As I Lay Dying

When the seasons change, I get a cold, a nasty, lingering cold that sits in my sinuses for weeks on ends. By the end of the second day, I'm disoriented, confused, and incoherrent. [All of which makes me a viable candidate for Mayor of Pittsburgh.]

Anyway, today at THE BUREAUCRACY, between delusional ramblings that Aliens are stealing my luggage, I got to thinking about all the things that are going on in Pittsburgh and if anyone actually sat down and took notice.

This is not waxing romantically, by the way; this is a legitimate Economic Development question:

Has anyone actually taken stock of the Economic Development tools that the City of Pittsburgh has at its disposal?

Seriously.

Catalyst Connection has some ideas. So does The Carnegie Library. They both seem to be lacking, however, in a way that I can't quite put my finger on.

For example: No mention of The Community Design Center of Pittsburgh or The Community Technical Assistance Center. No funders are listed either. Nor tradesmen.

Maybe this is just typical of the fractousness of the region. I mean, if you can't get the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Builder's Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh to work together, how can you expect Blawnox and Mt. Lebanon to do it?

I'm going to chalk this up to the NyQuil, but what kinds of community and economic development tools are out there and what exactly are they doing?