A recent editorial in the Post-Gazette raised the question: “Can Pittsburgh thrive without growing?” The author states that the metro area and county have lost population, and as a result, local gross domestic product has fallen since pre-pandemic 2019. A look at U.S. Census data shows that population losses are a problem for most counties in the area which will have detrimental effects on the economic vitality of the region.
On April 8, Pittsburgh Public Schools filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas to force Allegheny County to carry out a reassessment. The lawsuit was authorized by a school board resolution in March. County reassessments that went into effect in 2001 and 2013 were the result of court orders.
Pittsburgh cannot thrive without a growing population, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.
“As population falls, so does the number of people available for the labor force,” says Frank Gamrat, executive director the Pittsburgh think tank (in Policy Brief Vol. 24, No. 16). “Without a growing and strong labor force, the economy is going to languish.”
The long-threatened lawsuit by Pittsburgh Public Schools to force Allegheny County to conduct a comprehensive property reassessment came to pass on April 8.
