City Home News

The Associated Press story appeared in newspapers from Philadelphia to Phoenix: "Google to open new research facility in Pittsburgh."

The headline has enough weight to make some heads turn. The name of the high-tech giant might even mean more than all the stories about undervalued real estate, quality of life, breathtaking views from Mount Washington, low crime and easy commutes. It all doesn't mean much if the economy isn't there to back it up.

What's even more impressive about the news is the reported reason why Google chose Pittsburgh. The low cost of living? The great architecture? The cultural and sports attractions? The location? The weather? Well, the answer to all of these is both yes and no. That's because the reason Google chose Pittsburgh is because the talent they wanted to hire didn't want to leave. Can you say "No way San Jose?"

I was working on my masters in Urban Studies at the University of Akron as "Silicon Valley" was blossoming into what is to this point it's full manifestation. The generally accepted impetus for the economic boom was the great talent and technology that was fed into the economy and market by Stanford University.

Of course Stanford isn't the only great University. What about Carnegie Mellon? Why didn't that happen in Pittsburgh (or Rochester, or Boston...). It did in Boston to a degree, but the other factor may be having the entrepreneurial talent which takes the technology and brings it to market.

Which brought me to another recent headline "Pitt Sixth Nationally In University Start-up Company Creation."

According to the Association of University Technology Managers, Pitt was tied with Duke University and trailed only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Georgia Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and University of Michigan in this measure of technology commercialization productivity in 2004.

No one can say for sure what this will add up to. It does convey something I've known for a long time. Comparatively, Pittsburgh is a pretty darn good city, especially for the price. It's also shown the outside world has started to take notice of my first conclusion. Things are starting to happen here.