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Of all the Rust-Belt cities, from Iowa to New York, which city, big or small, has done, in your educated opinion, the best job of reinventing itself and turning the trajectory of the city around?
If Gary Indiana is the worst example, then what city would be the best example? Notable runner ups would be welcomed also. I live in a Rust-Belt city, and I see city leaders trying to turn things around, but it's a long, slow, and drawn out process. Share some success stories!
Among the larger cities, I would be Pittsburgh, by far, because unlike Detroit, it was not run by a collection of gangsters and grafters, and its leaders possessed enough foresight to recognize and confront basic changes in the economy early-on.
Immigration and possible racial issues aside, Hazleton, PA also deserves mention; CAN-DO, a local civic group which recognized the inevitable shift away from the "anthracite economy", and attracted and cultivated the prominent "distribution economy" of the present day, began operations in 1956.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 04-15-2018 at 07:32 PM..
Pittsburgh, by far, because unlike Detroit, it was not run by a collection of gangsters and grafters, and its leaders possessed enough foresight to recognize and confront basic changes in the economy early-on.
Immigration and possible racial issues aside, Hazleton, PA also deserves mention; CAN-DO, a local civic group which recognized the inevitable shift away from the "anthracite economy" began operations in 1956.
Honorable mention for Cleveland? I visited downtown Cleveland and some of the outlying area in their old industrial area, which seems to be taking on more of a hipster vibe. I think Cleveland is a pretty underrated city and not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be.
Have not visited Pittsburgh, but would really like to.
Pittsburgh had no choice but to reinvent itself. It had to create an entirely new economy from scratch, and then ramp it up to the scale of a metropolitan area with 2,000,000-2,500,000 population in just 30 years. It'd be like if Ford had to stop making cars and become an all-purpose company like Walmart or Amazon, and then ramp it up to the scale of a company with 200,000-250,000 employees.
Does Indianapolis count? I want to say it, but the more I think about it I'm not sure it's truly rust belt.
It's an older city, but I'm not sure they had any sort of serious industry, let alone a declining industry that they would be forced to recover from. I love Indianapolis though, it's a wonderful city, and the downtown grid work and city planning is truly masterful in my opinion.
Certainly for anyone who's read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle".
It spawned legislation that led to the creation of the FDA. Thanks Chicago!
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