Pittsburgh’s era of optimism lasted a little less than a decade. It began in 2009 with the G-20 summit, when national and international journalists reported from the Golden Triangle that Pittsburgh was a hidden gem whose value was about to skyrocket. Pittsburgh was poised, it seemed, to be one of America’s it-cities for the age of knowledge-work.

For the first time in two generations, we could imagine something other than managing decline. New flights at the airport. An arena district on the horizon. Downtown reinvigorated. Lawrenceville transformed. UPMC on top of the Steel Building. Uber’s autonomous vehicles. Google’s regional office.

Pittsburgh had a seat at the grown-up table again. Sixteen years later, not only has Pittsburgh been relegated, but several peers have passed us on the

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