If you want to talk about where Pittsburgh’s been or where Pittsburgh’s going, Christopher Briem is the guy to call. And he’ll give it to you straight.

Briem, 56, has been a regional economist at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research for nearly 30 years, with a focus on regional competitiveness.

He studies issues including economic growth, population shifts, neighborhood demographics and affordable housing. He can just as easily talk about the evolution of Lawrenceville over the last 30 years as he can about the history of his former office building, which used to be a part of Western Psychiatric Hospital. In February, he will publish his first book, “Beyond Steel: Pittsburgh and the Economics of Transformation.”

“The story of Pittsburgh is still talked abo

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