Pittsburgh Innovation District

After a decades-long revitalization process, the City of Bridges is a rapidly rising hotspot for technology and innovation.

Fanning the flames of the city’s growth is the Pittsburgh Innovation District (PID), a dynamic hub of innovation, research, business, government and technology.

Located in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, the PID is home to two world-class research institutions, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Working together (and only a square mile apart), these universities are highly influential in attracting and retaining the region’s extensive pool of talented technologists, innovators and researchers.

It’s not a complete surprise that Pittsburgh is now host to a bustling community of game-changing inventors and technologists. Since 1979, when Carnegie Mellon University debuted its Robotics Institute (the number one robotics program in the world), Pittsburgh has been a leader in robotics and transformative technologies  — including building the world’s very first self-driving car.

Today, the PID plays a vital role in Pittsburgh’s physical and economic development. It promotes the city’s talents, resources, amenities and research strengths to attract entrepreneurs and innovation companies to set up shop in Pittsburgh, creating jobs for people at every level of the innovation industry. Flagship companies already include Facebook, Uber, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, Apple, as well as the region’s 33 other universities and colleges, including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

In other words, the PID is not an incubator, it’s a connector.

Working with local universities and business partners, the PID facilitates the structural development of the Oakland neighborhood in three ways: real estate, transportation and lifestyle. With $3.8 billion of new real estate projects in the works, the PID develops and matches companies and startups with the right commercial, lab or coworking spaces. The forthcoming Bus Rapid Transit line will conveniently connect the PID to many of the city’s hotspots, most notably the downtown CBD. And as Oakland matures into an 18-hour destination, the PID will continue to work with local partners to create innovative physical offerings, programming and streetscape projects.

Its existing world class menu of museums, restaurants, bars and cafes make Oakland an authentic, culturally rich neighborhood that is just as exciting a place to live and play as it is to work. As the catalyst for its growth, the PID drives a steady swell of economic development, harnessing the city’s talent, space and resources to build endless opportunities for innovation to thrive.