Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Consultants Say Something Nice About Pittsburgh
As the region basked in the glow of the festivities surrounding the All-Star game, site selection consultants were brought in to tour the city and offer their opinions about the area and its chances for economic development. Apparently unwilling to step on their host’s toes, they had nothing but nice things to say about the region.
However, compliments don’t necessarily translate to actual growth. For years the economy of this region has been trailing cities such as Atlanta and Charlotte. While Pittsburgh stagnates, leaders search in vain for possible causes and ways to treat them. In past years, they were told that there are not enough young people, so they built more bike trails and stadiums to improve the “quality of life”. When told that there was not enough to do in town, they tried to makeover the City’s retail sector with TIFs and other corporate handouts. Not enough public transportation? Build a tunnel under the river to connect the stadiums with downtown, even though the two are only a short walk apart.
These ideas and visions have cost and will continue to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and yet economic growth is still quite sluggish compared to the national rate.
In the past, consultants have been brought in to tell policy makers that there are not enough “shovel ready” sites or the sites are not big enough to attract new businesses. The latest advice is to increase downtown housing to attract younger people into the City and that while the number of “shovel ready” sites has improved there are not enough “pad ready” sites.
Now developers are launching downtown housing developments. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than most young people can afford. In short, nearly every possible idea for stimulating the attraction of businesses and young people has been given a try. All except the ideas that would really make a difference in the region’s attractiveness.
However, compliments don’t necessarily translate to actual growth. For years the economy of this region has been trailing cities such as Atlanta and Charlotte. While Pittsburgh stagnates, leaders search in vain for possible causes and ways to treat them. In past years, they were told that there are not enough young people, so they built more bike trails and stadiums to improve the “quality of life”. When told that there was not enough to do in town, they tried to makeover the City’s retail sector with TIFs and other corporate handouts. Not enough public transportation? Build a tunnel under the river to connect the stadiums with downtown, even though the two are only a short walk apart.
These ideas and visions have cost and will continue to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and yet economic growth is still quite sluggish compared to the national rate.
In the past, consultants have been brought in to tell policy makers that there are not enough “shovel ready” sites or the sites are not big enough to attract new businesses. The latest advice is to increase downtown housing to attract younger people into the City and that while the number of “shovel ready” sites has improved there are not enough “pad ready” sites.
Now developers are launching downtown housing developments. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than most young people can afford. In short, nearly every possible idea for stimulating the attraction of businesses and young people has been given a try. All except the ideas that would really make a difference in the region’s attractiveness.
