The Rust Belt Isn't a Riddle; It's a Home
A new essay collection showcases Rust Belt writers on topics like desegregation, clean water, racism, classism, and what it's like to be misunderstood by the coasts.
Rust Belt
This Documentary Upends Stereotypes, Profiling Land-Owning Americans and Their Conservation Work
Pacific Standard recommends Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman.
Why Parts of the Rust Belt Love Donald Trump
National pride, not economic dislocation, fuels the current wave of right-wing populism.
People Are Distressed, Not Communities
By measuring place, the Distressed Communities Index does a poor job of assessing people.
What the Rust Belt Can Teach Us About White Flight, Gentrification, and Brain Drain
With a focus on why people leave, we ignore at least half of the migration story.
How Can Rust Belt Cities Attract More Immigrants?
Communities might roll out the red carpet for the foreign-born, but the more welcoming disposition doesn't do the trick.
The Political Geography of Market Urbanism
The later the economic boom, the greater the municipal area.
'The Handmaid's Tale' Is Economic Development
In Europe, women are valued for their fertility, not productivity.
Demographic Decline in Atlantic Canada: It's the Economy, Stupid
Atlantic Canada is reportedly dying. I'll spend this week explaining why that isn't the case.
Robert Putnam Is Wrong About Social Capital
Too much social capital—not too little—is driving a wedge of income inequality between Americans.
Does Geography Matter When Reinventing Old Communities?
Not really. Common problems, regardless of place, will lead to common solutions.
Silicon Rust
Silicon Shore. Silicon Beach. Silicon Roundabout. How many different technology hubs can we have? Like the untethering of manufacturing from regional natural resources that crushed the Rust Belt, Silicon Valley's one-time advantage of a high concentration of venture capitalists matters less and less as the cost of technology falls.
Geography of the Legacy Economy: Mapping the Next Boom
With real estate markets tapped out in primary markets, investors will look to secondary ones—Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Phoenix—with legacy assets.
Long Island Is Dying, Again: Does Population Change Mean Anything?
Population change obscures more than it illuminates.
Cleveland's Pittsburgh Moment: Building a Brain Hub
The loss of the U.S. Airways hub signaled the start of Pittsburgh's remarkable turnaround. Does that make United Airlines' departure from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport a cause for celebration?
Rust Belt Geography and Awful Journalism
The dominant view of dying cities is outdated and wrong, and journalists are largely responsible for the geographic misconceptions.
Legacy Economy: Pittsburgh Steel Crazy After All These Years
"Manufacturing is no longer just about production. Production is now the core of a much wider set of activities."
Economic Geography of Eds and Meds: Welcome to the Talent Economy
What's happening with institutions of higher education and medicine?
Portland Is Dying, Revisited
The City of Roses counts on the young and college educated migrating there. It shouldn't.
Chicago Is Dying: A Default World City Because Someplace Had to be One
For quality demographics, Chicago is world class. For quantity demographics, Chicago is dying. Which one matters more?
Rust Belt Allure of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
How do you attract world-class talent living the dream in California to a gritty city obliterated by the shadow of New York?