Большой Питтсбург: Регион и Мегаполис Западной Пенсильвании

Region in the U. S. State of Pennsylvania
the region around the city of Pittsburgh

Greater Pittsburgh is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania, United States. The region includes Allegheny County, Pittsburgh's urban core county and economic hub, and seven adjacent Pennsylvania counties: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland in Western Pennsylvania, which constitutes the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area MSA as defined by the U. S. Census Bureau. As of the 2020 census, the Greater Pittsburgh region had a population of over 2.37 million people. Pittsburgh, the region's core city, has a population of 302,971, the second largest in the state after Philadelphia. Over half of the region's population resides within Allegheny County, which has a population of 1.24 million and is the state's second largest county after Philadelphia County.

Historically, Pittsburgh has been grouped in the "Rust Belt"; however, reflective of the rebound of the region within the last generation, the metro area has been included as a part of the "Great Lakes Basin" gaining representation in the Great Lakes Metro Chamber Coalition. Pittsburgh's association with the Great Lakes region is due in part to its economic, demographic and commuter connections to Great Lakes cities like Cleveland, Erie, Toledo and even Detroit. Christopher Briem, an economist at the University of Pittsburgh's University Center for Social and Urban Research, has argued that southwestern Pennsylvania is "far more interconnected" with northeastern Ohio than it is with the eastern half of Pennsylvania, and that the industries of Pittsburgh are primarily linked to Ohioan cities such as Youngstown, Akron, and Cleveland, not to Pennsylvanian cities such as Allentown, Scranton, or Philadelphia. He notes that, conversely, the population centers of northeastern Ohio are primarily connected with Pittsburgh and only secondarily connected to the state capital of Columbus. Briem argues that "In so many ways the state boundaries we think of as important are no more than lines on a map." Robert Lang and Arthur Nelson of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech also identify the region between Cleveland and Pittsburgh as being an interconnected "megapolitan area" and refer to it as the "Steel Corridor".

The largest school district in the area is the Pittsburgh Public Schools, with the school districts of Allegheny County also boasting large student bodies. Many private schools also serve the core county of Allegheny. More public districts are found throughout Beaver, Westmoreland, and Washington counties, and private schools in each county. Several area colleges and universities serve the region. Pittsburgh itself is home to many colleges, universities, and research facilities, the most well known of which are Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Duquesne University. Also in the city are Carlow University, Chatham University, Point Park University, the Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. Within the greater metropolitan area, universities include Clarion University of Pennsylvania, La Roche University, Slippery Rock University, Westminster College and Grove City College north of the city, Robert Morris University and Geneva College west of the city, Washington & Jefferson College, Pennsylvania Western University and Waynesburg University to the south, and Seton Hill University, Saint Vincent College, Westmoreland County Community College and Indiana University of Pennsylvania to the east.

serving west area commuters from Steubenville, Ohio, through West Virginia and into the metro area of Washington County, Pennsylvania, and into Allegheny merging into I 376.
in the Greensburg area and co signed with I 376 through the city and western suburbs. along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio. serving the Allegheny Valley commuters in the Northeast and through suburban Armstrong County. a 70 mile long interstate grade route between the south hills and West Virginia. serving commuters along the Ohio River valley to the northwest of the city. as a partial east hills beltway for traffic from both Interstate 70 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 76. Fort Duquesne Boulevard serving as a downtown expressway between I 279 and I 579.

The Port of Pittsburgh ranks as the 21st largest port in the United States with almost 34 million short tons of river cargo in 2011. It is the 9th largest in the U. S. when measured in domestic trade.

The Pittsburgh Regional Transit agency (PRT) is the largest mass transit service in the metro area and includes a 26 mile subway/light rail system, all serving the central core. This system is complemented by the Butler Transit Authority and Town & Country Transit to north destinations, Beaver County Transit Authority and New Castle Area Transit Authority to northwest destinations, Westmoreland County Transit Authority and IndiGo to eastern destinations, and Washington City Transit, Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority and Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation serving southern destinations. The University of Pittsburgh Transportation System also provides services in the eastern core of the metropolitan area while Mountain Line Transit serves the city, western suburbs and an express route south to Morgantown, West Virginia. A metro map of all fixed route transit routes for Pennsylvania counties can be found here.

Amtrak serves the region with stops at Penn Station in Downtown Pittsburgh, Connellsville to the southeast and both Greensburg and Latrobe to the east. Freight rail is a major industry for the area with the Pittsburgh Line and the Conway Yard among other infrastructure serving the region.

Both the Greyhound Lines and Megabus serve the area.

Pittsburgh and its surrounding area has a distinct regional identity and has historically been regarded as a transitional region within the Northeastern United States. The region's counties also fall within the borders of Appalachia as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The City of Pittsburgh has been characterized as the "northern urban industrial anchor of Appalachia": which makes it an anomaly compared to much of Appalachia which has traditionally been characterized as southern, rural, and economically distressed. has described Pittsburgh as having "one foot in the East and the other in the Midwest".</blockquote>In his 2009 book, The Paris of Appalachia, Pittsburgh Post Gazette writer Brian O'Neill meditates on this aspect of Pittsburgh's regional and cultural ambiguity. The title of the book is intentionally provocative:"The Paris of Appalachia" some have called Pittsburgh derisively, because it's still the largest city along this gorgeous mountain chain that needs a better press agent. I've long felt we should embrace that title, though few are with me. Several tried to talk me out of slapping it on the cover, but were we called "The Paris of the Rockies," we wouldn't run from it. Sometimes we're so afraid of what others think, we're afraid to say who we are. This city is not Midwestern. It's not East Coast. It's just Pittsburgh, and there's no place like it. That's both its blessing and its curse.

Golf in the metro area boasts such courses as Oakmont Country Club, which has hosted the U. S. Open a record nine times, and Foxburg Country Club the oldest continuous club in the U. S. Such tournaments as the 84 Lumber Classic, Pittsburgh Senior Open and the current Mylan Classic call the region home. Area courses have also hosted multiple PGA Championships, LPGA Championships, U. S. Women's Opens and Ryder Cup matches.

Annual sporting events include the Head of the Ohio crew race, Three Rivers Regatta, Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, and the Pittsburgh Marathon. The regions rivers have hosted the Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup and the city has enjoyed having one of only two teams to host the Major League Baseball All Star Game a record eight times. The area has also hosted the NHL All Star Game, NHL Winter Classic, Senior Olympics, NHL Entry Draft, AHL All Star Game, NCAA Tournament and Frozen Four. Winter in the region sees sport continue at such rinks at PPG Place and North Park as well as area ski resorts like Boyce Park, Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley, Laurel Mountain and Wisp.