Why did Pittsburgh stay so white? (Lancaster, Homestead: coupons, college, gated)

[zman63]

Pittsburgh will get better or worse depending on how it responds to criticism. Telling people to leave is the wrong mindset for a region that has done exactly that for the last 50 years. You can just look at the infrastructure, closed and vacant bldgs homes and schools to see how well that has worked.

I think there are a lot of positives going on within the city and it may be turning a corner. The census estimates are positive and jobs appear stable. There is still a ton of work to be done on making pittsburgh a true engine for growth and prosperity. There are a lot of unpopular decisions that must be made by our leaders to change for the better forever. The suburbs and rural areas are going to be a part of this as they outnumber inner city residents by a lot. Are they going to be on the same page?

Also i stated positive things about people being decent individuals. Even so I see that change is going to be very slow. It is not a laid back region. We are definitely high stress for a region this size.

People themselves have to embrace change or all of this chatter is just chatter.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by zman63

Imo pittsburgh is great if you are from there. To outsiders there just are not enough people that find it a desirable place to live or invest. A good number of people in pittsburgh come off as they do not want to be there in the first place. I, myself, am guilty of this as well. While I am in favor of diversity and progression, pitt has historically had difficulty attracting and retaining anybody that wasn't born there regardless of skin color. Pittsburgh has good people, but it also gives off a vibe of suburban and rural locals that are angry with a chip on their shoulder. I don't know what it is but i see a lot of unhappiness coupled with a very short fuse outside of the city limits. Ive been through very rural and mosty white in race states of new england and the vibe is night and day. They are way more peaceful than those in suburban and rural western pa. The culture of w pa is just not very desirable to anybody that isnt from there. It is a tough sell

I'm sorry, but this is the exact opposite from my experience here.

From my own experience, the people who think Pittsburgh sucks are all natives. Generally speaking, they're either older people who moved out of the city long ago and base their impression on the "bad old days," or they're under 30 and have no experience with other cities at all (and often don't live in the lauded parts of the city anyway).

In contrast, I think every single person I know who is a Pittsburgh booster is a transplant.

Originally Posted by chessgeek

Wow, Pittsburgh's core city population is less than 300,000 now? Best skyline for a U.S. city under 300K for sure! I am also surprised to see Lincoln, NE on an over 250,000 list.

Pittsburgh briefly dropped below 300,000 sometime between 2000 and 2010. It recorded at just over 300,000 at the last census though, and continues to grow now.

Lincoln only ranks high (in population and to a degree whiteness) because like many western cities essentially all non-farmland is incorporated in the city proper (meaning a lot of "suburbs" in the city). The two in Kentucky are city-county mergers. Colorado Springs, Fort Wayne, and Omaha have a lot of suburban-style subdivisions in the city. Henderson, Nevada is an "incorporated suburb" of Las Vegas. Really, Portland and Seattle are probably the only other two heavily white city cores in the country.

Originally Posted by Herodotus

Also keep in mind that numbers in the city are likely lower because of the many mill towns that surround Pittsburgh. These towns siphoned off many migrants that in other areas would have settled in the city. Boston is the only other metro that is even remotely set up like Pittsburgh, with a bunch of mill towns surrounding the main city.

Well, in 2007 Pittsburgh had the whitest suburbs of any metro in the nation, so those suburbs weren't a big draw. Besides that, historically aside from Homestead there wasn't a big black population in the river boroughs AFAIK.

That said, I do think the existence of the river boroughs helped the city in a different way. If you look at somewhere like Cleveland, industrial zones built in the early-mid 20th century essentially obliterated all the 19th century residential neighborhoods around downtown well before urban renewal even kicked into high gear. Because industry was so decentralized in Pittsburgh, a lot more of our housing stock survived.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by eschaton

In contrast, I think every single person I know who is a Pittsburgh booster is a transplant.

Co-signed.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I'm sorry, but this is the exact opposite from my experience here.

From my own experience, the people who think Pittsburgh sucks are all natives. Generally speaking, they're either older people who moved out of the city long ago and base their impression on the "bad old days," or they're under 30 and have no experience with other cities at all (and often don't live in the lauded parts of the city anyway).

In contrast, I think every single person I know who is a Pittsburgh booster is a transplant.



Pittsburgh briefly dropped below 300,000 sometime between 2000 and 2010. It recorded at just over 300,000 at the last census though, and continues to grow now.

Lincoln only ranks high (in population and to a degree whiteness) because like many western cities essentially all non-farmland is incorporated in the city proper (meaning a lot of "suburbs" in the city). The two in Kentucky are city-county mergers. Colorado Springs, Fort Wayne, and Omaha have a lot of suburban-style subdivisions in the city. Henderson, Nevada is an "incorporated suburb" of Las Vegas. Really, Portland and Seattle are probably the only other two heavily white city cores in the country.



Well, in 2007 Pittsburgh had the whitest suburbs of any metro in the nation, so those suburbs weren't a big draw. Besides that, historically aside from Homestead there wasn't a big black population in the river boroughs AFAIK.

That said, I do think the existence of the river boroughs helped the city in a different way. If you look at somewhere like Cleveland, industrial zones built in the early-mid 20th century essentially obliterated all the 19th century residential neighborhoods around downtown well before urban renewal even kicked into high gear. Because industry was so decentralized in Pittsburgh, a lot more of our housing stock survived.

RE: Lincoln-not so. https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-...&ved=0CJgBELYD

That Lincoln is newer and has grown in recent years rather than shrunk means there are newer homes there, but it's not particularly suburban. Being a college town, there are lots of apartment buildings and duplexes.

Omaha has annexed most of Douglas County, but again, the homes are newer, but not necessarily "suburban" as understood on this board to mean big yards, etc. AND, they have sidewalks in most areas. I was just through Lincoln and in Omaha last weekend.

Colorado Springs is newer, too, and has grown a lot in the past few decades. Again, small lot size. Lots of apts due to the military presence there.

You left Minneapolis out of your discussion.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by Katiana

OTOH, "he" is a poster who can't tolerate any criticism of Pittsburgh. If someone says, "the traffic in Pgh is awful", he says, "it's that way everywhere". Now, this is true, but so what? If someone wants to discuss Pittsburgh-specific traffic issues, it doesn't matter that traffic is as bad or worse in some other city. And so on. To add " Seriously, I'm not the only one recommending that you do so. " is a personal remark which is supposedly against the TOS, though you'd never know it to see many posts.

I post on some other city threads as well, and the retort, "If you don't like it here get the **** out", which was probably not the "H" word b/c that makes it through CD's filters, is not so commonly seen. I for one welcome a "see ourselves as others see us" view at times.

wooo - there's history between 2 posters here I have no intention of commenting on. It must be deep though if it's causing you to border on defending our two trolls, who as locals with no experience of living elsewhere can hardly be accused of performing the role as bolded above. If that's what you meant anyway - apologies if I misinterpreted.

And to get back vaguely on subject, I'd never seen this list before of African American populations by state. I guess it's not surprising, but the percentages in the west and Rockies are certain illuminating.

List of U.S. states by African-American population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Katarina Witt]

^^Yes, that is interesting. My DH went to the same high school as Gale Sayres (sp?), a few years later. When I told a friend that, she said, "I didn't think there were any blacks in Nebraska". Most of the black community in NE lives in Omaha, and was very visible when we went back there last weekend.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by zman63

Also i stated positive things about people being decent individuals. Even so I see that change is going to be very slow. It is not a laid back region. We are definitely high stress for a region this size.

What's the basis for the 'high stress' comment? What are your comparisons and what experience are they based on? Presumably other regions of similar size you have extensive experience of living in? Would e good to understand your terms of reference.

When you say 'definitely' it's kinda nice to back up your opinions.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I'm sorry, but this is the exact opposite from my experience here.

From my own experience, the people who think Pittsburgh sucks are all natives. Generally speaking, they're either older people who moved out of the city long ago and base their impression on the "bad old days," or they're under 30 and have no experience with other cities at all (and often don't live in the lauded parts of the city anyway).

In contrast, I think every single person I know who is a Pittsburgh booster is a transplant.



.

I've been here in Pittsburgh my whole life, and certainly don't think it sucks. I thought it was fine in the 90's, parking was sure a lot easier.

But transforming it into another Portland or San Francisco or Manhattan isn't my idea of "progress".

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I've been here in Pittsburgh my whole life, and certainly don't think it sucks. I thought it was fine in the 90's, parking was sure a lot easier.

But transforming it into another Portland or San Francisco or Manhattan isn't my idea of "progress".

I don't think it'll be amother Portland.

Nothing in the world is like sf or NYC so no worries there.

Regarding transplants - I've been meeting more and more lately. Mostly under 30.

One actually googled "up and coming city" and came with 3 friends from the rockies for a few months. All have since settled here. That was 4 years ago.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I've been here in Pittsburgh my whole life, and certainly don't think it sucks. I thought it was fine in the 90's, parking was sure a lot easier.

But transforming it into another Portland or San Francisco or Manhattan isn't my idea of "progress".

I work with lots of 'natives' who love living here. Many have moved away and come back.

A uniquely Pittsburgh version of Portland wouldn't be a bad thing. Portland is a very livable city size-wise - and it's really not (mostly) like the TV show.

Anyway, it took Portland 30 or so years to transform itself, so I think you're safe for another 10 at least

And just for folks who think bridges needing repair is a uniquely Pittsburgh/PA problem:

http://www.katu.com/news/local/Hundr...134445663.html