DEC. 612, 2019 5 Working together to build bridges to the future SENATOR JOHN HEINZ HISTORY CENTER GETTY IMAGES SPONSORED BY: 2 PITTSBURGH BUSINESS TIMES THE PITTSBURGH REGION AND OUR NEXT 75 Th e next chapter in our region’s history eventy-fi ve years. Th at’s an entire improving quality of place. lifetime. We will only succeed in reaching S When you get to 75 years – so this goal if we join together and involve we’re told – you’re wiser. Your world- as many people as possible. At the Our view broadens. You understand how Next 75 Summit in June and the Allegh- things succeed and how things fail. eny Conference’s 75th Annual Meeting Over the past 75 years of regional earlier this week, packed rooms, buzz- transformation, two generations of lead- ing with the energy and enthusiasm of Jeff Broadhurst and Toni Murphy are ers have shaped the story of our region, everyone present, proved a point: we co-chairs of the Allegheny Conference and a third is taking the reins. have the ability to propel this place for- on Community Development’s Our Next Much of 2019 was devoted to listening ward to achieve its fullest potential. 75 initiative. to emerging leaders – that third genera- Such a future off ers: tion – as well as to the voices of experi- • A Strong Economy that leverages ence. From Butler to Washington … from our human and natural resources with a will give them pause – and give them Greensburg to Pittsburgh … we invit- focus on tech and innovation, a well-cal- cause – to draw inspiration from us, ed leaders from across our region to the ibrated business ecosystem and eff ective much as we do from the leaders who table to gather directly from them more marketing. came before us. NEWS ON diverse input than ever before. More • A Community of Th riving Peo- An enduring spirit of collaboration than a thousand of our neighbors took ple with a focus on robust career path- over the past 75 years has brought us to us up on the invitation and turned out. ways, improved education and econom- this moment, and that’s something we THE GO. Th is crowd – more of a congregation, ic opportunities and growth of diverse can never take for granted. Our future really, of individuals deeply committed populations. – and the one that we leave to genera- DOWNLOAD to the future of our region – reminded • An enhanced Quality of Place with tions of Pittsburghers (in the broadest us that we’re living in a pivotal moment a focus on greater connectivity, stronger sense) to come – depends on us working NOW. in our region’s history. It’s a moment neighborhoods and eff ective protection together intentionally as a community. in time that off ers potential as vast as and cultivation of natural, cultural and It’s one of the best things that we, as a pittsburghbusinesstimes.com/apps the postwar era. Allegheny Conference built assets. region, have going for us. FREE DOWNLOAD of Community Development CEO Ste- Th is is the dawn of a new decade — fani Pashman said it well when she not- the next chapter in our region’s long his- Sincerely, ed that our collective goal must center tory. When leaders 75 years from now on regional vitality: a strong econo- look back on the eff orts we’ve undertak- my plussed by thriving people and an en this year, we hope that our actions Jeff and Toni Proud part of our region’s past. Proud partner in our region’s future. For more than a century, U. S. Steel has proudly called Western Pennsylvania home. Today, we’re continuing to invest right here in our hometown. Our more than $1 billion investment in our Mon Valley Works facilities will reinforce Western Pennsylvania as a global center of advanced manufacturing and will include significant enhancements that will contribute to regional air quality improvements. U. S. Steel is working to ensure our region’s future is as strong as the steels we make here every day. @U_S_Steel United States Steel Corporation ussteel.com DEC. 6-12, 2019 3 THE PITTSBURGH REGION AND OUR NEXT 75 What will it take to build bridges to the next 75 years? n 75 years, it will be 2094. in the Pittsburgh region. Pages 20-27). But a more concerted effort It feels like a lifetime away because All of this ushered in the Renaissance needs to happen. I it is, in fact, a lifetime away. When I eras for Pittsburgh as it weathered a Stefani Pashman, CEO of the Alleghe- think about Our Next 75 initiative, I think downturn other cities might have com- ny Conference, said the next stage of Our of it in terms of how our current leaders pletely collapsed from. Next 75 is to seize on the areas of consen- can set up a better future for the children Today, we are on the cusp of a new era. sus and develop a strategy that sets a path that are being born today, kids like my With the days of dramatic declines in pop- but also is flexible enough to evolve as three-year-old son who is just embark- ulation and the collapse of the steel indus- new issues and more participants emerge. Jennifer Beahm is editor-in-chief of the ing on his journey through life. try behind us, it’s time to move forward. “Now that we’ve received all the input Pittsburgh Business Times. A lot is likely to change for Pittsburgh The potential is there: There’s a growing and done all the research, the Confer- in the next 75 years, and while it’s impos- tech industry, an emerging petrochemi- ence is developing the implementation sible to predict the future, it is possible cal industry and continuing strengths in plan to accelerate the performance of to imagine the possibilities and to work omy looked to diversify. eds and meds. the regional economy, improve the stan- toward a brighter future. But it hasn’t all been rosy as unex- But this potential isn’t likely to be dard of living and stabilize our popula- It’s helpful first to look to the past. pected events occurred. The steel indus- tapped to its fullest without a concerted tion,” she noted. “Specific metrics relat- Seventy-five years ago, Pittsburgh had a try collapsed. The Civic Arena created effort to do so like Pittsburgh’s leaders did ed to these goals will be coming early in thriving industry in steel, but it also was a wedge between the city and the Hill in the 1940s. the new year.” a smoky, dirty place that had a reputation District that led to the dislocation of That’s where Our Next 75 comes in. But the Conference can’t do this alone. as “Hell with the lid off.” (See related sto- many African-Americans. And there The Allegheny Conference on Communi- To ensure the region is achieving its full- ry, Page 6). was a mass exodus in population in the ty Development has spent the past year est potential, it needs everyone to be on The Allegheny Conference on Commu- late 20th century that the city has yet to bringing together leaders from across 10 board with a plan, to be sending a cohe- nity Development was formed in 1944, recover from. counties to share ideas for how the region sive message to those both inside and out- and it, along with a powerful group of The leaders of the 1940s probably can achieve its fullest potential. This side the region. foundations, set out to implement some wouldn’t expect Pittsburgh to look the included brainstorming ways in which It’s time for the region’s economic key changes. Among the successes: The way it does today, with redeveloped the region can have a stronger economy, development groups, educators, private smoky, gritty Pittsburgh of that time has brownfields replacing steel mills; robot- a community of thriving people and an and public leaders, and foundations to become a much cleaner town thanks to ics, petrochemical and AI firms dominat- enhanced quality of life. come together like they did in the 1940s the passage of smoke ordinances in the ing the conversation; and UPMC’s name Lots of great ideas came out of these to help make Pittsburgh’s future bright- late 1940s; the Point has been trans- gracing the top of downtown’s largest discussions, and on the next several pag- er than ever. formed into what it is today; and pro- building. But they had the wisdom to es, you can read about some of the ini- How effective we are in accomplish- grams were implemented to improve work together toward a common goal to tiatives going on in Pittsburgh that are ing this task will have an impact on those education and job training as the econ- improve the economy and quality of life already working toward these goals (see here in 2094 and beyond. On behalf of MSA Safety’s 4,900 associates around the world, we are all proud to be part of this great history. 4 PITTSBURGH BUSINESS TIMES THE PITTSBURGH REGION AND OUR NEXT 75 ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF SENATOR JOHN HEINZ HISTORY CENTER R ABOUT THE COVER Plans for the Point The cover of Our Next 75 depicts what the Point looked like in the 1930s and what it looks like today. In between, there were many plans for the point, including, clockwise from top left: Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright proposed using the point for a civic center that would contain theaters, an opera house, an arena, a planetarium and a winter garden; when members of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development expressed concern over the cost, Wright redesigned the civic center into a tower.