An Exit Interview With the Woman Who Drove Pittsburgh Into the Innovation Age
The Pittsburgh that exists in many people’s imaginations is covered in smokestacks and smog—a city of the past, not a metropolis of the future. In reality, Pittsburgh is increasingly becoming one of the most technologically advanced cities in the U.S., the testing ground for autonomous cars and other innovations that have yet to hit the main stage. Even the way Pittsburgh serves its residents is an experimental notch above many, as seen in apps like Burgh’s Eye View, which city officials created to allow users to spatially map where problems like building code violations and public safety incidents are happening throughout the city.
Many of these new advances can be credited to Debra Lam, Pittsburgh’s first-ever Chief of Innovation and Performance, a role the city created and filled in 2014 to help modernize and futurize its operations. After developing the framework for that kind of modernization for two years, Lam is retiring from her role to join her family in Atlanta—her next steps still to be determined.