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Is the Rust Belt a thing of the past or does it still exist?
If it still exists, which areas are still trying to recover economically?
Despite slow population gains, most of the Midwest seems to be stable outside Michigan and rural areas.
Columbus, OH and Indianapolis both continue to gain population followed by the Twin Cities and Madison, WI.
St. Louis and Pittsburgh seem to be on the rebound even with slow population gains.
The economy in Chicago is already diversified so the effects of the Rust Belt didn't affect Chicago that much so were Minnesota and most of Wisconsin outside Milwaukee.
Is the Rust Belt a thing of the past or does it still exist?
If it still exists, which areas are still trying to recover economically?
Despite slow population gains, most of the Midwest seems to be stable outside Michigan and rural areas.
Columbus, OH and Indianapolis both continue to gain population followed by the Twin Cities and Madison, WI.
St. Louis and Pittsburgh seem to be on the rebound even with slow population gains.
The economy in Chicago is already diversified so the effects of the Rust Belt didn't affect Chicago that much so were Minnesota and most of Wisconsin outside Milwaukee.
Much of Michigan is still a mess, some Ohio cities are also in poor shape. People are still leaving states like MI, WI, Oh and IN. Cold weather and a lousy economy both play a part in that. A few towns have recovered, as stated Indianapolis , Madison and Grand Rapids are just a few examples. Overall though its still a tough place to live. One thing to remember though is that the people who have stuck it out in that area don't really like having it called "rust belt" In spite of the economy there are some very pretty areas in northern Mi, and northern Wi. People up there hang on to the good things about being there, and don't like to be reminded of the bad.
LOL, who keeps feeding you these erroneously dire reports about Michigan? Have you ever been back since you moved? It's a "tough place to live"? LOL.
"People up there hang on to the good things about being there, and don't like to be reminded of the bad." Couldn't that be said about anywhere in the world where people live?
Apparently you haven't gotten the memo, but Michigan is doing better than it has in many, many years. Many reports have it now leading the economic recovery, the state government just recorded a huge surplus at the end of the last fiscal year, we finally have a governor who knows his head from a hole in the ground, and the domestic automotive industry is going gangbusters.
Last edited by JMT; 01-20-2014 at 08:08 AM..
Reason: Don't make this thread about another poster.
I have to disagree with this too. Michigan (and the rest of the midwest) is not a "tough place to live," not really any more so than any other state. Millions of people do just fine here. Yes, there are people who struggle (just like any other state). And people who have a great quality of life. You should know that as well as anyone. Millions of people are just living their lives here on a daily basis and the thought of "wow it is tough to live here" isn't on their mind at all. It is just... life.
You really can't make a blanket statement about ANY state that it's a "tough place to live." There are tough places to live and easy places to live in every state.
From the last available Metro Area Unemployment Rates Report -November 2013 (percentage rate shown on right). The U.S. average is 6.6% with the following Rust Belt cities just above, at or well below that. I would say the Rust Belt descriptive is becoming outdated and perhaps no longer relevant.
Morgantown, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.3
La Crosse, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.3
Eau Claire, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.8
Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.9
Appleton, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.1
Sheboygan, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.2
Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.3
Columbus, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.3
Fond du Lac, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.3
Green Bay, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.3
Lebanon, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.3
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.3
Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.4
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.6
Bangor, ME Metropolitan NECTA 5.6
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.6
Lewiston-Auburn, ME Metropolitan NECTA 5.7
Holland-Grand Haven, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.8
Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.8
Wausau, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.8
Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.1
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.1
Altoona, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.2
Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.2
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.2
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.3
Lansing-East Lansing, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.3
Owensboro, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.3
Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.3
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metropolitan NECTA
York-Hanover, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.4
Battle Creek, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.5
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.5
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.5
Bowling Green, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.6
Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.6
Evansville, IN-KY Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.6
Indianapolis-Carmel, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.6
Wheeling, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.6
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.7
Fort Wayne, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.7
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.7
Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.7
Syracuse, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.7
Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.8
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.8
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.9
Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.9
In a historical sense it certainly still exists. Whenever you see some urban prairie where development once stood and is now just vegetation, you're in a traditional rust belt area. There are still pockets of course that continue to struggle. Even Baltimore/Philly/Newark still has its undeveloped areas that have yet to see gentrification and there are sections of urban prairie in those cities. But IMO the Rust Belt feel peaked in the '70s-'90s in those cities and will continue to wane, though parts of MI, OH, PA, and WV still may not have bottomed out yet. However, if a new round of outsourcing develops, those traditional rust belt areas will likely be the first to show their former selves again, though the closings are likely to be more suburban in nature as they age.
In a historical sense it certainly still exists. Whenever you see some urban prairie where development once stood and is now just vegetation, you're in a traditional rust belt area. There are still pockets of course that continue to struggle. Even Baltimore/Philly/Newark still has its undeveloped areas that have yet to see gentrification and there are sections of urban prairie in those cities. But IMO the Rust Belt feel peaked in the '70s-'90s in those cities and will continue to wane, though parts of MI, OH, PA, and WV still may not have bottomed out yet. However, if a new round of outsourcing develops, those traditional rust belt areas will likely be the first to show their former selves again, though the closings are likely to be more suburban in nature as they age.
Also, on the other hand, you are starting to see some development in Downtowns and certain neighborhoods in these cities too. There is a shift to other industries like higher education, health care and engineering too. While employment may not be at its peak, there are still some good jobs to be had with the appropriate skills/education. There are still your urban issues that plague cities to some degree, but you also have many people that are doing just fine.
The term rust belt gained popularity more among those who moved away from these areas and is unpopular among those who live there now. Heavy manufacturing is probably not coming back but that is ok since the economy of many of these regions is now significantly diversified. In any case, much of the social shock associated with deindustrialization has faded away. The term rust belt is probably now more appropriately used not to describe one static region of the US but perhaps locations where infrastructure is now overbuilt or unnecessary. For instance, there is even talk of a rust belt forming in parts of silicon valley and san jose as companies pack up for san francisco. (See below)
A. MSP, CMH, IND, and MAD are all growing at similar rates, and B. none of them would be considered true Rust Belt cities anyways.
To answer your question though, I think it still exists very much in some places, like smaller towns (Youngstown), but most/all bigger cities are beyond that phase of decline now.
Yes it still does. Buffalo is still in economic despair leaving its residents to be in hard denial over it.
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