Look at Best-Practices: Pittsburgh - Five Take-Aways from the Transformation for the Nation's Steel Capital to a Hub for Frontier Tech
The German economic powerhouse Baden-Württemberg and the US transformation champion Pittsburgh discussed several collaboration areas, focusing on the future of healthcare, mobility, and education. Baden-Württemberg, which has recently been dubbed “The Länd” by an ad agency, is home to well-known companies like Mercedes, Porsche, and BOSCH, as well as numerous so-called “hidden champions” - companies dominating certain industries but rather unknown to even the business community.
Digitalization and the transformation from gasoline to electric power are two mega trends that present challenges and opportunities for “The Länd” and their automotive and related businesses. That is why a regional delegation from Germany with public and private-sector representatives traveled to Pittsburgh to learn about that city’s transformation. In less than one generation, Pittsburgh has adapted to a service- and knowledge- dominated economy, and successfully moved away from being the nation’s largest steel town. Here are the five learnings we took away from that transformation in Pittsburgh:
Policy and strategy matter
Pittsburgh, the “Iron City”, experienced a rapid decline in the 1980’s when their dominant position in the steel industry was usurped by global market forces. New York City and Detroit saw similar declines after the financial crisis in 2008. Smart policies brought all three cities back and while challenges remain, those cities are more resilient, more livable, and stronger than before. Pittsburgh just finished 15th in the inaugural FT’s Investing in America ranking of the best US cities for overseas businesses. However, several speakers pointed out that success is not guaranteed, and many cities in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh’s state, are still struggling with the transformation.
Education, equality, and quality of life attract people
The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University are among the leading universities in the nation. The universities and their collaboration with each other built the nucleus for an economy now powered by healthcare, financial services, data and engineering, education, and the arts. In the last decade, Pittsburgh leaders have created policies focused on equality; this has - combined with the region's affordable cost of living - provided a superior quality of life when compared to most U.S. cities. As such, Pittsburgh's high rankings among most attractive U.S. cities are likely to climb in the coming years.
Structured collaboration is key
Most challenges are just too complex to solve alone. Detroit’s Eastern market was revived by a broad coalition of public and private institutions. It became the nucleus of the “new Detroit”. Carnegie Mellon University became one the top three universities in the nation in frontier technologies like artificial language processing, computational biology, and human robotics interaction by collaboration with leading institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Their collaborative innovation centers ensure that intellectual property is shared systematically among members for the benefit of all partners. The Länd and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance are part of an international artificial intelligence alliance in which regions leading in the field of AI collaborate.
Leapfrog developments
Probably the single biggest opportunity in managing any transformation is leapfrogging: the ability to accelerate the region’s development by skipping inferior development stages. In Pittsburgh, for instance, some of the most impressive buildings are old mills and steel manufacturing facilities converted into robotics and cybersecurity labs. Instead of tearing an old building down and replacing it with a new one, old elements remain and are utilized to create something unique and entirely new. One industry player, PPG, has galvanized leapfrogging efforts in the city by utilizing artificial intelligence to reduce the carbon footprint of automotive paint, a major hurdle for automotive manufacturers to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Pittsburgh’s Mill 19: Redesigned mill with plants supporting human well-being and creativity
Tell your story - in a way people like to listen
Transformation progress needs to be communicated to create awareness and relevancy. New York City and Baden-Wuerttemberg recently created a new identity for their region, and both cities are actively marketing their strengths to potential investors. Pittsburgh hasn’t developed a “campaign-style” identity yet, but the city mastered the art of storytelling. People are proud and passionate about their progress - impressing visitors and businesses alike.
The Financial Time’s inaugural FT’s Investing in America ranking of the best US cities for overseas businesses is out now, link here.