A generation ago, the steel industry that built Pittsburgh and still dominated its economy entered its death throes. In the early 1980s, the city was being talked about the way Detroit is now. Its very survival was in question.
Deindustrialization in Pittsburgh was a protracted and painful experience. Yet it set the stage for an economy that is the envy of many recession-plagued communities, particularly those where the automobile industry is struggling for its life.
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software and biotechnology. Two of the biggest sectors are education and health care, among the most resistant to downturns. Prominent companies are doing well. Westinghouse Electric, a builder of nuclear reactors, expects to hire 350 new employees a year for the foreseeable future. And commercial construction, plunging in most places, is still thriving partly because of big projects like a casino and an arena for the Penguins hockey team.
The question is whether Pittsburgh can serve as a model for Detroit and other cities in the industrial Midwest as they grapple with large-scale cutbacks in the automotive industry. Even with the federal government’s $17.4 billion bailout, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford are expected to continue shrinking.

I was recently in Pittsburgh for the first time in five years and was amazed, again, at how nice it was (of course this was in the Summer). I am investigating if there is any correlation between population density of Rust Belt cities as a secondary indication of economic viability. But Detroit is much denser than Pittsburgh (6,856/sq mile vs 5,636/sq mile) so I don’t think there will be any correlation.
My guess is that because Pittsburgh was slow to recover between 1990-2006, the region as a whole wasn’t able to take “advantage” of the economic boom Sun Belt cities felt. The article cites a less than insane housing appreciation of 2.2% versus 4% nationally as a factor cushioning the region from the current housing debacle. Since much of the economic boom has turned Potemkin, Pittsburgh should be thankful they were sidelined during this period.