Pittsburgh

The second location of study includes Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh forwards a hugely different social and economic context in the late-twentieth and early-twenty first centruy in comparison with Charlotte or Portland, and it witnesses a much smaller population change. The suburban definitions are illustrated first, followed by the relevant demographic variables.

Pittsburgh and its suburbs

Census-Designated Suburbs

Figure 1. Pittsburgh’s census inspired suburbs in 2011 and 2021

Distance-Defined Suburbs

Figure 2. Pittsburgh’s Inner and Outer suburbs in 2011 and 2021

Age-Based Suburbs

Figure 3. Pittsburgh’s Pre- and Post-Civil Rights suburbs in 2011 and 2021

Changes in Population

Total Population

The aggregated total population of each suburban form is shown below. Figure 4 below illustrates the population total in 2011 with the total in 2021 included above. Interestingly, Pittsburgh doesn’t forward the huge population increases like Charlotte but rather it shows a general decrease across its wider suburban space.

Changes across race/ethnicity

Table 1 moves into the specific population change for each ethnoracial group. The percentage change in the total population of the major racial groups is included for each setting. Pittsburgh shows the largest decrease in the non-Hispanic White Population across many of its suburban settings, with the only other decreased seen in the non-Hispanic Black population in the Inner Suburbs. Hispanic, Asian, and Small Grouped individuals show large increases in there suburban residence.

Table 1. Overall population change by race/ethincity (%).
Suburban	Type	NH-White	NH-Black	Hispanic	Asian	Small Group
Age	Pre-CR	-5.30	5.75	42.72	45.46	27.84
	Post-CR	14.17	75.86	124.24	66.07	362.86
Census Designated	Non-CDP	-3.60	7.73	50.33	49.03	40.89
Distance	Inner	-4.41	-3.39	88.88	48.18	103.21
	Outer	-3.60	7.73	50.33	49.03	40.89

Native and Foreign Born

Below describes the proportion of native and foriegn born populations across each suburban setting in Pittsburgh. Data for 2011 are positioned above 2021 in each chart to illustrate the change. Again, the foreign-born population increases across all definitions of Pittsburgh.

Median Household Income

The final projection shows illustrates how the household income at tract level has changed throughout the ten-year period. Figure 6 shows the tract with the lowest and highest median household income in Pittsburgh, and also the median value too. Strikingly, the lowest tract income barely changed across the ten years in Pittsburgh, especially in the Inner Suburbs and Pre-Civil Rights Suburbs, while the tract with the highest median income increased by around $100,000.

Figure 6. Min, median, and max tract household income change