High school graduation rates are improving in southwestern Pennsylvania overall. Yet, in a handful of districts, nearly a third or more students fail to graduate on time. More
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Racial Equity
The racial and ethnic demographics of southwestern Pennsylvania are changing, just as they are across the nation. The share of the population held by African American, Asian, Hispanic and other minority residents has increased since 2000 and continues to do so. But racial and ethnic minorities accounted for less than 14 percent of the population... More
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Air Quality Trends
The days when Pittsburgh earned the reputation as the “Smokey City” may be long gone, but the quality of the region’s air remains a concern. Air quality has improved across the region for more than two decades due to a number of factors, including the decline of local steel and other heavy manufacturing, tighter air... More
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Environmental Ethic
The environmental ethic among southwestern Pennsylvanians is complex, data reported in the Pittsburgh Regional Environmental survey suggest. They do not, for example, exclude citizens like themselves from sharing the burden of solving environmental problems. More than 86 percent of those who live in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area agree that individual citizens should be responsible... More
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Infant Mortality Trends
Infant mortality remains a serious public health issue in the region, nation and around the world. Local data, however, is encouraging. More
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Combined Sewage Overflow
Abundant annual rainfall leaves southwestern Pennsylvania in a fortunate position as much of the world grapples with the prospect of a shortage of fresh water. But effective stewardship to protect the quality of its rivers and streams has not been the region’s strong suit. More
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Regional Poverty
Poverty remains a stubborn problem for most regions in the United States and southwestern Pennsylvania is no exception. The rate of poverty in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Areas remained relatively stable in 2015 at 12.3 percent of the population, according to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data. More
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Regional Housing Trends
More southwestern Pennsylvanians have been able to find housing that fits their budgets in the past decade, despite steadily rising home values and rents. But there are stark disparities in the affordability of housing across income levels. More
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Regional Crime
Property and violent crime rates reported in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area have, for the most part, steadily decreased from year to year, falling to levels significantly lower than those reported in 2003. More