Community storytelling Archives - Pittsburgh's Public Source

A dimly lit street at dusk is blocked by yellow caution tape and fallen tree branches, with a car’s headlights shining in the background—a scene reminiscent of the storms AI is changing how Pittsburgh meteorologists track, as new technology helps them better anticipate tornadoes.

Are Pittsburgh-area storms leaving you without power? We want to hear about it.

by Penny De La Cruz September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

Heavy storms coming through Southwest Pennsylvania leave thousands of people without electricity. Were you one of them?

A woman sits on a couch with a laptop on her lap, reflected in a round mirror. A water bottle and a red tumbler are on the table in front of her.

GENDER & IDENTITY

My disability wasn’t the problem. The assumptions about it were.

by First-person essay by Zarin Hamid September 4, 2026September 2, 2026

A red, handmade notebook titled "Musings of High Society Nobleman, 5th Edition," bound with red string, on a blue background.

Community storytelling

Open call: Turn your curiosity about people and places into a zine

by Public Source September 3, 2026September 4, 2026

A small band performs with banjo, guitar, saxophone and clarinet on a porch at dusk as people watch from chairs and the sidewalk.

On Penn Avenue, First Friday’s Unblurred vision peers into the future

by Aakanksha Agarwal September 2, 2026August 28, 2026

Two children with backpacks walk up a path toward a brick school building, surrounded by adults and other children near the entrance.

‘It’s not going to be the same.’ Back-to-school in Pittsburgh bittersweet ahead of closures.

by Lajja Mistry September 1, 2026August 31, 2026

Four adults ride in a small motorboat on a river, with trees and hills in the background. Two sit at the front, and two stand, talking and smiling.

Economy & Housing

Caught between a river, a water project and a railroad, a marina community tries to hang on

by Feixu Chen and Jason Alpert-Wisnia August 26, 2026August 28, 2026

Man helps a young girl reach monkey bars on a playground while another girl stands nearby holding a toy.

Community storytelling

Childcare’s high cost, low supply pushes Pittsburgh families to get creative

by Matt Petras August 25, 2026August 31, 2026

Four people smile and play instruments in a music classroom while a teacher instructs them; others sit and watch in the background.

Community storytelling

How Homewood is sustaining itself after decades of disinvestment

by Ervin Dyer August 14, 2026August 13, 2026

Firefighters walk through debris with damaged WTC steel structures in the background after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Community storytelling

If 9/11 changed you, we’d like to know about it

by Rich Lord August 7, 2026August 6, 2026

A woman in a red sleeveless top stands on a city sidewalk near a Chinatown Inn sign on a sunny day.

Pittsburgh’s Chinatown is gone, but its history showed me that I belong here

by First-person essay by Melissa Lee August 7, 2026August 12, 2026

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