On today’s episode of The Confluence: Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey campaigned on improving the city’s affordable housing market, but recent developments may make reaching those goals more difficult; how employers can look to neurodiverse adults to help fill vacancies; and the state’s looking to regulate PFAS, known as forever chemicals, in drinking water.
Rising construction costs may hinder Mayor Ed Gainey’s efforts to increase affordable housing
(0:00 - 7:22)
Mayor Ed Gainey pledged during his campaign to create more affordable housing units in Pittsburgh. But rising construction costs may make it difficult to fulfill his promise.
“There is a huge public perception that there's a lot of apartment development in Pittsburgh,” says Tim Schooley, real estate reporter for Pittsburgh Business Times.
But according to a study conducted by the commercial real estate and investment firm CBRE, “Pittsburgh ranked 53rd out of 53 markets that they looked at in terms of number of new apartments under construction,” says Schooley. “So Pittsburgh's actually lagging in terms of adding market-rate apartments.”
The Gainey administration hasn’t set a goal for the number of units of affordable housing needed, and Schooley says more research needs to be done to identify the need. Although up-to-date research is needed, Schooley says the city is short more than 20,000 affordable housing units.
Developers that are looking to build housing in the city face increased costs.
“If they’re market rate, the construction costs that are a major issue in this town now are driving developers to max out as many units as they possibly can to defray to make those construction costs work,” he says. “So we are seeing, the ones we are seeing, they're relatively large in size. It's just a matter of, you know, is it enough?”
The city lost affordable housing units, according to research from the University of Pittsburgh, over the last 25 years when it demolished public housing projects, but the plan to use privatized, mixed-income development didn’t make up the difference in lost units.
How employers can make workplaces better for neurodiverse workers
(7:22 - 17:16)
A tight labor market is leaving job openings unanswered, but employers might be screening out neurodiverse candidates that could be a good fit. Johanna Murphy, development director at Evolve Coaching, thinks making workplaces more accessible for neurodiverse people can help address employment issues.
“Neurodiversity encompasses a range of differences: autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, dysgraphia,” says Murphy. “Anything that makes a difference in how we process the world.”
Murphy, who is autistic, thinks social expectations in the workplace can act as barriers for neurodiverse people.
“Autistic people, in particular, don't have the same sort of social vibe as neurotypical people and aren't necessarily comfortable making eye contact,” says Murphy. “And those are really important to the traditional interviewing and hiring process, you know, you're supposed to go in with a firm handshake and look people in the eye.”
Instead of assessing workers based on how well they follow social norms, Murphy thinks employers should focus instead on task completion.
“Maybe we screen people by having them complete sample tasks to see how they really work, rather than making them discuss how they would work. Some people are better at executing the work than really promoting themselves or talking about it,” says Murphy.
Murphy says Pittsburghers should be able to make this shift to better accommodate all types of workers because we are used to accommodating for the greater good.
“I used the example of the Pittsburgh left. Everybody in the city knows it. It's bananas,” Murphy says. “And like, I cannot believe this works, yet it works. It's like a distributed system that everybody in the city takes part in, it makes things easier. And so we can do that with neurodiversity in the workplace too, right? All we're saying is give me two extra seconds to make this left turn. You know, let's work together. Pittsburgh knows how to do this.”
Murphy explains finding ways to work with neurodiverse employees benefits all workers at a company because it means clearer communication and better management.
PA Department of Environment Protection holds virtual public hearings on “forever chemicals” in water supply
(17:16 - 22:30)
Pennsylvania is moving forward with a new drinking water rule for chemicals known as PFAS. The Department of Environmental Protection held public hearings recently on its proposed new rules.
The Allegheny Front's Julie Grant looked into the impact of these chemicals.
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.
