Lessons for Detroit From Pittsburgh’s Rebirth | Newsweek Voices - Howard Fineman

Struggling cities like Detroit could learn a lot from the Pennsylvania city's rebirth.

Jun 6, 2009 | Updated: 7:37 p.m. ET Jun 6, 2009

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Before jetting off to the Middle East and Europe, President Obama took care of another piece of international diplomatic business: He announced the city in which the U.S. will host the next G20 summit in September. His choice drew laughter and puzzlement from reporters and diplomats alike.

Pittsburgh? Are you serious?

As a proud native, I understand and agree with the president's decision. Pittsburgh's story is inspiring and impressive. It was a rusting steel-making behemoth that, through struggle, pain and creativity, retooled itself as a surprisingly vibrant, 21st-century leader in education, computer science, medical research, sports entertainment and boutique manufacturing.

By most measures—unemployment and foreclosure rates, to name two—Pittsburgh is an island of calm in the raging recession.

But I'm dubious about the next step in the White House's reasoning: Pittsburgh's success, officials say, offers hope that Obama's own economic policies will work for Detroit and other beleaguered cities and industries. No, in fact, it doesn't.

Simply put, what worked in Pittsburgh won't work for the auto industry, and what the president wants to do for Detroit isn't the kind of thing that worked in my old hometown. Pittsburgh's rebirth is about the grit, sacrifice and hustle of locals—not the sweeping plans and power of federal bureaucrats.

As the steel industry was dying, no one (certainly no one in Pittsburgh) suggested or would have accepted a federal bailout, let alone a federal takeover. There was and is too much pride and stubbornness; the Whiskey Rebellion was two centuries ago, but the suspicion of Washington's motives remains.

In its first heyday, Pittsburgh produced as much or more steel than the rest of the world combined. Even into the '60s and '70s, the sky on cloud-covered nights glowed orange, reflecting the pulsing fires of open-hearth furnaces along the rivers below.

When the industry faltered—hit by cheap imports, lax management, labor strife and declining domestic demand—steel's leaders sought and won years of tariff and quota protection. So to that extent, the city and its leading industry did turn to the feds.

But ultimately a sense of realism—a trait of the city that sometimes borders on bitter cynicism—won out. The locals realized that the old steel industry was a lost cause, and they moved on.

A number of writers on this site make very good points. I appreciate Howard Fineman's work in general, but I think he's off-base on a number of issues. Firstly, I don't think you can compare either the cities (Detroit and Pittsburgh) nor their primary industries (automobiles and steel, respectively). Anyone who was old enough in 1967 remembers the terrible riot in Detroit in 1967, in which 43 people died and 1187 were injured. The city literally has not recovered from that summer 42 years ago. Do we still want to point a finger at the few people who initiated that riot with everything bad that has happened in Motown since then? I think most people would admit that the big U.S. automaker executives made some big mistakes over the years. But anyone who reads automotive periodicals or websites knows that American quality has increased substantially in the last few years. If you don't agree with that, I certainly understand that you won't purchase an American vehicle. But while the American manufacturers have continued to rise in ratings such as J.D. Power, Toyota has had its quality problems, including major engine sludge problems and trucks that rust out underneath. Further, the average MPG of U.S.-based manufacturers continues on the rise, whereas the figures for Toyota and Honda have dropped, in large part because of the huge trucks that those manufacturers have added.

Some on the right blame unions, but they tend to overlook that fact that Japanese manufacturers have been subsidized right along, and that Toyota's hybrid Synergy drive was developed as a partnership between industry and the Japanese government.

Further, as HalcyonBlue points out, Detroit has a population of 837,000 (it was once over 2 million) while Pittsburgh has a population of less than 300,000. Pittsburgh, being a smaller city, was able to diversify its economy more quickly, where Detroit, which once depended almost exclusively on the auto industry, was more like a large ship that could not possibly change its course quickly. In that comparison, Pittsburgh was much more like South Bend, which was a model of diversification when Studebaker ceased its operations there in 1964.

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Posted By: nuclear22 @ 09/22/2009 11:17:40 AM

As someone who has lived in Detroit for the last 51 years (by choice) I can tell you that this comparison is indeed not fair. While the devestating effects of white flight are painfully obvious everywhere, what we have now is upper and middle-class black flight as well. While there are still small "villages" within Detroit where some of us persevere, I'd bet that 600,000 of Detroit's remaining population of 900,000 is funtioinally illiterate. Education, among black youth, is viewed as a requisite evil and not as a means to an end: Forr all too many, evil itself is now their menas to an end. Until this mind-set changes, things in Detroit will only get progressively worse.
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Posted By: Ecomcon @ 06/15/2009 4:34:53 PM

A number of writers on this site make very good points. I appreciate Howard Fineman's work in general, but I think he's off-base on a number of issues. Firstly, I don't think you can compare either the cities (Detroit and Pittsburgh) nor their primary industries (automobiles and steel, respectively). Anyone who was old enough in 1967 remembers the terrible riot in Detroit in 1967, in which 43 people died and 1187 were injured. The city literally has not recovered from that summer 42 years ago. Do we still want to point a finger at the few people who initiated that riot with everything bad that has happened in Motown since then? I think most people would admit that the big U.S. automaker executives made some big mistakes over the years. But anyone who reads automotive periodicals or websites knows that American quality has increased substantially in the last few years. If you don't agree with that, I certainly understand that you won't purchase an American vehicle. But while the American manufacturers have continued to rise in ratings such as J.D. Power, Toyota has had its quality problems, including major engine sludge problems and trucks that rust out underneath. Further, the average MPG of U.S.-based manufacturers continues on the rise, whereas the figures for Toyota and Honda have dropped, in large part because of the huge trucks that those manufacturers have added.

Some on the right blame unions, but they tend to overlook that fact that Japanese manufacturers have been subsidized right along, and that Toyota's hybrid Synergy drive was developed as a partnership between industry and the Japanese government.

Further, as HalcyonBlue points out, Detroit has a population of 837,000 (it was once over 2 million) while Pittsburgh has a population of less than 300,000. Pittsburgh, being a smaller city, was able to diversify its economy more quickly, where Detroit, which once depended almost exclusively on the auto industry, was more like a large ship that could not possibly change its course quickly. In that comparison, Pittsburgh was much more like South Bend, which was a model of diversification when Studebaker ceased its operations there in 1964.
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Posted By: BloodofPatriots @ 06/12/2009 8:37:25 AM

Evil bigots are hard to overcome.