VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve
Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Barbara Klein. This week on our
program, we look at how times have changed for the city of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. A writer once called it hell. Now Pittsburgh is hot, but in a
good way.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
 |
| Pittsburgh has rebuilt itself, though it came close to bankruptcy in a financial crisis several years ago |
Sixty years ago, Pittsburgh was known mainly for one
thing. It was the capital of the American steel industry, then the world's
mightiest. But then, one by one, the steel works closed as the industry shrank.
Today two steel factories remain in Allegheny County; both are outside the
city.
Pittsburgh has worked hard to rebuild
itself -- and the world is taking notice.
VOICE TWO:
President
Obama will host a Group of Twenty summit in Pittsburgh on September
twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth. The G-20 brings together nineteen countries and the European Union.
The
leaders will discuss progress in efforts to deal with the world economic
crisis. Earlier meetings took place in Washington and London.
White
House press secretary Robert Gibbs announced the Pittsburgh summit at the end
of May. Reporters asked, why Pittsburgh?
ROBERT GIBBS: "I think it's an area that has seen
its share of economic woes in the past, but because of foresight and investment
is now renewed -- giving birth to renewed industries that are creating the jobs
of the future. And I think the president believes it'd be a good place to
highlight some of that stuff."
For
example, the White House praised the city's use of environmentally friendly
technology in its economic development.
The summit will take place at a convention center recognized for
leadership in energy and environmental design.
But
that is not the only recognition Pittsburgh has received.
VOICE ONE:
Last
October, BusinessWeek magazine named Pittsburgh one of best places to live
during a recession.
And, last month, the Brookings Institution in
Washington listed the city among the twenty economically strongest in America.
Pittsburgh earned eighteenth place as researchers pointed to a relatively
stable economy based on higher education and health care.
Researchers
from the Pew Charitable Trusts recently looked at how thirteen American cities
are trying to balance budgets in a time of recession. Pittsburgh was the only
one not predicting a deficit for two thousand nine or ten. In fact, the city
has a surplus.
VOICE TWO:
Yet
not long ago, in two thousand three, Pittsburgh was in financial crisis. The
city came close to declaring bankruptcy. The report says Pittsburgh was forced
to make many of the difficult decisions that other cities are facing now.
Over the last five years, the city has reduced its public
workforce and taken other steps like closing fire stations and swimming pools. The
Pew report said the city is in better financial health today as a result of the
actions it took.
But
the report noted that opinion is divided about who should get credit for the
recovery. Some say local leaders. Others point to measures recommended by a state-appointed
committee.
In
any case, Britain's Economist magazine recently named Pittsburgh the most
livable city in the United States. As for the world, that honor went to the
Canadian city of Vancouver.
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VOICE ONE:
Pittsburgh city leaders are understandably happy about
all this good publicity. But they are protesting one recent listing that is not
so good.
The
American Lung Association said Pittsburgh was last in the nation in one of
three measures of air quality. The group's recent "State of the Air"
report said Pittsburgh has the worst short-term fine particle pollution in the
country.
City
officials say the report is misleading and unfair. They point out that the
finding was based on one air measurement taken in an industrial town that is
not even in Pittsburgh.
A spokeswoman for the mayor's office, Joanna
Dovan, says the Pittsburgh area has been working to improve its air
quality. The number of particles in the air has been reduced. But experts say
it is still too high and Pittsburgh has more work to do.
VOICE TWO:
Pittsburgh is located in western Pennsylvania in the
area where three rivers meet -- the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio. More
than two million people live in the Pittsburgh area. Three hundred ten thousand
live in the city itself.
The most recent numbers
show that Pittsburgh lost almost two thousand people between two thousand seven
and two thousand eight.
City
officials hope the G-20 meeting in September will attract more people to Pittsburgh.
Joanna Dovan from the mayor's office says it is true that the city
now has its lowest population of the past ten years. But she notes that the
losses have slowed. As many as five thousand people left the city each year
between two thousand and two thousand six.
Special efforts are being made to keep young families. For
example, a program called Pittsburgh Promise offers college scholarships for
graduates of the city public schools.
The city has many colleges and
universities. The best known include Carnegie Mellon University and the
University of Pittsburgh.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
 |
| Mayor Luke Ravenstahl |
Pittsburgh
is led by America's youngest big-city mayor. Luke Ravenstahl was just
twenty-seven when he won a special election in two thousand seven. The former
mayor had died in office.
In
Pittsburgh, Democrats such as Mayor Ravenstahl heavily outnumber Republicans. In
fact, Pittsburgh has not had a Republican mayor in more than seventy years.
Like many American cities, Pittsburgh
was built on the hard work of immigrants. The ancestors of many of today's
Pittsburghers came from all over Europe to work in the iron and steel
factories.
Pittsburgh produced huge amounts of steel in factories
built near the rivers. But these steel mills also produced huge amounts of
pollution. Brown and green liquid flowed into the water and black smoke filled
the sky.
The
nineteenth-century English writer Anthony Trollope called Pittsburgh the
blackest city he ever saw. In eighteen sixty-eight, the American writer James
Parton called it "hell with the lid off."
VOICE TWO:
One reason
Pittsburgh became the world's leading producer of steel was Andrew Carnegie. He
came to Pittsburgh from Scotland in eighteen forty-eight at the age of just thirteen.
In time, he started the Carnegie Steel Company and built it into the biggest in
the world.
Andrew Carnegie became one of the wealthiest men in
history. The steel industry made other Pittsburgh citizens rich, too. One was another
Andrew -- Andrew Mellon, a banker who provided money for the industry.
But not everyone became rich. In
eighteen ninety-two, workers at a Carnegie Steel mill in the nearby town of
Homestead went on strike. They objected when management tried to lower their
pay.
The
strikers battled with private guards hired by the company. Several people were
killed. Finally the state governor sent National Guard troops who took control in
Homestead. The end of the strike was a big setback for the steelworkers union.
VOICE ONE:
For
years, even as other industries moved to Pittsburgh, steel mills continued to
poison the air. During one week in nineteen forty-eight, poisonous air in a
nearby town killed twenty people and sickened six thousand others.
City leaders recognized that the situation could not
continue. So they began a clean-up campaign. They called it the Renaissance
Project. A second redevelopment project was launched in the nineteen seventies.
Much of the downtown area was rebuilt. And there was another strong period of
building in the nineties and beyond.
VOICE TWO:
 |
| Penguins' Bill Guerin raises the Stanley Cup after the team won the National Hockey League championship in June |
Over the years, when its sports teams have done well,
Pittsburgh has been called the "City of Champions." Two of its major
teams are the current champions of their leagues. The Pittsburgh Steelers won
the Super Bowl in the National Football League. And the Pittsburgh Penguins won
the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League.
The city is also known for its arts tradition. Veronica
Corpuz is public relations director for Pittsburgh's Cultural
District. She says the arts in Pittsburgh have generally done well even in the
recession. The Cultural District is a fourteen block area of downtown that
includes public spaces, art galleries and six major theaters.
One of these, the Benedum Center for the Performing
Arts, is home to the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Pittsburgh Opera. Another,
Heinz Hall, is where the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs.
Pittsburgh even has a well-known dinosaur collection.
It is housed at the Carnegie Museum, which has both an art museum and a museum
of natural history.
Now, looking to the future and the upcoming
G-20 summit, Pittsburgh is preparing for a chance to show the world how much
the city has changed.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach
and produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Barbara Klein.
Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.
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