Pittsburgh’s fertile environment of support, funding and intellectual capital is helping technology start-ups get a foothold in the world of business.

Once the home of a steel industry and little else, Pittsburgh was all but written off in the 1970s and 1980s as that industry collapsed. However, the city's focus on technological and biotech innovation, combined with an environment that encourages entrepreneurship, has turned its fortunes full circle.

Businesses in Pittsburgh are rising to the green-technology challenge by constructing zero-impact buildings using locally sourced materials.