The following appears online at Postindustrial, a Pittsburgh-based magazine. Postindustrial subscriptions are available here.

By Michael Madison

Food culture offers an emblem and embodiment of postindustrial transformation. Pittsburgh’s tastes have never been fixed, but the pace of change has picked up in its modern rendering. This isn’t “your father’s Pittsburgh” any longer, let alone…

The following appears in the Fall 2022 issue of Postindustrial, a Pittsburgh-based magazine. Postindustrial subscriptions are available here.

By Michael Madison

So much postindustrial attention gets lavished on economic rebounds, neighborhood revitalization, and yes, sports, that we risk missing out on what captures and sparks our collective community imagination: Art, and the arts. Cities…

The following was published on August 15, 2022 at Postindustrial, a Pittsburgh-based magazine.

By Michael Madison

In mid-July 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that their stadium, christened “Heinz Field” in a naming rights deal with hometown condiment kings H.J. Heinz & Co. in 2001, would henceforth be named “Acrisure Stadium.” Nostalgia-soaked Pittsburghers erupted in displeasure.…

The following was published on May 5, 2022 at Postindustrial, a Pittsburgh-based magazine.

By Michael Madison

Pittsburgh, like a lot of Postindustrial places, is banking on growth. It needs growth to fuel opportunity; it needs growth to pay for equity; and it needs growth to support the rising cost of public services, education, and health…

The following was published on November 24, 2021 at Postindustrial, a Pittsburgh-based magazine.

By Michael Madison

The phrase “postindustrial” Pittsburgh implies that Pittsburgh has entered a new phase, in which the key players, resources, challenges, and opportunities aren’t the ones that characterized its 20th century material past — steelmaking. Postindustrial implies a 21st century…

The following was published on September 25, 2021 at Postindustrial, a Pittsburgh-based magazine.

By Michael Madison

This is a story of two visions of the present and future of Pittsburgh and by extension, Postindustrial America.

They’re documented in two recent reports about priorities in Western Pennsylvania, and they make for some dry reading. But behind the…

The following was published on July 5, 2021 at Postindustrial, a Pittsburgh-based magazine. Part 1 was published at Postindustrial on July 1, 2021 and is reproduced here.

By Michael Madison

Where is Pittsburgh’s growth going to come from?  Partly, it may come from the ever-elusive productivity gains that arise from substituting computers for humans.…