Dozens of world leaders are gathering to talk about the global recession at the G-20 summit at Pittsburgh in the US state of Pennsylvania. The White House says it chose Pittsburgh as a city that weathered an economic collapse, and has become a place with a good deal of optimism. Our Washington correspondent shanshan has the story.
Reporter:
Pittsburgh is known as "The City of Bridges" and "The Steel City" for its many bridges and former steel manufacturing base, but not known for hosting world summits.
With a population of 300,000, Pittsburgh is not a big city, though it's the second largest city in the state of Pennsylvania. City of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he's aware that mid-sized cities are rarely considered for such an event, but he says there are good reasons behind the choice of the White House.
"One is because our recovery is very real. Pittsburgh suffered by one of the deepest setbacks by any American region in the second half of the 20th century, but we made it back. We're building the best of our past, a heritage of financial services, advanced manufacturing and leadership in energy solutions. We're investing in innovation and entrepreneurship, to create new industries in health care, life sciences, information and communication, technology. We're also investing in a world-class quality of life. "
During the current economic recession, Pittsburgh has remained economically strong, adding jobs when most cities were losing them, and becoming one of the only cities in the United States to see housing property values rise.
Dan Onorato, executive of the Allegheny County, in which Pittsburgh is located, says this story of regeneration was the inspiration for the US President Barack Obama to select Pittsburgh as the host city for the G-20 Summit.
"There is a reason why our unemployment is almost 2.5 point below the national average. It's one of the best numbers in the United States. That's why we are the site to host the G20 meeting. This's a great story that we all knew about in the southwestern Pennsylvania, we've been trying to tell the country, and it's been getting out, and now the world is gonna be shocked, looking at what's going on here and how we doing this. It's a 20 years' story that can be replicated around the country and around the world."
In 2007, Forbes magazine named Pittsburgh the 10th cleanest city in the world. This year, Pittsburgh was named most livable city in the United States and 29th-most-livable city worldwide by The Economist.
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says hosting the summit will be a rare chance to present the city's green image in the world, in this regard, the primary venue of the summit, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is an example.
"If you travel in Pittsburgh to cover the summit, you will find the convention full of natural light with energy efficient features, including a living roof. A number of Pittsburgh foundations worked together on the design process that led to what was at the time the world's largest green building. They also establish Pittsburgh as the world's green building leader. "
Ravenstahl says it's hard to estimate the exact number of visitors to Pittsburgh during the week of the summit, but expects it to be over 10,000. The mayor says he is confident to be able to ensure the safety of the summit.
SS, CRI news, Washington.
