Pittsburgh

====Air quality====
The [[American Lung Association|American Lung Association's]] (ALA) 2023 “State of the Air” report (which included data from 2019 to 2021) showed air quality in Pittsburgh improving. The city received a passing grade for ozone pollution, going from an F to a C grade, and improving from the 46th to 54th most polluted by ozone smog.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guay |first=Jessica |date=April 19, 2023 |title=American Lung Association report puts Pittsburgh area among worst for air quality - CBS Pittsburgh |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/dangerous-for-peoples-health-american-lung-association-report-puts-pittsburgh-among-worst-places-for-air-quality/ |access-date=February 7, 2024 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

A report by [https://pghworks.com/ Pittsburgh Works Together] published in November 2023 utilizing [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) data showed continued air quality improvement as “the level of microscopic soot pollution (PM2.5) at the Liberty air monitor which is used by the EPA to measure Allegheny County’s compliance with the Clean Air Act standards declined 7% in 2022 compared to 2021 and has dropped 23.2% over the past decade."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=November 15, 2023 |title=Clearing The Air 4.0 Report Is Here |url=https://pghworks.com/pittsburgh-works-together-releases-clearing-the-air-version-4-0-report/ |access-date=February 7, 2024 |website=Pittsburgh Works Together |language=en-US}}</ref> The Pittsburgh Works report also disputes the ALA grade saying, “Data in the Lung Association’s own report shows that many of the counties in the region are among the best in the entire country for peak levels of tiny soot particles (PM2.5).”<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2023 |title=Clearing The Air 4.0 |url=https://pghworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PGHWorks_AirQualityReport_4.0.pdf |website=Pittsburgh Works Together}}</ref>

According to daily ozone air quality data provided by the EPA, from 2021 to 2024, Pittsburgh had good or moderate air quality most of the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=September 23, 2016 |title=Air Data - Multiyear Tile Plot |url=https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data/air-data-multiyear-tile-plot |access-date=February 7, 2024 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=EPA: Air Quality Trends By City 2000-2022 |url=https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-05/airqualitytrendsbycity2000-2022.xlsx |website=EPA}}</ref> Then-Allegheny County executive Rich Fitzgerald said in December 2023 that they’d seen an “80 % drop in hazardous air pollutants” and that they made EPA attainment at all eight county air monitors for the first time in 2020, and then also achieved that goal in 2021, 2022, and were on track for better results in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Rich |date=December 27, 2023 |title=Rich Fitzgerald: Reflecting on 12 years of service |url=https://triblive.com/opinion/rich-fitzgerald-reflecting-on-12-years-of-service/ |access-date=February 7, 2024 |website=TribLIVE.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

A past 2019 "State of the Air" report from the [[American Lung Association]] (ALA) found that air quality in the Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV metro area worsened compared to previous reports, not only for ozone (smog), but also for the second year in a row for both the daily and long-term measures of fine particle pollution. In 2019, outside of California, Allegheny County was the only county in the United States that recorded failing grades for all three.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.lung.org/local-content/_content-items/about-us/media/press-releases/air-quality-in-pittsburgh.html |title=Air Quality in Pittsburgh Metro Area Worsened for both Ozone and Particle Pollution, Finds 2019 'State of the Air' Report |date=April 24, 2019 |work=American Lung Association}}</ref>

In a 2013 ranking of 277 metropolitan areas in the United States, the [[American Lung Association]] ranked only six U.S. metro areas as having higher amounts of short-term particle pollution, and only seven U.S. metro areas having higher amounts of year-round particle pollution than Pittsburgh. For ozone (smog) pollution, Pittsburgh was ranked 24th among U.S. metro areas.<ref>[http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html American Lung Association State of the Air 2013 – Most Polluted Cities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107185644/http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html |date=January 7, 2015 }}. Stateoftheair.org. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/report-pittsburghs-air-quality-improving-but-still-among-most-polluted-684783/ "Report: Pittsburgh's air quality improving, but still among most polluted"], [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]. Post-gazette.com (April 24, 2013). Retrieved on July 17, 2013.</ref> The area has improved its air quality with every annual survey. The ALA's rankings have been disputed by the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), since data from only the worst of the region's 20 air quality monitors is considered by the ALA, without any context or averaging. The lone monitor used is immediately downwind and adjacent to U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, the nation's largest [[Coke (fuel)|coke]] mill, and several municipalities outside the city's jurisdiction of pollution controls, leading to possible confusion that Pittsburgh is the source or center of the emissions cited in the survey.<ref>{{cite news |work=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]] |title=Region passes L.A. on pollution list|access-date=August 10, 2008 |last=Heinrichs |first=Allison |url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_565183.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501192453/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_565183.html|archive-date=May 1, 2008 }}</ref> The region's readings also reflect pollution swept in from Ohio and West Virginia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2013/12/10/8-Northeast-states-sue-over-pollution/stories/201312100110 |title=8 Northeast states sue over pollution |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=June 11, 2015}}</ref>

Although the county was still below the "pass" threshold, the report showed substantial improvement over previous decades on every air quality measure. Fewer than 15 high ozone days were reported between 2007 and 2009, and just 10 between 2008 and 2010, compared to more than 40 between 1997 and 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stateoftheair.org/2012/msas/Pittsburgh-New-Castle-PA.html |title=Allegheny County and Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA |year=2012 |work=State of the Air 2011 |publisher=American Lung Association|access-date=May 28, 2012|archive-date=August 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825005342/http://www.stateoftheair.org/2012/msas/Pittsburgh-New-Castle-PA.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ACHD spokesman Guillermo Cole stated "It's the best it's been in the lifetime for virtually every resident in this county ... We've seen a steady decrease in pollution levels over the past decade and certainly over the past 20, 30, 40, 50 years, or more."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wpxi.com/news/23287732/detail.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918013148/http://www.wpxi.com/news/23287732/detail.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 18, 2012 |title=Pittsburgh Air Quality No Longer Worst in U.S. |date=April 28, 2010 |publisher=[[WPXI]] |access-date=May 7, 2011}}</ref>

As of 2005, the city includes 31,000 trees on 900 miles of streets. A 2011 analysis of Pittsburgh's tree cover, which involved sampling more than 200 small plots throughout the city, showed a value of between $10 and $13 million in annual benefits based on the [[urban forest]] contributions to aesthetics, energy use and air quality. Energy savings from shade, impact on city air and water quality, and the boost in property values were taken into account in the analysis. The city spends $850,000 annually on street tree planting and maintenance.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/that-tree-on-the-corner-may-be-worth-more-than-your-house |title=Tree on the Corner May Be Worth More Than Your House |last=Seltenrich |first=Nate |date=February 18, 2013 |website=[[Next City]] |access-date=May 18, 2019}}</ref>

Despite improvements, some studies still suggest that poor air quality in Pittsburgh is causing negative health effects. In a past study conducted between 2014 and 2016 researchers determined that children who lived in areas close to sources of pollution, such as industrial sites, experienced rates of asthma at almost 3 times the national average.<ref name="Frazier-2020">{{Cite web |last=Frazier |first=Reid |date=November 11, 2020 |title=Study: Pittsburgh kids near polluting sites have higher asthma rates |url=https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2020/11/11/study-pittsburgh-kids-near-polluting-sites-have-higher-asthma-rates/ |access-date=December 16, 2023 |website=StateImpact Pennsylvania |language=en}}</ref> The study also found that 38% of students live in areas over USEPA's 12 micrograms per cubic meter standards, while 70% live in areas over the WHO's standard of 10 micrograms per cubic meter.<ref name="Frazier-2020" /> Several of the plants were located in or very near Pittsburgh.<ref name="Frazier-2020" /> The study also noted that most of the effected communities were minority communities.<ref name="Frazier-2020" /> This had led some residents in Pittsburgh to believe that the continuing effects of air pollution are a case of environmental racism.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hurdle |first=Jon |title=For Low-Income Pittsburgh, Clean Air Remains an Elusive Goal |url=https://e360.yale.edu/features/for-low-income-pittsburgh-clean-air-remains-an-elusive-goal |access-date=December 16, 2023 |website=Yale E360 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Groups such as Women for a Healthy Environment are working to address ongoing concerns surrounding air pollution in Pittsburgh.<ref name="Women For a Healthy Environment">{{Cite web |title=Women For a Healthy Environment |url=https://womenforahealthyenvironment.org/ |access-date=December 16, 2023 |website=Women For a Healthy Environment |language=en-US}}</ref> WHE does work such as policy analysis, publishing reports, and community education.<ref name="Women For a Healthy Environment" /> In the summer of 2017, a crowd sourced air quality monitoring application, Smell PGH, was launched. As air quality is still a concern of many in the area, the app allows for users to report odd smells and informs local authorities.<ref>{{cite web |last=Biggs |first=John |date=June 22, 2016 |title=Smell PGH lets you report weird smells in Pittsburgh |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/22/smellpgh-lets-you-report-weird-smells-in-pittsburgh/ |access-date=May 18, 2019 |website=[[Tech Crunch]]}}</ref>