In Pittsburgh, The Spotlight's On

"Local officials hope to show how their riverside city has reinvented itself since the last of its smoke-belching steel mills closed in the 1980s. No longer considered "hell with the lid off," as an early critic put it, Pittsburgh now boasts a diversified economy and a livable environment.

'The rest of the world has an image of Pittsburgh as a smoky city, a dirty city, a dying Rust Belt city,' explained the 29-year-old mayor, Luke Ravenstahl. 'But that's not true anymore.'

Healthcare and biotechnology have replaced steel as the largest employers. Joblessness is at 7.7%, below both the state and national averages. The city center and many of Pittsburgh's 89 neighborhoods and ethnic enclaves are vibrant and busy."

But some challenges remain in the city, like its struggles to attract new businesses and its four-decades of population loss.