In the morning/afternoon, it is rather lively area. At night, the smell of hookers on Liberty Ave. will kill you.
(OK, the hookers are gone...old Pittsburgh joke).
If you are traveling from, say, Youngstown, and have an appointment here in Pittsburgh, it is worth checking out. However, if you’re going to make a vacation out of it, you’ll be disappointed :-).
The author really should have reviewed the South Side...that’s where all the good entertainment is....Station Square is another decent place.
Strip, South Side and Station Square are the tourist traps. Nice enough places, but aren’t remotely the best places in town. If you are a tourist these places are going to be confortable places to visit, and worth seeing.
However there is a lot more to Pittsburgh than these same old 3 areas that get all the press.