[PRCo] Re: Pittsburgh Census Data

[Fred Schneider]

This is something that most of you may want to delete.  But it may be  
thought provoking, especially when you get to the end.    It's an  
open reply to Jerry Matsick.

I'll give you my take on it Jerry.

Allegheny County in 2005 is 1.235 million.   Butler is somewhere  
around 181,000 and gaining rapidly.   Beaver about 178,000 and  
loosing rapidly.  Washington about 205,000 and gaining moderately,  
particularly those parts that are Pittsburgh suburbs.  Westmoreland  
about 368,000 and pretty much stable.        Fayette about 145,000  
and loosing hand over fist.   Makes the Pittsburgh MSA about 2.312  
million.

The peak census figures for were 1.63 million for Allegheny County in  
1960 and 676,806 for the City of Pittsburgh in 1950.  The city has  
lost half its population and the county has lost 40,000 people since  
1960.

What comprises the MSA depends on the percentage of people who  
commute into the core city / county for work.   It is adjusted based  
on census commuting patterns.   And it does change from time to  
time.   In central Pennsylvania, Lebanon County became part of the  
Harrisburg MSA in 1970 and was delete from it and became a stand  
alone labor market area in 2000.  In my area, Lancaster could easily  
become part of Philadelphia MSA if enough people commuted into  
Chester or Montgomery or Philadelphia or Buck or Delaware counties  
(or all of them).   And when that happens, it really upsets the local  
chambers of commerce.   I remember the head of the chamber in Pike  
County PA being totally out of his mind when he found himself sucked  
into Middletown NY and the New York City CMSA.   He pretended he  
didn't understand but he knew full well what happened.   But his  
statements to the media were off the wall.   If some huge factory  
were to be built in Uniontown that would absorb a few thousand jobs,  
it might mean that Fayette County could be pulled out of the  
Pittsburgh MSA in the next census.   Just so you understand how this  
works.

If you are a student, living in Oakland, your way of getting around  
is PAT, Sunday through Saturday, any hour of the day.   If you live  
within the densely settled portion of the city, you are apt to use  
PAT.   If you are a low income city resident you are apt to use  
PAT.   If you live in Squirrel Hill or Shadyside you might be more  
prone to use your automobile.   If you lived in Mount Lebanon or  
Dormont, and wanted to go downtown (rare but it does happen), you  
might use the T.

Much of the outer portions of Allegheny County are self-contained  
business areas.   You can live there, shop there, work there and  
never go into the city unless perhaps you need to go to the hospital  
or have tickets to the Pittsburgh Symphony or some similar venue.     
That's no different from any other suburban area in the country that  
people moved to because they loved green space and freedom and  
individuality and their automobiles.

Won't it be fun with a billion Chinese and a billion Indians all  
wanting automobiles and all wanting that finite supply of  
petroleum.   He who can afford $12 a gallon gasoline will drive and  
he who can afford $10 a gallon #2 oil will be warm in the winter.    
It will put pressure on zoning law changes and moving back into  
apartments and city-style housing in the future, won't it.   But we  
have yet to learn that lesson.   Several weeks ago I commented to Ed  
Lybarger, "I wonder how many American's have recognized that this is  
the century when China and India will become the major economic  
players."  Ed commented that about 300 million don't understand.    
Hmmm.   That's the entire U. S. population.   That was Ed's way, I  
think, of saying we're in deep do-do.    I'll let him come back and  
comment if he wishes.   Just a few days after that, Wilton Armatelle,  
a local brass company, announced they were moving their finishing  
operations to China.  We just lost 100 more local jobs.   And  
Lancaster is a "good" economic area.

I'm not sure how the increased minimum wage to $7+ an hour fits in  
which the Chinese wage of $1 an hour or whatever.   We can't get our  
kids out of bed for less than $7 but that kid of money just closes  
factories and sends more jobs to other countries.   I guess we need  
to learn to be shoehorned into small buildings, walk a lot, work 80  
weeks.   Our grandchildren are going to have a rough life.   I don't  
have solutions, only observations and questions.



On Jan 10, 2007, at 6:21 PM, <mtoytrain at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> We keep talking about the 350,000 population of the city of  
> Pittsburgh, however, if I am correct isn't the Allegheny County  
> Population around 1,300,000?   And the five county area brings the  
> metro population to nearly 2.5 million,   Many of these folks use  
> the transportation system of the city.    The City and County  
> governments should consolidate and bring a more affective  
> government to the area, but I am sure the Rich Cronies out in Upper  
> St Clair and other Big $$$ areas would vote that down!
> Each time In visiting Pittsburgh, I rode the T out to South Hills  
> Village and the cars are FULL!  Seems to me If I lived in the  
> suburbs I would want rapid transportation service?
>
> Jerry Matsick
> Jacksonville
>
>
>