Nightmare in the Steel City

Pittsburgh was a low-profile city with a permanent population of only several hundred thousand. Whether in American or global media, its exposure was far lower than that of other American cities.

After its founding, it began to rise following the Civil War and truly gained momentum around the start of World War I. It quickly defeated a host of competitors from old Europe, claiming the title of the world's steel capital and holding it firmly for more than half a century.

It was not until the end of the last century, with the rise of the steel industry in a certain Far Eastern nation, that Pittsburgh surrendered that crown at the turn of the new century. From then on, it gradually appeared less and less in media coverage around the world.

Yet it was precisely because of this low profile

that more and more people began to overlook the importance of this city in southwestern Pennsylvania to American industry and the military-industrial sector.

Even though a city in some Far Eastern country had already taken away its title as the world's steel capital, Pittsburgh remained one of America's most important steel industry bases. It possessed advanced alloy and smelting industries, while even its relatively inconspicuous new materials manufacturing sector ranked among the best in the nation.

At the beginning of its development, Pittsburgh had been one of the most heavily polluted cities in the United States.

American media once cited a painting called "Smoky Pittsburgh," created by an artist, and mockingly called it the source of American pollution.

But later, as industrialization progressed and economic conditions improved, Pittsburgh began investing heavily in upgrades and equipment modernization after entering the Cold War era. It shut down large numbers of heavily polluting enterprises while also treating severely contaminated rivers and soil.

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