Overview and Analysis of Pitt's Findings
A data-driven and community-informed case that demonstrates the historic and future value of building an Active Economy throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Full Report · PDF · 2026
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Open the ReportThe Underlying Data
An independent and research-based economic and social impact analysis that carefully catalogs the value Active Economy projects bring to communities throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Impact Analysis · PDF · 2026
View the Analysis
Open the AnalysisBuilding a case, step by step
11 sections
What this document is and how it came together: the scope of the analysis, the partnership behind it, and how the sections that follow fit together.
Reading Time:
5 min
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Orientation
What the research found and why it matters. The headline figures, the three insights behind them, and what this report asks of those who set priorities and direct resources across Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Reading Time:
5 min
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Summary
The essentials of the argument. What the Active Economy is, what the portfolio produces, and how it compares to large-scale corporate development on cost, jobs, return, and risk.
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5 min
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The Case
What the term means and where it comes from, a snapshot of the 38 census tracts the portfolio serves, five hypotheses and a paradox at the heart of the Active Economy, key terminology, and why the report prioritizes GRP over economic Output.
Reading Time:
12 min
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Background
Each of the report's three central insights, examined against the evidence that produced it.
Reading Time:
20 min
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The Case
The twenty-one projects by sector, and the social value each cluster produces.
Reading Time:
10 min
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The Case
Recommendations addressed to those best positioned to act on what the report documents: policymakers, community developers, investors, philanthropy, and the general public. What each can do differently in how they plan, fund, and evaluate development, and what to ask when public dollars are committed to a project.
Reading Time:
5 min
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Recommendations
A list of community partners and organizations included in the report. A brief introduction to the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR), RiverWise, New Sun Rising, and the Just Transition Fund. Acknowledgments to those who contributed to the creation of the report.
Reading Time:
5 min
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Background
The methodology in plain terms, explaining the basics of economic impact analysis and social return on investment (SROI).
Reading Time:
10 min
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Methodology
An essay by Chris Briem, principal researcher on this study and a regional economist at the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) at the University of Pittsburgh, arguing that social value is not a secondary outcome of economic development but a precondition for it.
Reading Time:
8 min
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Independent Analysis
Every claim in the report traced to its source. Thirty-three notes documenting how each headline figure was calculated, where each financial proxy comes from, and what the research literature says about megaproject performance, subsidy concentration, and the outcomes this analysis monetizes, followed by the full bibliography.
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Source Material
