I was surprised to read a collectivist, central planner type (Mindy Fullilove, professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University Medical Center) actually glorify Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
For those who have never been to Pittsburgh, the Hill District is the low-income area between Mellon Arena downtown and the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland. It’s a good idea to avoid the Hill if you’re in the ‘Burgh…unless you are looking for a good time.
What is so striking about Fullilove’s fantasy is that she neglects to mention that there hasn’t been a grocery store in the Hill District for 30 years! (See Allegheny Institute Policy Brief, Volume 8, Number 62, 9/25/2008) Obviously, when Fullilove says that, in a place like the Hill District, “whatever problems you have … you can get together and solve them,” those problems do not include attracting a grocery chain to the area. Indeed, residents of the Hill District solved that problem years ago by shopping at grocery stores in the evil suburbs.
