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Pittsburgh

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As the home of one of RAND's principal North American offices, the Pittsburgh region is understandably the focal point of significant RAND interest. Research studies have focused on topics ranging from child health and well-being and the structure of Pittsburgh Public Schools to the region's government and infrastructure.

Project

How Does Neighborhood Environment Impact Health Outcomes?

Sep 7, 2011

The PHRESH project examines how neighborhood characteristics—like access to fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats—could make residents more or less healthy.
Research Brief

Green Infrastructure Can Help Manage Rainfall in an Urban Watershed

Oct 29, 2020

Urbanization, inadequate investment in aging infrastructure, and more-frequent heavy rainfall events due to climate change have led to sewer overflows, flooding, and reduced water quality in U.S. cities. The challenges of increasing volumes of stormwater can be addressed by a mix of solutions.

Explore Pittsburgh

Periodical

RAND Review: July-August 2021

One feature highlights how researchers apply an equity lens to projects on environmental racism, incarcerated parents, and the lives of Black service members; a second describes interventions to address disparities in infant mortality rates.

Jul 1, 2021
Blog

China's Ambitions, Origins of the Coronavirus, Income Inequality: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on China’s quest for global primacy, understanding the coronavirus origin story, how parents feel about sending their children back to school, and more.

Jun 11, 2021
Project

How Does Neighborhood Investment Affect Residents' Health and Well-Being?

RAND's PHRESH project has been studying how investments in two Pittsburgh neighborhoods affect diet, sleep, health, and well-being. We've learned that when residents are involved in decisions, communities can become healthier and happier.

Jun 8, 2021
Journal Article

SNAP Participants and High Levels of Food Insecurity in the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

We examined how people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, particularly Black participants, and participants residing in food deserts.

Apr 2, 2021
Journal Article

An Audit Tool for Longitudinal Assessment of the Health-Related Characteristics of Urban Neighborhoods: Implementation Methods and Reliability Results

To identify neighborhood features that are predictors of health, objective assessments of the environment are used. In this paper, we have described implementation methods, reliability results and lessons learned to inform future studies of change.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Do Investments in Low-Income Neighborhoods Produce Objective Change in Health-Related Neighborhood Conditions?

This study examined the effect of neighborhood investments on neighborhood walkability, presence of incivilities, and crime in two low-income, primarily African American neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Food Insecurity Is Associated with Objectively Measured Sleep Problems

Food Insecurity (FI) can be a profound source of stress, which may increase the risk for sleep disturbance. This is the first study to examine the association between FI and objectively and subjectively measured sleep.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

A Preliminary Study of a Composite Sleep Health Score: Associations with Psychological Distress, Body Mass Index, and Physical Functioning in a Low-Income African American Community

The current study investigates associations of five sleep dimensions, analyzed separately and simultaneously, with psychological distress, body mass index, and physical functioning among a low-income, predominantly African American population.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Changes in Perceptions of Neighborhood Environment and Cardiometabolic Outcomes in Two Predominantly African American Neighborhoods

Perceived neighborhood characteristics, including satisfaction with one's neighborhood as a place to live, are associated with lower obesity rates and more favorable cardiovascular risk factor profiles.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Food Insecurity in a Low-Income, Predominantly African American Cohort Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

Longitudinal data highlight profound inequities that have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Existing policies appear inadequate to address the widening gap.

Mar 11, 2021
Journal Article

Improvements in Neighborhood Socioeconomic Conditions May Improve Resident Diet

Investing in neighborhoods may support resident diet through improvements in neighborhood commercial environments for renters, but mechanisms appear to differ for homeowners.

Mar 11, 2021
Journal Article

Violent Crime, Police Presence and Poor Sleep in Two Low-Income Urban Predominantly Black American Neighbourhoods

To examine violent crime in relation to sleep and explore pathways, including psychological distress, safety perceptions and perceived police presence, that may account for associations.

Mar 11, 2021
Commentary

Striking Rates of Food Insecurity in Two Pittsburgh Neighborhoods

The number of Americans experiencing food insecurity has increased since the pandemic began. And rates are higher among African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. Proactive and aggressive policy actions could help reduce the inequities in places like Pittsburgh's Hill District and Homewood neighborhoods.

Feb 9, 2021
Journal Article

Modeling the Uncertainty of Potential Impacts on Robust Stormwater Management from Neighborhood-Scale Impervious Cover Change: A Case Study of Population-Based Scenarios in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This work presents a method for applying high-spatial resolution population-based scenarios to pre-existing stormwater models. We explore the impact of two long-term population growth scenarios for the Pittsburgh region.

Feb 4, 2021
Dissertation

Accumulation, Autonomy, and Expectations: Three Essays on the Impact of U.S. Health Care Industry Consolidation

Aims to augment the existing evidence base on the consequences of and policy remedies for health care consolidation in three essays.

Dec 4, 2020
Journal Article

Impacts of Health Care Industry Consolidation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: A Qualitative Study

This exploratory qualitative study describes industry and community stakeholder perceptions of the impacts of cumulative hospital, practice, and insurance mergers, acquisitions, and affiliations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Dec 1, 2020
Report

Managing Heavy Rainfall with Green Infrastructure

An evaluation of Pittsburgh's Negley Run watershed shows how green stormwater infrastructure could reduce flooding and provide positive economic benefits in areas that face urgent flood risk.

Oct 26, 2020
Commentary

Feeding the Needy and Protecting Workers on the Front Lines of the Pandemic

Access to food could be critical to getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. Local leaders and policymakers may find themselves having to devote new resources to make sure all citizens have access to food and to protect those on the front lines.

Apr 30, 2020
Journal Article

Does Large-Scale Neighborhood Reinvestment Work? Effects of Public–Private Real Estate Investment on Local Sales Prices, Rental Prices, and Crime Rates

We examine whether the substantial, combined public–private investments in Hill District, Pittsburgh, (a) increased that neighborhood's residential and commercial sales prices, (b) increased residential rental prices, and (c) reduced crime.

Mar 5, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Pittsburgh

Topic Synonyms:
Pittsburgh Office

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