A love story at the intersection of people and place.
Recently, we were discussing the recurring stories that are told about Pittsburgh, and how flat and oversimplified they often feel. You can probably see that familiar headline: “Move to Pittsburgh, it’s affordable and livable!” While those are nice words (and true), they fail to capture what our people really love about their place.
As we wondered how to accurately convey the many reasons people choose to build their lives here, we kept using the expression “a love letter to Pittsburgh.” Then we thought, it’s the season of love; why not make that idea a reality? We quickly developed a concept for what we call a micro experience, which is an interactive community project that’s both simple (easy to produce, easy to engage with) and meaningful (provokes thought and creativity).
The concept for this one was simple: set up letter writing stations at the city’s most beloved “third places,” the small businesses and watering holes that are the heart of the community. Commonplace Coffee, De Fer Coffee & Tea, Trace Brewing, and The Poetry Lounge all signed on to host, and Love Letters to Pittsburgh was born.
In under a week, we collected over 75 heartfelt messages from people all around Pittsburgh and beyond. Very few of them mentioned affordability or livability; most people wrote about the particularly special memories, qualities, and moments that keep the love alive. While each letter was unique, a few common themes emerged.
NOTHING COMPARES TO YOU
Many writers described the perspective gained from living in other places. Pittsburgh was compared in Boston, Rochester, Arizona, Maine, Oregon, Australia, Ireland, and more. The transplants and boomerangs all agreed: there’s something special about our city that makes it feel the most like home.
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?
We read over and over again that Pittsburgh is “unexpected,” “surprising,” “a diamond in the rough,” “underrated,” “cooler than people give it credit for.” The common thread was that Pittsburgh often exceeds expectations, subverting preconceived notions and surprising people in many ways. Many also mentioned that getting to know the city is a process, one that unfolds slowly over time.
THIS MUST BE THE PLACE
From our natural surroundings to the built environment, Pittsburghers love their favorite places (and not just the ones in the stock photos). Residents waxed poetic about our lush greenways, four distinct seasons, big trees, long hiking trails, dreamy clouds, and of course, the hills and rivers that are the backdrop of our daily lives. And the manmade additions to the city – stunning architecture, historic homes, favorite cafes, the view from a back porch, a reading chair in Carnegie main branch – were written about just as frequently.
Love by THE numbers
We also ran some quick data analysis on the responses. On each card, we asked writers to include their neighborhood and number of years lived in Pittsburgh. Length of residency varied from 0-50+ years, but the largest group was newcomers of 0-6 years. And while the experience popped up in just 4 neighborhoods, the letters represented folks from 34 Pittsburgh neighborhoods (with many repeats, Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze being the most frequent writers), and included several nonresidents from beyond our region.
This micro experience was not only a great way to spread love and engage the community, but also a source of valuable insights, both qualitative and quantitative. This is just one small part of our work to understand, shape, and revitalize Pittsburgh’s identity. But one thing is clear: our people love their place. ❤️
