So for the record 1) I’ve actually slept in a shipping container, and 2) I’m a big fan of modular housing components, but shipping containers are not engineered for this and this is dumb.

Now I know more than 7 of you have library cards!

Briems of the world!

Ok, this is neat. You can reserve a loan now from the Carnegie Library. acl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S2...

Just $5k more…

"Casa San José, an example of support for migrants in Pittsburgh" efs.efeservicios.com/reportaje/ca...

And there it is.. the location for the new plant promised as part of the Nippon deal. ArkansasOnline: Pittsburgh-based steelmaking giant U.S. Steel, ..., plans to build a new metals plant at the Big River site as part of the company's plan to invest $11 billion in its domestic operations by 2028.

And there it is.. the location for the new plant promised as part of the Nippon deal. ArkansasOnline: Pittsburgh-based steelmaking giant U.S. Steel, ..., plans to build a new metals plant at the Big River site as part of the company's plan to invest $11 billion in its domestic operations by 2028.

Washington Post quite positive on the city of Pittsburgh today. "How this major city became one of America’s most affordable for home buyers" wapo.st/4hQQxYiThe

Tiny house before tiny houses were cool.

Scoop: The University of Pittsburgh will maintain its current federal funding for indirect research costs after cuts announced earlier this year threatened to push one of the region’s major research institutions off a financial cliff. www.wesa.fm/health-scien...

Factoid of the day - workforce edition. Workers Age 65 and Over in the Pittsburgh MSA, 1998 to 2024

Here is your factoid of the day. Who knows that in recent years Allegheny County has become the youngest county in SW Pennsylvania?

Seems almost open?

So here is an updated factoid. For many years in this benchmarking, Pittsburgh was just behind Tampa in the percentage of Population age 65 and over. But we moved decisively past Tampa a few years ago*, and now so has Cleveland. So it's Cleveburgh on the right.

Obligatory Halloween mention of the strangest post-political life of an Allegheny County politician. Former county commissioner Bob Cranmer became an author writing about his real life need for an exorcist to clear his Brentwood home of… well, just of….

Who has been inside?

Some books become deprecated quickly, others become ever more relevant long after they were first published. Today I’m reminded of this one.

Here is a rarely noticed piece of Bloomfield (Bridge) zen.

Part of this feels relevant to Pittsburgh's insane refusal to reassess property values since 2012. Long-term homeowners in my area have houses twice the size of mine and pay half the property taxes; when they sell they're going to make bank and the next owner will get a fun assessment surprise.

Tessitor lawn sign in the wild. So few lawn signs in the city this cycle?

A quick snapshot of employment change in the Pittsburgh MSA from just before Covid set in to now. At extremes note: priv. education services is capturing institutions of higher education locally & construction reflects dropoff following completion of the cracker plant.

Better shot, Bloomfield zen.

PublicSource: Pittsburgh is hailed for its affordable homes. How true are the headlines? www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-h...

bonappetit.com: Experience Pittsburgh Dining Like a Local: Chef Nik Forsberg Shares His Secret City www.bonappetit.com/story/nik-fo...

Just something I've been thinking about. Yes, this is mostly an artifact of being an older region, but still this has an impact in local real estate markets, and an even more concentrated impact in some communities.

Looks (finally) open

This! One of Pittsburgh's greater failures (IMHO) is not having a functioning land bank in the decade or two when it could have really shaped local real estate in the first decades of the 20th century.

Thomas Mellon erasure complete:

Ok. I have to point this one out because the sales pitch says you get to live in “the *epic* neighborhood of ‘Lower Lawrenceville’” (emphasis added). Far be it from me to add that it is actually in Central Lawrenceville. But we’re now ‘epic’!

Is this native to Bloomfield?

With news of Monroeville Mall's possible demise, and ongoing travails at Pittsburgh Mills, interesting to look back at this article from 1989. (PG: April 10, 1989). At the time there was this 'fear' in economic development world that we were 'under-retailed'... Like, really? (PG: April 10, 1989)

Monroeville Mall soon to be the Isalys of eastern Allegheny County. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

Is the Turners crate account on this site?

With the Browns and Steelers facing off this Sunday, it seems like a good time to ponder the relationship between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. @chrisbriem.bsky.social, author of our upcoming book “Beyond Steel,” argues it’s worth approaching the cities not as rivals but as Rust Belt partners.

Boom goes the dynamite!

It’s sitting there. Right next to the bed.

Hey @someclevername.bsky.social "Interview: Chris Belasco, chief data officer, City of Pittsburgh" www.computerweekly.com/news/3666319...

Bloomberg: How Trump’s War on ‘Woke’ Threatens Pittsburgh's Economic Revival www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Missed this.. awfully dour "bleak market prospects" for the Beaver County cracker. ieefa.org/resources/sh...

And again, for the city boo birds, by far the lowest unemployment rate across southwestern Pennsylvania remains that for the City of Pittsburgh. This has become normal of late, but certainly wasn't for decades.

New: Pittsburgh MSA unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) for August 2025 unchanged at 3.9% www.pa.gov/content/dam/...

Was looking something else up, but came across this page 1 story from 1989.

Ok, last one for now. This one people argue with me about because they can't, or don't want to, believe it.

I have not had a chance to look at the latest ACS (1-year, 2024) data much as yet. Anyone have a suggestion of what benchmarking to update? Here is how Pittsburgh (MSA) compares in terms of foreign-born populations with other larger metros.

This comes up for me often, but this idea that Ohio is vastly outperforming Pennsylvania in job creation is... the opposite of reality! I don't get it? Here is what I see; pick whatever time period you like:

Missed this. A tad under $500/sq. foot is way up there in any Pittsburgh market. A small 2br, really. Is there really a ‘penthouse’ in a 3 story conversion.

Srsly, this has officially been rezoned an urban rewilding parcel.

For the record, nobody needs that large a picture of me. But it is better than the picture I once had in Cosmo.

The Murry of Murrysville