Healing the Post-Industrial City: Thinking Critically about Academic Medicine and Urban Change

Abstract The increasing visibility of academic medicine in cities like Pittsburgh has contributed to a narrative of post-industrial renewal that centers the "eds and meds" economy as the major driver of positive urban change. While there is no doubt that emergence of this new economy has been broadly beneficial to many communities, serious challenges have accompanied its rise. This talk will examine the roots of the "eds and meds" economy and show how changes in the business of medicine during the 1980s and 1990s intersected with new community development needs in the post-industrial era. It will also raise questions about the social and economic costs of this new economy and think about how interested citizens can create more just and equitable ways to heal the post-industrial city.