tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post3611509782480656039..comments2023-10-27T03:16:03.213-04:00Comments on Burgh Diaspora: ÜberburghJim Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078184665418828961noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-55056421149933566982011-06-22T18:53:44.617-04:002011-06-22T18:53:44.617-04:00Don't waste your energy arguing over which rus...Don't waste your energy arguing over which rust belt city is first, second or third. If this is a contest about economic output, jobs, employment growth, or population...then just move to Dallas, Phoenix, or San Diego and you can personally adopt a city that will easily beat any of the ones in the Midwest. Even Chicago is bleeding jobs and population.<br /><br />This should be a contest about quality of life issues. Which rust belt city is doing the best at sustainability? The best at land conservation? The best at regional planning? Now that's a contest the rust belt SHOULD be working to win.Paul Wittibschlagernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-89417508401133981832011-06-22T11:11:40.618-04:002011-06-22T11:11:40.618-04:00As a Detroiter (broadly defined) I actually take s...As a Detroiter (broadly defined) I actually take solace from watching Pittsburgh, and I see more and more metro Detroiters looking at Pittsburgh as a model. I think we're on the same trajectory as Pittsburgh, just 25 or so years behind in the cycle, since steel peaked and collapsed about 25 years before the Big 3. Pittsburgh has had a head start in terms of being forced to diversify. (Likewise, I see Boston as a model/predecessor for Pittsburgh -- starting when the textile mills began to move south in the 1920s, it went through a long economic decline and had to diversify.) <br /><br />I hope it doesn't take us another 20 years to get to where Pittsburgh is now -- but it wouldn't surprise me. It will depend on a few things: A) whether voters around here start to demand more regional cooperation, B) how quickly our median education levels start to improve, and C) how much progress Wayne State University can make in terms of research and academic rankings. Right now Detroit lacks the strong research universities Pittsburgh has, & I think it's important we work to address that. (Or maybe it doesn't matter and I'm just drinking the Kool-Aid of 2011 conventional wisdom... always a possibility).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-10701556831901034782011-06-22T09:37:30.190-04:002011-06-22T09:37:30.190-04:00I consider Minneapolis to be part of the Rust Belt...I consider Minneapolis to be part of the Rust Belt, embracing Richard Longworth's Midwestern region. But I also include areas east of the OH-PA state line. <br /><br />At minimum, there are two Rust Belts: East and West. I won't get into what is Midwestern because I think that muddles the regional abstraction. Chicago, with all due respect to Minneapolis and St. Louis, is king of the Western Rust Belt.<br /><br />Detroit, with all due respect to Cleveland and Pittsburgh (and Louisville?), was king of the Eastern Rust Belt. The problem is that Detroit didn't reinvent itself like Chicago did.<br /><br />For all the concern in Chicago about a fall from grace, the city would do well to look at Detroit.Jim Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13078184665418828961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29127973.post-87989953361349366582011-06-22T09:12:43.403-04:002011-06-22T09:12:43.403-04:00Yes, but isn't Minneapolis the true Midwestern...Yes, but isn't Minneapolis the true Midwestern Second City? If the criteria is purely rust belt, then Detroit would 2nd (one could argue 1st, with Chicago, not being like the others)<br /><br />-JoePAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com