Mayor Gainey, Duolingo CEO share Pittsburgh visions
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Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn at the Axios Pittsburgh launch event on April 2. Photo: Jorge Santiago on behalf of Axios
Two of Pittsburgh's most prominent leaders spoke with Axios this week, detailing where they want to see the city head.
Why it matters: Pittsburgh's trajectory could take several paths, and the growth of major local companies like Duolingo, along with the policies adopted by the mayor's administration, will have a big impact.
Driving the news: Mayor Ed Gainey and Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn headlined Axios Pittsburgh's launch event on Wednesday, sitting down with us to discuss the future of the city in front of a standing-room-only crowd in the Strip District.
What they're saying: Duolingo is committed to growing in Pittsburgh, said Von Ahn. He spoke about the language learning app's local philanthropic efforts in early childhood education, lauded its popular Mexican restaurant Duo's Taqueria, and shared the company's planned office expansion into the new Liberty East office tower in East Liberty.
- But he said future expansion would be easier with less red tape from the local government and a larger pool of 25- to 35-year-olds eager to work in the Steel City.
- "We have a pretty easy time attracting people who just graduated from college, so like 22-year-olds," he said. "And we can attract people when they have kids, which is usually, call it, 35 or so. They stick around until about 25, then they go to New York, find themselves a partner there, have kids and come back here."
Gainey is excited for Pittsburgh's future too — particularly the hordes of fans that will flock here to enjoy the NFL Draft — but his housing policy pitch contrasted a bit with Von Ahn's.
- He said people moving into Pittsburgh's new market-rate developments have contributed to Pittsburgh's stagnant population figures by gentrifying the city and pushing lower-income residents out to the suburbs.
- Gainey, who is in a tough reelection battle, said that's why he believes the city should add inclusionary zoning citywide, requiring developments of 20 units or more to set aside 10% of units for residents making about $17 an hour working full-time.
- "Because of the explosion of market rate, we gentrified neighborhoods — Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, East Liberty — and we lost a lot of people."