As focal points of the region, the city of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods continue to be at the crossroads of trends in domestic and global migration. Past waves of mobility and displacement—central to Pittsburgh’s emergence in the colonial era, its birth as the world’s steelmaking capital, and its rust-belt renaissance—simultaneously brought dispossession and new beginnings, community rivalries and peaceful exchange, whether cultural, commercial, or technological. The Hill District’s historical status as a mecca of Black culture, Pitt’s Nationality Rooms, and Pittsburgh’s lost Chinatown are all reminders of how incoming people’s movement across boundaries (e.g., national, class, and racial) shape the city and how communities are in turn impacted by the city's development.

This guide provides an overview for finding resources relating to the diverse experiences of migration to Pittsburgh among African American, Asian American, and Eastern European communities extending from the early twentieth century through the current moment. The guide is designed for use by students enrolled in courses offered under the University Center for International Studies' "Transnational Pittsburgh" project: "Transnational Pittsburgh: Black Migration," "Transnational Pittsburgh: Asian/Amercian," and "Pittsburgh, Diaspora, Migration: Slavic and East European Communities."