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(2010-04-23 19:33:27)
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The New Industrial Revolution
From boom to bust to boom again, these cities have remade themselves.
Pittsburgh: Steel Magnolia When the White House announced the location of last year\'s G-20 economic summit - attended by leaders of the world\'s biggest economies - the press corps erupted into chuckles. The image of the city as Hell with the lid off, as writer James Parton described it back in 1868, has clearly been hard to shake, but in fact the new Pittsburgh bears little resemblance to the down-and-out rust belt city it once was.
After the steel mills closed, unemployment shot up to nearly 20 percent in the surrounding counties. But forward-thinking city planners worked to leverage the region\'s medical and educational resources to become a hub for health care, biotech, and green technology industries.
Today, the Steel City consistently ranks among the most livable urban centers in the country. It has a sexy skyline (distinguished by the glass spires of the Philip Johnson designed PPG Place), top-notch museums, multicultural neighborhoods, and well-regarded performing arts (including the Pittsburgh Opera, whose new home once served as George Westinghouse\'s air brake factory, built in 1869).