By Oliver Bateman
The relationship between decline and Pittsburgh is complex. After the steel sector collapsed in the 1970s and 1980s, the city lost half of its population, but it has managed to stay relevant as a small center for robotics, artificial intelligence, and medicine. Japan’s Nippon Steel has offered $14.9 billion to salvage what remains of U.S. Steel, 70 years after some local steelworkers literally fought the Japanese during World War II. President Biden simply said no, echoing former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s War on Drugs catchphrase.