Pittsburgh is the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with a population of 334,563 and the 20th largest metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 2,358,695. It anchors both the Appalachia region and the Ohio River Valley as their largest metropolis. Pittsburgh is the county seat of Allegheny County. Built on land surrounding the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, where they merge to form the Ohio River, Pittsburgh features a skyline of 151 high-rise buildings, two inclined railways and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Residents of the city are called Pittsburghers. The downtown area is located on the triangular parcel at the confluence of the rivers. Pittsburgh is noted for bridges of all types throughout the city and is commonly known as the "The City of Bridges" or "The Bridge Capital" of the U.S.
Though Pittsburgh's economy was traditionally fueled by heavy manufacturing to the detriment of local air and water quality, today it is largely based on healthcare, education, technology and financial services, while Forbes magazine called it one of the cleanest cities in the world. Robotics, for example, is such an emergent sector of the local economy that The Wall Street Journal dubbed the city "Roboburgh." (Read more...)