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By Joe Smydo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette </div>
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<p>Pittsburgh is one of only three U.S. metropolitan
areas to have recovered from the international recession, the Brookings
Institute said Friday in a report that city and Allegheny County
officials embraced as one more sign that the region is on the move.</p><p>According
to the report, Metro GlobalMonitor 2012, Pittsburgh, Dallas and
Knoxville, Tenn., were the only three U.S. regions to have bounced back
from the recession.</p><p>The report said two metropolitan areas in
Canada and three in Mexico also have recovered. The report classifies
Canada as part of North America and Mexico as part of Latin America.</p><p>The findings were based on an analysis of employment numbers and other economic data.</p><p>"Pittsburgh
has turned the corner and is the national example of how to grow jobs
and innovate. ... But there is still much more work to be done to ensure
that Pittsburgh grows even more jobs and remains America's 'most
livable' city for years to come," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said in a
statement.</p><p>County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said a diversified economy helped the region weather the recession.</p><p>"We
are in technology, and we are in finance. We are still heavily involved
in steel and heavy manufacturing ... life sciences, entertainment, the
movie industry. Energy has been kind of the latest thing over the past
couple of years," Mr. Fitzgerald said in an interview. "I think the
change in the form of government 12 years ago has had a lot to do with
the success as well."</p><p>After a referendum, the county in 2000
replaced a three-member board of commissioners, which had legislative
and executive power, will a full-time executive and a part-time council
that handles legislative matters. Mr. Fitzgerald, who took office in
January, said the concentration of executive authority in one person has
propelled the region forward and helped to foster cooperation among
government, business, organized labor and the nonprofit community.</p><p>The Brookings Institute report is in line with what others have said about Pittsburgh's recovery.</p><p>In
January, a report released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Council
for the New American City listed Pittsburgh as one of 52 metropolitan
areas that had recovered all of the jobs that were lost during the
recession or were expected to do so by Dec. 31. In fact, researchers
said they expected the region to gain jobs by year's end.</p><p>Of the
300 metropolitan areas worldwide included in the Brookings report, 40
percent never experienced a recession or have recovered from it, said
Emilia Istrate, associate fellow in Brookings' Metropolitan Policy
Program and lead author of the report.</p><p>Ms. Istrate said she found
no "recipe" for economic recovery. An expanding business and financial
services sector, buoyed by growth in the energy industry, helped
Pittsburgh and Dallas, she said, while health care, education,
government and construction helped Knoxville.</p><p>In an interview,
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero said health care institutions, the
University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have
contributed economic stability to the region, while city officials
"primed the pump" for recovery with strategic investments in streets and
other infrastructure and tax-incentives for developers. In the last
year, she said, a number of big retailers have moved to the area.</p><p>"More people are working," she said. "More people have money to spend in the retail sector."</p><p>Despite
the downturn, she said, the city continued investing in quality-of-life
improvements to ensure Knoxville remained "a place where business wants
to be."</p> </div>
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Joe Smydo: <a href="mailto:jsmydo@post-gazette.com" target="_blank">jsmydo@post-gazette.com</a> or <a href="tel:412-263-1548" value="+14122631548" target="_blank">412-263-1548</a>.</div>END Of PPG Article<br clear="all">
<div><br></div><div>I have also attached a panorama photo of the view looking from my back porch out over Brentwood, Baldwin, West Mifflin and Pittsburgh. I need to learn how to minimize the "curving" which takes place with these shots.<br>
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<div>Herb Brannon<br><b>In Pittsburgh...The Paris of Appalachia<a href="http://www.arc.gov/appalachian_region/TheAppalachianRegion.asp" target="_blank"></a></b></div>Let's Go Bucs<br></div>
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