The main mission of this blog is to educate Pittsburghers, and the public at large, on the causes and consequences of persistent racial and economic segregation in Pittsburgh.

My video lecture on the causes and consequences of segregation captures that same mission (accessible by clicking on this link), but with a broader focus on all of Allegheny County (which includes our central city of Pittsburgh).

For the past few years, I’ve lectured on this topic for local government workers, folks working at community-based organizations and corporations, and at local universities such as Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

The video linked above is a recording of that lecture; one that I did recently for work.

There are several key questions that I ask and answer during the presentation:

Do neighborhoods matter?

Why do neighborhoods matter?

Are there differences in who is exposed to neighborhood need and disadvantage?

What factors created and maintain neighborhoods with such different conditions and opportunity?

Once segregated and disadvantaged, do neighborhoods tend to change or stay the same?

How do we address persistent neighborhood disadvantage?

While the focus here is on Allegheny County, the themes here apply to most, if not all, of the U.S, albeit with differences in magnitude from locality to locality.

The Allegheny County Community Need Index is a central component of the presentation and the newest report, data and interactive map can be accessed here.

The video lecture is all about context. Hoping it’s helpful in better understanding why our neighborhoods look they way they do and how they greatly influence our life chances.