Some recent press has been given to a
consequence of the “new urbanism” trend that we in the US are
experiencing. Whether because of
Millennials’ delayed household formation, the increasing numbers of childless
Baby Boomers, or simply a cultural shift from a suburban to an urban lifestyle,
city living is way cool with even small and mid-sized American cities becoming
destinations. However, as resources are
poured into destination cities from DC to San Francisco, Portland to Salt Lake,
and Grand Rapids to Chattanooga, a new issue has cropped up: displacement of
poorer, largely minority residents.
Two recent pieces caught my eye, both based
on a study by Eric Tang of the University of Texas and the Institute of Urban Policy
and Research Analysis. To simplify his
study’s model here, Mr. Tang looked at large cities and divided them into
“progressive” and “conservative” based on historical voting patterns. He then looked at the percentage of minority
populations in each city. While we might
expect “progressive” cities to be more racially tolerant and thus have growing
minority populations, Tang found that for the most economically successful of
these cities, the minority population was falling as a percentage of the overall
population. And in one, Austin, which is
regarded as this decade’s gold standard for urban success, the African American
population is decreasing at an absolute rate.
So of course that got me thinking about Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is not yet in the same economic
powerhouse league with San Francisco or Austin.
Our job creation quite simply is anemic at best. We’re still building our momentum. But momentum is building and now is as good a
time as any to think about the consequences of success. The new urbanism found in East Liberty and
Lawrenceville, which is spreading to Garfield and Bloomfield, will eventually
make its way to the Hill District and Homewood.
What we want for all these neighborhoods is a social, economic and
racial mix. That’s the ideal and it will
never be perfect. The percentages and
type of mix are not as important as the freedom to have such.
Pittsburgh stands at an exciting crossroads
where its position as an economic powerhouse and destination city is being
re-established for this new millennium.
We need, indeed must make it a goal to raise the living standards of all
the City’s and region’s citizens. Those
people who have stuck by Pittsburgh and western PA through the bad times and
the less bad times deserve to benefit from renewed growth. We simply cannot lazily rely on or hope that
in-migrants with more desirable demographics replace current residents in our
region, City and neighborhoods.
But what’s the prescription? I’ll start with this one: education. Better educational opportunity is the
standard answer but it is, proven time and again, the absolute best, most
efficient and effective solution.
Programs like the Pittsburgh Promise are prime examples of what’s
needed. Institutions like CCAC as well
as outlying counties’ community colleges should continue developing programs
targeting local workforce needs. And our
four year colleges and universities need to further encourage “entrepreneurial
DNA” within their student bodies while taking full responsibility to provide
the infrastructure that allows and encourages that talent to stay in the
region. New employment grows from these
seeds and outside companies migrate into places where the workforce is trained,
talented and smart.
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