer, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Much of her memoir An American Childhood takes place in post-World War II Pittsburgh. Poet Michael Simms, founder of Autumn House Press, currently resides in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Poet Samuel John Hazo, the first poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, also resides in the city.John Edgar Wideman grew up in Pittsburgh and based "Brothers and Keepers," a Nation Book Critics awarded novel in his hometown. New writers include Chris Kuzneski who attended the University of Pittsburgh and mentions Pittsburgh in his books. Pittsburgh's unique literary style extends to playwrights,^[95] as well as local graffiti and hip hop artists.

There are also specific Pittsburgh genres, most notably both the fantasy, macabre and science fiction genre popularized by film director George A. Romero, television personality Bill Cardille's Chiller Theatre,^[96] film director and writer Rusty Cundieff^[97] and makeup effects guru Tom Savini.^[98] Today, the genre continues through the PARSEC writers organization^[99] and several local Writer's Workshops including Write or Die,^[100] The Pittsburgh SouthWrites,^[101] and the Pittsburgh Worldwrights^[102] founded by Mary Soon Lee^[103] and continued by protegees Barton Paul Levenson, Kenneth Chiacchia, Chris Ferrier, Robert L. Nansel and the poet Elizabeth Humphreys Penrose. Mark Menold^[104] showcases the classic Pittsburgh zombie tradition through cinematic and televised works on The It's Alive Show and by holding the annual "Zombie Fest".

In stark contrast to the Romero-Savini type product, Pittsburgh's position as the birthplace for community owned television and networked commercial television helped spawn the modern children's show genres exemplified by Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, Happy's Party, Cappelli & Company and The Children's Corner, all nationally broadcast.

Local dialect[link]

The Pittsburgh English dialect, commonly called Pittsburghese, was influenced by Scots-Irish, Welsh, German, Central European and Eastern European immigrants. Locals who speak the dialect are sometimes referred to as "Yinzers" (from the local word "yinz" [var. yunz], a blended form of "you ones", similar to "y'all" and "you all" in the South). Common Pittsburghese terms are: slippy (slippery), redd up (clean up), and gum bands (rubber bands). The dialect is also notable for dropping the verb "to be". In Pittsburghese, for example, one would say "the car needs washed" instead of "needs to be washed", "needs washing", or "needs a wash". The dialect has some tonal similarities to other nearby regional dialects (e.g., Erie, Baltimore), but is noted for its somewhat staccato rhythms. The staccato qualities of the Pittsburgh dialect have been suggested to originate either from Welsh or from Eastern European immigrants. It has so many local peculiarities that the New York Times described Pittsburgh as, "the Galapagos Islands of American dialect."^[105] The lexicon itself contains notable loans from Polish and other Slavic and European languages; examples include babushka, pierogi, and halušky.^[106]

Livability[link]

Night view of Pittsburgh from the West End Overlook

Pittsburgh often places high in lists of the nation's most livable cities. After placing fourth and first in the first two editions of Places Rated Almanac, Pittsburgh finished third in 1989, fifth in 1993, 14th in 1997 and 12th in 2000, before reclaiming the number one spot in 2007.^[20] The survey's primary author, David Savageau, has noted that Pittsburgh is the only city to finish in the top 20 of every edition.

In 2005, 2009 and 2011, Pittsburgh was named most livable city in the United States and in those years, between the 26th and 29th most livable city worldwide by The Economist.^[22][107] Pittsburgh ranked No. 28 in the book Cities Ranked and Rated (2004) by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander.

In 2010, Forbes and Yahoo! listed Pittsburgh as the most livable city in the United States.^[21][108] One month later, Forbes named Pittsburgh the 7th best place to raise a family.^[109] In August 2010, Pittsburgh was ranked the 4th best city for working mothers by Forbes^[110] and the city was ranked as one of the best for entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur.^[111] Also, in 2007, Forbes magazine named Pittsburgh, in an eight-way tie, the 10th cleanest city in the world.^[112]

Livability rankings typically consider factors such as cost of living, crime, and cultural opportunities. Pittsburgh has a low cost of living compared to other cities in the northeastern U.S. The average price for a 3- to 4-bedroom, 2-bath family home in Pittsburgh is $162,000, which is well below the national average of $264,540, as of October 2004, according to the Federal Housing Finance Board. In addition, average rent for all bedrooms in Pittsburgh was $789 at the end of the first quarter of 2010. This compares to the nationwide average of $1087.^[113]

Another factor enhancing Pittsburgh's livability is that area residents face very little risk of encountering a natural disaster such as an earthquake, hurricane, wildfire, or tornado. In 2009, Forbes ranked Pittsburgh as having the second lowest natural disaster risk in the nation compared to other cities.^[76] Greater Pittsburgh is not entirely free of natural disasters, however. Residents living in extremely low-lying areas near the three rivers or near one of the 1,400 creeks and streams of the region experience occasional floods,^[114] such as those caused when the remnants of Hurricane Ivan dumped record rainfalls on the region in 2004.^[115] Flooding on the three rivers is relatively rare due to federal flood control efforts on the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, which are extensively managed with locks, dams, and reservoirs.^{[114][116][117]} Residents living near smaller tributary streams are less protected from occasional flooding, however, and the cost of a comprehensive flood control program for the region has been estimated to run a prohibitive $50 billion.^[114]

Regional identity[link]

Pittsburgh's regional status

Pittsburgh is in Appalachia.

Pittsburgh sits at the boundary between the Northeast, the Midwest, and the South.

Pittsburgh is economically connected to the Great Lakes Megalopolis.

"Cleveburgh": Pittsburgh and Cleveland are economically connected.

Pittsburgh falls within the borders of Appalachia as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Before the city transitioned from an industrial economy to a service economy, it was characterized as the "northern urban industrial anchor of Appalachia",^[118]:167 a designation which made it an anomaly compared to much of Appalachia in the 20th century, which was traditionally characterized as southern, rural, and economically distressed.^[118]:167 In its post-industrial state, Pittsburgh has now been characterized as the "Paris of Appalachia",^{[119][120][121][122][123]} recognizing the city's cultural resources such as the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Pittsburgh Opera, as well as its service economy built upon education, healthcare, and technology.