More southwestern Pennsylvanians have been able to find housing that fits their budgets in the past decade, despite steadily rising home values and rents. But there are stark disparities in the affordability of housing across income levels. Although housing values and rent have experienced peaks and valleys over the last 10 years, both have increased …
When Pittsburgh rises to the top of various “best places to live” lists, one indicator often cited is the region’s relative safety as measured by crime rates, which typically are among the lowest of U.S. metropolitan areas. Property and violent crime rates reported in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area have, for the most part, …
In a region where coal was once king, nearly half of the electricity consumed today is generated from non-carbon sources. Yet, wind, solar and other renewable sources claim a tiny fraction of the local energy portfolio. An estimated 49 percent of the electricity consumed locally was from carbon-free sources in 2014, for example. Most was …
In retrospect, the gong makes a lot of sense. It was 2009, and a packed crowd huddled in the basement theater of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, watching and laughing as one by one, teachers, technologists, parents, gamers and roboticists took to the stage to give their pitch. They had three minutes each to describe …
Teenagers and African Americans face the greatest risk of being involuntarily committed to mental health facilities in Allegheny County, a recent study reports. Some 37,750 people were involuntarily committed for mental issues from 2002 through 2013, according to the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) study. An involuntary commitment occurs when someone is found …
Sustainable Pittsburgh last presented this regional sustainability goals and indicators report in 2004. In tracking the region’s progress, we see that much has changed, while too many things remain the same. Not changing, however, is the reason we produce the report. The old saying, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” applies. Sustainable Pittsburgh is …
Southwestern PA Sustainability Goals & Indicators Read More »
The 2016 Pittsburgh Today and Tomorrow report, produced by Pittsburgh Today, analyzes recent data to assess the Pittsburgh region’s standing compared with 14 other regions in key economic and quality of life measures. Also included are numerous in-depth reports focusing on the most important issues facing Greater Pittsburgh. To view a PDF version of Pittsburgh …
Metropolitan Pittsburgh is a picture of stability entering 2016. Job growth is outpacing the Pennsylvania state average, and the unemployment rate for the seven-county region is steady near 5 percent. 2015 brought a resurgence in labor force growth, providing local employers a wider pool of talent from which to fill their ever-expanding payroll needs. Pittsburgh …
Moderate Growth in Store for Metro Pittsburgh in 2016 Read More »
The Pittsburgh Regional Diversity Survey asked more than 3,500 southwestern Pennsylvania residents for their views on diversity in the workplace, region and their neighborhood. Results from the survey indicate that, while most respondents of all races see value in racial and ethnic diversity, significant differences exist along racial lines in answers to many of the …
In the city where the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente opened the door for generations of Hispanic ballplayers, employers ranging from local corporations to government are taking a cue from the sports industry’s most celebrated hiring policy to diversify a workforce that is among the least racially and ethnically diverse in the nation. Allegheny County government and …
Creating a diversity survey for the Pittsburgh region is a tricky business. First, in this day and age, how should we define diversity? There’s racial and ethnic diversity as well as diversity of religion and of sexual preference, which has grown from “LGBT” to “LGBTQIA” (you can look it up). Should women fall under the …
A handful of business incubators have set up shop in Pittsburgh neighborhoods where vacant overgrown lots, faded signs and boarded up storefronts suggest that the local economy has struggled for decades. Nonprofits such as Urban Innovation21 and Thrill Mill are taking steps to redefine the image of incubators as solely focused on highly educated tech …
Behind the Times: The Limited Role of Minorities in the Greater Pittsburgh Workforce is based on an analysis of workforce-related data collected by the Pittsburgh Regional Workforce Diversity Indicators Initiative. The Workforce Diversity Indicators Initiative, led by Vibrant Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Today, includes representatives from RAND Corporation, Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, Allegheny Conference on …
Behind the Times: The Limited Role of Minorities in the Greater Pittsburgh Workforce Read More »
Rayfield Lucas had heard there were well-paying jobs to be had in the shale gas industry; jobs that offered the opportunity to earn his way to a future more secure than the maintenance and warehouse work he’d done in the past could ever promise. He went for it. A little more than a month after …
Lack of Diversity in the Region’s Workforce Raises Concerns Read More »
The 2015 Pittsburgh Today and Tomorrow report, produced by Pittsburgh Today, analyzes recent data to assess the Pittsburgh region’s standing compared with 14 other regions in 11 categories. Also included are numerous in-depth reports focusing on the most important issues facing Greater Pittsburgh. To view a PDF version of Pittsburgh Today and Tomorrow 2015, click …
Older adults are growing in number and influence across the nation. “The State of Aging in Allegheny County” provides a comprehensive analysis of that population in a county long ranked among the oldest in the nation. The report, published by the University of Pittsburgh University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) and Pittsburgh Today, …
When drivers exit the turnpike in Cranberry, they see expansive strip malls, traffic signals and road signs leading to more highways. On its face, it’s a portrait of urban sprawl. But a closer look reveals evidence of the steps the Butler County municipality has taken to make amends for the fragmented development of its past, …
A standing-room-only audience has packed the Avalon Municipal Building on a rain-soaked April evening to hear Allegheny County Health Department officials explain the latest consent decree to correct air quality violations at the coke works across the river. It’s a tough crowd. Most live in the north boroughs near the Shenango, Inc. plant. They know …
Pittsburgh has emerged as one of the nation’s lowest-priced health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act. Insurance marketplaces created by the Act offer a menu of private sector plans covering a range of benefits packages and premium prices. Some consumers are eligible for income-based tax credits that can reduce premiums and, in certain cases, …
Pittsburgh Emerges as a Low-Price Leader in Health Insurance Read More »
Juvenile court Judge Dwayne Woodruff sees the worst of the problem. “By the time kids get to me they’ve missed 50, 60, 80 days of school,” he says. It’s a common thread running through the Allegheny County cases over which he presides, regardless of whether the student is delinquent or in need of protective custody …
How does Pittsburgh compare with these 14 similar cities?: Denver // Kansas City // Milwaukee // St. Louis // Minneapolis // St. Paul // Indianapolis // Detroit // Cincinnati // Cleveland // Charlotte // Richmond // Washington, D.C. // Philadelphia // Boston The 2014 Pittsburgh Today & Tomorrow report, produced by Pittsburgh Today, analyzes recent …
Pittsburgh Today & Tomorrow 2014 Regional Annual Report Read More »
For years the well pads, truck traffic and logos of energy companies large and small multiplied across counties like Washington and Greene as southwestern Pennsylvania became a poster child for the rush to extract natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale. It was in such a climate that the region recently assumed a new identity …
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