Pittsburgh Isn’t Growing. Is That Actually Bad?

A few weeks ago, Pittsburgh (quietly) got a lot bigger — not because some huge influx of people moved here, but because the White House decided to redraw the boundaries of our metro population. Now we’re eight counties instead of seven. But despite the new boundaries, Pittsburgh as a city isn’t growing. And that got us wondering why growth is so important, and whether it might actually be a good thing to be a city settled in its size. We took our questions to Chris Briem, a regional economist at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research. Want some more Pittsburgh news?  Make sure to sign up for our daily morning Hey Pittsburgh newsletter. We’re also on Twitter @citycastpgh & Instagram @CityCastPgh! Not a fan of social? Then leave us a voicemail at 412-212-8893. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info here.