Pittsburgh: Smart City

Pittsburgh: Smart City - Pittsburgh's image as a sooty, gritty steel town is a thing of the past. The city s skyline now shines with new construction, its rivers flow by marinas and bike trails rather than mills, and a thriving arts scene keeps downtown bustling after sundown. And because this renaissance has happened under the radar, Pittsburgh is still safe, traffic still flows smoothly, and housing prices are still among the nation s best. In Pittsburgh: Smart City, the authors reveal why it s no accident that Pittsburgh has been named America s Most Livable City twice. Its sense of tradition and lack of pretension are prized, and residents are proud to share its natural and cultural amenities. Philanthropy, the legacy of tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon, pours into the city, keeping the arts, conservation, and education on sound footing. U.S. Steel is, of course, still headquartered in Pittsburgh, but so are PNC Financial Services Group, H.J. Heinz, and American Eagle Outfitters. Smaller businesses find strong support too. The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University lend a hand with powerful entrepreneurship and economic development centers, while the smaller colleges provide a steady stream of bright young workers. Breakthroughs in fields from tissue engineering and transplantation to robotics and advanced materials have established Pittsburgh as a world leader in new technologies. As the colleges and universities stoke the engines of innovation and the warehouses of the industrial age are converted to loft apartments or high-tech workplaces, the Steelers aren t Pittsburgh s only success story. As Pittsburgh: Smart City illustrates, new ones are being written every day.