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IMHO, rankings are crap. . . even as "safe" as New York is supposed to be, I'd invite anyone to go for a walk through Bushwick or South Bronx, unescorted and unarmed.... rankings only matter, so long as you're not the one with a knife in your face....
So far, Pittsburgh seems pretty darned safe to me, although I've already identified a number of areas I won't be walking alone on a Saturday night after I've been drinking.....LOL!!
Heres the deal about new york, ny on the list. They are probably only counting Manhattan and not the other buroughs (staten island, brooklyn, queens, bronx) since manhattans crime rate is relatively low (despite seeing black gang fights [financial district], chinese gang shootouts [chinatown, duh], and got jumped by 6 guys of the minority persuasion at 1 A.M. IN MANHATTAN [battery park city district]) . As a resident of manhattan in NYC and a person that wants to move to a 'burb in the 'burgh, I think there is something wrong with this list.
These stats are a " good read" only. In my 24 years I've learmed that these stats mean ****. I bet all the crimes that aren't reported totals or surpasses all the one that are.
Heres the deal about new york, ny on the list. They are probably only counting Manhattan and not the other buroughs (staten island, brooklyn, queens, bronx) since manhattans crime rate is relatively low
no. the population figure they used is for the entire city of new york. a lot of people have a hard time believing that NYC is, on the whole, relatively safe. it's a big city and being the safest big city in America doesn't mean it doesn't have its problems. the same goes the opposite way. a large city like, say, Philadelphia can be in the top 30 and still have some sizable nice areas. that said, I think 67th is okay. It's good enough to undermine naysayers who might say Pittsburgh is a crimeinfested craphole. it's clearly not. they should visit Camden, NJ, North Charleston, or Flint, MI.It's in the same ballpark as Boston which might be the most comparable city to Pittsburgh. It's also not good enough to say there's no problem and I certainly think there's room for improvement. Los Angeles is 135. It's something the city should work on and the city shoudl certainly aspire to be in the same relative class as Denver or Seattle. The fact that NY and LA are relatively safe should speak to the people who think only white cities are safe....jobs and a well run police force can go a long way....both of those PA's other city has been short on for a long time. Camden, NJ is a microcosm for what makes cities poor. they've been burning through police chiefs faster than calendar years...the city was in such bad shape the state took over the police force and now the commissioner answers to a board of bureaucrats who want to micromanage. the FBI has been busy busting corrupt politicians. and the state's asinine alcohol policy has meant that their riverfront can't capitalize on the only thing going for it...entertainment.
also, NYC has added over a million residents in the past two decades. one coudl point out that most of these are increasing the population base and NOT increasing the crime rate. If Pittsburgh suddenly started adding residents that came for jobs, the same might happen there.
where pittsburgh really shines is in geographical comparables. other rust belt cities:
Detroit #1 (extremely corrupt, didn't the mayor just get sent to jail? no jobs)
St. Louis, MO #2
Flint, MI #3
Cleveland, OH #10
Cincinatti, OH #16
Dayton, OH #19
Buffalo, NY #24
even Milwaukee clocks in at #36
Toledo and Columbus at 47 & 48
that might be cold comfort, but I think it means that Pittsburgh has weathered the rust belt storm relatively well. I also think that Pittsburgh can attract some midwesterners that may be looking for city life without leaving the region completelly. Heretofore that has largely been the realm of chicago but I think there's room for Pittsburgh to play that role...esp since geographically it's where the east meets midwest. the flipside is that it could also attract some easterners who may be looking for a smaller city, lower cost, lower crime, etc.
One last comment:
to the poster from Oakland, CA. Take heart. To compare to, say, Philadelphia you'd have to add Oakland and San Fran together. You coudl break certain sections of Philadelphia off and you'd get a top five most dangerous city while lowering the other section much the same way Oakland and SF are separated. that said, last time I was out in the bay area I found people in Oakland to be friendlier.
no. the population figure they used is for the entire city of new york. a lot of people have a hard time believing that NYC is, on the whole, relatively safe. it's a big city and being the safest big city in America doesn't mean it doesn't have its problems. the same goes the opposite way. a large city like, say, Philadelphia can be in the top 30 and still have some sizable nice areas. that said, I think 67th is okay. It's good enough to undermine naysayers who might say Pittsburgh is a crimeinfested craphole. it's clearly not. they should visit Camden, NJ, North Charleston, or Flint, MI.It's in the same ballpark as Boston which might be the most comparable city to Pittsburgh. It's also not good enough to say there's no problem and I certainly think there's room for improvement. Los Angeles is 135. It's something the city should work on and the city shoudl certainly aspire to be in the same relative class as Denver or Seattle. The fact that NY and LA are relatively safe should speak to the people who think only white cities are safe....jobs and a well run police force can go a long way....both of those PA's other city has been short on for a long time. Camden, NJ is a microcosm for what makes cities poor. they've been burning through police chiefs faster than calendar years...the city was in such bad shape the state took over the police force and now the commissioner answers to a board of bureaucrats who want to micromanage. the FBI has been busy busting corrupt politicians. and the state's asinine alcohol policy has meant that their riverfront can't capitalize on the only thing going for it...entertainment.
also, NYC has added over a million residents in the past two decades. one coudl point out that most of these are increasing the population base and NOT increasing the crime rate. If Pittsburgh suddenly started adding residents that came for jobs, the same might happen there.
where pittsburgh really shines is in geographical comparables. other rust belt cities:
Detroit #1 (extremely corrupt, didn't the mayor just get sent to jail? no jobs)
St. Louis, MO #2
Flint, MI #3
Cleveland, OH #10
Cincinatti, OH #16
Dayton, OH #19
Buffalo, NY #24
even Milwaukee clocks in at #36
Toledo and Columbus at 47 & 48
that might be cold comfort, but I think it means that Pittsburgh has weathered the rust belt storm relatively well. I also think that Pittsburgh can attract some midwesterners that may be looking for city life without leaving the region completelly. Heretofore that has largely been the realm of chicago but I think there's room for Pittsburgh to play that role...esp since geographically it's where the east meets midwest. the flipside is that it could also attract some easterners who may be looking for a smaller city, lower cost, lower crime, etc.
One last comment:
to the poster froDDRm Oakland, CA. Take heart. To compare to, say, Philadelphia you'd have to add Oakland and San Fran together. You coudl break certain sections of Philadelphia off and you'd get a top five most dangerous city while lowering the other section much the same way Oakland and SF are separated. that said, last time I was out in the bay area I found people in Oakland to be friendlier.
North Charleston? Really? I'm from Pittsburgh and live in North Charleston. North Charleston is by far the nicest place I have ever lived. I'm military and have had the opportunity to live in lots of different places. Pittsburgh is a hard city to judge. Crime statistics definitely don't give a clear picture. Pittsburgh's black community is struggling right now and I think most would agree that is where the majority of the problems exist. However the larger, safer white communities offset a lot of those problems as far as statistics are concerned. Statistics are all based on what population you look at. If you go into parts of Homewood or the hill, I highly doubt the people there who have lost friends and family will agree with you that Pittsburgh is "safe". However if you go into the parts of the north side which are being rebuilt, the people there will probably tell you how great the city is because they just invested in property. It's all a matter of perspective. I lost two friends last year to gun violence in Pittsburgh..from my perspective, with the things I've seen there and after living around the country. I wouldn't consider Pittsburgh as safe as a lot of people make it out to be. But then again it depends on where you're at. North Charleston? How did you even come up with that one? North Charleston looks an upscale Pittsburgh or Philly suburb to give some of you perspective. Perfect example of how unreliable statistics are.
Last edited by pgh412; 03-13-2012 at 01:44 AM..
Reason: fix errors
True true... This thread is only looking at the overall good statistics for the Burgh...
The Greater Pittsburgh Area has the highest percentage of black residents living in poverty in the nation. Also, Pittsburgh is a city with a very high percentage of black on black gang related homicides compared along with other BIG cities in the nation. For example, 73% of 12-14yr olds & 86% of 15-18yr old kids from the hoods on the Northside, Beltzhoover, the Hill, & the East End know someone who's been killed due to gang violence. Ever since the crack epidemic in the 80's a majority of black neighborhoods have been unsafe!!! Plus since 93 the same low-income, high crime, largely black areas have been hit with the same old gangsta/thug/dope boy bull**** with no sign of stopping due to gentrification (except the Mexican War Streets, Chartiers City, Garfield south of Broad St, most of East Liberty, half of East Allegheny, part of Fairywood, & parts of Wilkinsburg).
Now I'm not saying: Pittsburgh hoods stack up to Chi-Town's, Clevland's, Philly's/Allentown's/Reading, Oakland's, LA's/Inglewood's/Long Beach's/Compton, NYC's/Jerzey's, Detroit's/Flint/Lancing's, New Orleans/Baton Rague's, Maimi's, Atlanta's etc, but basically the inner-city neighborhoods of Pittsburgh/Allegheny County aren't the most livable or safe for many black people, but particularly some of the young people .
Last edited by Uptown kid; 03-13-2012 at 04:28 PM..
True true... This thread is only looking at the overall good statistics for the Burgh...
...basically the inner-city neighborhoods of Pittsburgh/Allegheny County aren't the most livable or safe for many black people, but particularly some of the young people .
I do think Pittsburgh is somewhat unique in this respect, and it definitely problematizes crime statistics like these. I've lived all around the city from East Liberty to the Northside, and I'm very, very confident in stating that Pittsburgh has proved exceptionally safe for me. Yet, as you mention, there is this huge discrepancy between my life/experience here and those caught in that awful, insular pocket of self-perpetuating crime/drug garbage.
Perhaps some more dynamic statistics would help develop a more meaningful picture, figures attempting to separate this type of insular crime from that which effects the general populace, for instance.
I really don't mean that to sound as insensitive and terrible as it may, haha, so apologies if it does. It sucks that this problem exists, and I'm not trying to marginalize it in the least. I'm just trying to highlight this sort of dichotomy that makes Pittsburgh an extremely safe city for the majority population, while also a somewhat dangerous one for this particular minority.
As others have said, Pittsburgh is incredibly safe for a "major" city if you aren't black and living in one of the poor city neighborhoods. For the people that do live in those neighborhoods, its a different story, though I'd argue still not nearly as bad as many other U.S. cities. It would certainly be nice if someday it was safe for everyone...
I do think Pittsburgh is somewhat unique in this respect, and it definitely problematizes crime statistics like these. I've lived all around the city from East Liberty to the Northside, and I'm very, very confident in stating that Pittsburgh has proved exceptionally safe for me. Yet, as you mention, there is this huge discrepancy between my life/experience here and those caught in that awful, insular pocket of self-perpetuating crime/drug garbage.
Perhaps some more dynamic statistics would help develop a more meaningful picture, figures attempting to separate this type of insular crime from that which effects the general populace, for instance.
I really don't mean that to sound as insensitive and terrible as it may, haha, so apologies if it does. It sucks that this problem exists, and I'm not trying to marginalize it in the least. I'm just trying to highlight this sort of dichotomy that makes Pittsburgh an extremely safe city for the majority population, while also a somewhat dangerous one for this particular minority.
What exactly makes Pittsburgh unique with respect to crime? I'd like to be proven wrong, but it seems to me like in every city/metro, crime is always concentrated in very specific areas, and that crime rates are rarely ever useful at describing the experience of any of a city/metro's residents.
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