Selling The Rust Belt Short

An editorial by Bruce Katz and Mark Muro urges presidential candidates to discuss the Rust Belt's struggling cities and metro areas.

1 minute read

August 12, 2004, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen

With the presidential campaigns focused on Midwestern "swing" states, President Bush and Sen. John Kerry should recognize that boosting the education levels and quality-of-life of the Rust Belt's cities and metropolitan areas can renew the region's economy, write the program's Bruce Katz and Mark Muro in a new commentary.The essay, published in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, at once notes the campaigns' reticence about urban and metropolitan issues and reviews some of the pressing issues being left out of debates about the Rust Belt's future. These issues include Rust Belt cities' low stocks of college-educated workers; those states' struggles with slow growth and fast sprawl; and the heavy burden of "brownfield" contamination on the region's urban centers. By speaking to these problems, the campaigns might well work out a politics of renewal "equal to the tribulations and potential of America's economic heartland," argue Katz and Muro.

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: Selling the Rust Belt Short

Sunday, August 8, 2004 in The Plain Dealer

Community / Economic Development Colorado

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.