Prospects for High Technology Based Economic Development in Mature Industrial Regions: Pittsburgh as a Case Study

ABSTRACT:

This article presents an analytical account of the relationship between a region’s industrial past and its ability to attract new innovative economic sectors. Pittsburgh is the area used to study prospects for economic growth based on high technology in declining industrial regions. The region’s economic past is reviewed; experience of national high technology complexes is used to develop an analytical framework to assess Pittsburgh’s prospects; comparisons are made to Silicon Valley and Route 128; analytical findings are examined using competitiveness scores and location quotients; and the outlook for Pittsburgh is discussed.