Living: All Riled Up About Ratings

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Boyer, a mystery novelist, and Savageau, a relocation consultant, worked for 16 months to track down and verify new statistics. "Every call to a government agency," says Savageau, "uncovered ten other statistics we could use." The authors also devised their own formulas. To gauge climate, for example, they developed a complex scheme relating relative humidity to seasonal variations in temperature. To update the 1980 census, they turned to such sources as IRS change-of-address lists. One discovery: the Sunbelt may have oversold its desirability. Address changes for the past two years show % the Northeast has been gaining population while the West has been losing it. Conclude the authors: "Not only did our (older) cities not die, they are undergoing a rejuvenation unparalleled in our history."

A rating of American metropolises, they write, "is like a snapshot of a moving target." No picture is fuzzier than that of No. 1 Pittsburgh. It received no outstanding marks in eight categories--its best was seventh in education--and it accumulated no low ones. "Pittsburgh is like the Steelers' front line," observes Boyer. "Not incredibly strong in any one area, but consistently good overall."

Cities in the basement are already contesting the criteria. By last weekend, Rand McNally was overwhelmed with outraged calls. One caller, Pat Lile, a Pine Bluff, Ark., development promoter, complained of Pine Bluff's 328th-place rating: "They don't contact one person or make one phone call. Other people use their data, and the damage proliferates." Said Mayor Edward Bartholomew of Glens Falls, N.Y., which ranked 290th: "We're going to have a public burning of (Rand McNally's) almanac and all their maps." Responded Rand McNally Public Relations Director Conroy Erickson: "All we've done is supply the raw material. Readers need to make their own judgments."

Residents of Yuba City quickly did so. Apples and oranges, they said. "I don't see how they can compare cities like Pittsburgh and Yuba City," commented Fireman Ron Ruzich. "It's just a way for someone to sell books somewhere." Part-time Mayor Chuck Pappageorge, a grain merchant, looked for a way to capitalize on the city's bottom-rung prominence. Said he: "If we'd been second to last, no one would have noticed. This is a great opportunity. We'll get some yardage out of this." Better hold that line, Pittsburgh.

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