The Decay Of The Rust Belt

✵ The Decay Of The Rust Belt
✵ The Rust Belt went from great to terrible over a 60 year stretch of sadness. Nothing seemed to go right for this region of the United States. So today we are going to look at why this is, and give a timeline of the Decay Of The Rust Belt.
✵ Help Out The Channel And Become A Member With Awesome Perks!
/ beavergeography
✵ Apply To Join The Video Team And Help With Future Videos!
forms.gle/14nq...
✵ Socials:
Discord Server: / discord
Twitter: / beavermanyt
Minecraft Channel: / beaverman1
✵ Thumbnail Maker:
/ @bradwhitegolf
/ bradwhitegolf

[@noahlemasters]

Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin are currently the three highest manufacturing states still.

[@Sam-ip6co]

Robits

[@JohnJFebreeze]

Robits

[@ruckusbeblack]

And 3 of the poorest and dirtiest

[@wsmith521]

@@ruckusbeblack that’s a HUGE statement when states like Alabama and Mississippi exist lmao

[@maroon9273]

@@ruckusbeblack plus urban decay

[@AdrianArmbruster]

I'm pretty sure Mass/New England's 'rust belt' decline was about a century earlier than the current rust belt's. All the farmers left westward sometime around the civil war, then all the mills and manufacturing moved to, well, the mid-west shortly thereafter.

[@ViolentSillyGirl]

Could you remove the "well" part of your comment? It's just kind of annoying

[@rxinpharoah]

@@ViolentSillyGirl be quiet you still play among us

[@ViolentSillyGirl]

@@rxinpharoah I made this pfp 2 years ago

[@ViolentSillyGirl]

@@rxinpharoah before the game was ruined

[@GlanderBrondurg]

Not quite so much. New England and especially around the Boston area remained a strong source of industrial activity throughout most of the 19th Century and well into the 20th Century. One example of a New England business that was in traditional manufacturing is Berkshire Hathaway, famous because it is still in business but no longer in heavy industry (they were a textile mill for much of its history). New England did suffer from a decline in manufacturing from the 1960's and onward though. It wasn't just the mid-west of the USA.

[@3euine3]

I feel like your analysis of the decline of the rust belt is woefully inadequate. In your analysis you suggest that the rust belt declined because of a lack of innovation among the American auto industry, the invention of the ac and the failure of rust belt cities to adapt to a changing economy. The first two points are negligible as reasons for the decline, given the time frame your looking at (50s - 70s) while the third one is true you fail to even acknowledge the reviatilization programs several rust belt cities tried engaging in during the 80s and 90s. First, the decline in population in the 1950s and 1960s was not due to migration to the Sunbelt. Post world war two america was a period of city dwellers moving to the surrounding suburbs rather than staying in overcrowded cities. If you look at Cook, Wayne, and Cuyahoga counties that Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland reside in these counties had double digit growth until the 1970s. White flight was a large part of the reason these cities began to decline in population from the 50s to the 70s. Also, I want to point out you never mentioned globalization and automation as the reason for the decline of rust belt. Truth is Michigan, Indiana and Ohio still manufacture a lot of things however due to automation fewer workers are needed and this destroyed a lot of cities in the rust belt because a factory that could employ 100,000 people only needed 5000 by the 2000s. You also never mention the reviatilization efforts of cities in the rust belt in the 80s and 90s that failed largely because they lacked the money by this point to successfully diversify their dying economies to be able to adjust to the service sector based economy we live in today. It wasn't so much that they let themselves collapse as it was that globalization and automation happened at such a fast rate in the late 70s and 80s that rust belt cities were unable to adjust fast enough and got left behind.

[@SmartChannel01]

Not to mention climate change and how Great Lakes make it a haven

[@peterbelanger4094]

There is also another contributing factor. The boats got too big for the great lakes. You can't fit the new ships built to the 'panamax' standard (the size to fit the new upgraded panama canal) It's pretty much an impossible task. Or just an environmentally disgusting task, you'd have to dig out and widen major parts of the St Lawrence river an completely ruin the thousand islands area. Any route for a new canal would be extremely unpopular and expensive. These days, cars & steel use really big boats when shipped, the Great Lakes can no longer hold them. Heavy manufacturing requires a deep water port.

[@davidburrow5895]

In terms of crimes per capita, the worst U.S. cities are actually in the Sun Belt. Houston, for example, has a higher crime rate than Chicago, and there's lots of small cities all over the South that are far more dangerous than anything up north.

[@cjthompson420]

Yes I live in Houston. It’s non stop foolery here

[@brandonk8517]

So many bad points from this guy. Really lost credibility from this video

[@theonlydiego1]

Explain East St. louis

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

@@brandonk8517 All his videos are full of bad takes tbh

[@brandonk8517]

@@theonlydiego1 all eastern areas of a city are generally unpleasant all in part to how air pollution rose into the eastern ends

[@markussimicak104]

Not thrilled with your list of “worst cities”, surely you could use a better adjective

[@BeaverGeography]

Lmao

[@AnalogueKid2112]

@@BeaverGeography sooo all of us in the rust belt should unsubscribe?

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

@@AnalogueKid2112 I don’t see why not. This channel is an annoying voiced teenager spewing bad takes in just about every video that isn’t about interstate highways. He’s got a southern bias as well.

[@HellaSmokinGMA]

@@AnalogueKid2112 I'm game. Rust belter here.

[@honeycomblord9384]

@@HellaSmokinGMA That makes 3 of us.

[@waterdrinkerrr]

Having grown up in Chicago's suburbs and spending significant time in the city (beyond the downtown), I'll have to say that aside from a handful of neighborhoods, Chicago has been mostly shielded from the effects of the rust belt. Although manufacturing was big, Chicago also emerged as a finance hub and remains prominent as one. Its diversified economy and status as a world class city separates it from the rest of the rust belt. It has its issues and downsides. For some, they are significant enough to warrant a move out of the city or the state. It's still a prominent and wonderful city nonetheless and it should not be overlooked.

[@Futurekid1996]

Chicago metro crime rates through the roof

[@VestedUTuber]

@@Futurekid1996 Only by gross numbers. Its per-capita crime rate is above average but nowhere near the nightmare the gross numbers make it seem. As such, this is partially a "people live in cities" issue.

[@ZachJ-0]

@@VestedUTuber honestly, every person I've heard say that seems to be repeating a talking point they heard on one specific news channel. I've never heard anyone who lives here, or even had visited Chicago, ever express any concern for their safety because of crime. Crimes exists, sure but when you're population is measured in 7 figures we all expect some crime to show up sooner or later.

[@raehandurlabhji2776]

Including Chicago in the Rust Belt is laughable

[@VestedUTuber]

@@raehandurlabhji2776 I mean, it's geographically in the Rust Belt, so it's not entirely unexpected, but people who lump it in with the rest of the Rust Belt either don't actually know much about it, have a vendetta against the city due to it defying the "typical American city" stereotype, or are lumping it in with its suburbs.

[@Quietstream_productions]

As a resident of a Chicago suburb, Chicago really shouldn’t be shoehorned in with these other cities. People who say that Chicago has a terrible crime rate or a poor populous are cherry-picking the neighborhoods. It is mainly just the south side that has the problems, and the suburbs of Chicago such as Naperville or Wheaton have been measured to be some of the best places to live in the entire US. And even downtown Chicago is very pretty and has a beautiful lakeshore, so no, they didn’t “not do anything at all”

[@blahblah2866]

agreed Chicago shouldn't quite be lumped in with Detroit BUT you also kinda prove the point you're trying to disprove; Chicago is on a lake so the south side is half the city, that's where the manufacturing is and thus decline was, the social ills, violence and population decline in many parts of the south side is due to the loss of it's manufacturing job base. The north side and its suburbs have a white-collar/service job base and weathered the loss of manufacturing better, keeping Chicago afloat through the decades since. It really is a tale of 2 cities in 1 leading to bipolar statistics, Chicago seems so ridiculously segregated for how big and diverse it is. Most large US cities have some suburbs where all the upper middle class white people congregate making some 'best places to live' list, Chicago is not unique in that respect, you could also say cherry picking wealthy suburbs is turning a blind eye to the poverty in the south side, it can sound like you don't care about 'them' because you're doing ok. For where it once stood, Chicago should have a way bigger population and influence, but it doesn't. It still can't crack 10 million without stretching the definition of metro area to hilarity. Chicago didn't do enough to assist the transition to a more service-sector economy, leaving large numbers of blue collar and non-college-educated folks to flee once they didn't have a job lined up because its an arctic tundra half the year and taxes are too high on the working poor and middle class within city limits despite the relative low cost of housing itself (i'm politically left, far from a republican or right winger but the corruption of Il dems is astounding). Too many outer neighborhoods are lacking in services and connections, as many high-paying jobs moved to suburbs, Chicago's public transit network, as good as it is, is only oriented to take you to the city center, at least easily. The transit network needs to be cross connected, more extensive, and have more consistent suburban connections to connect the city, but the transit network hasn't been seriously expanded in 3 generations. Furthermore, most of Chicago's institutions (cultural, educational, etc.) are quite old. This is a good thing, but there is relatively little new culturally coming out of Chicago since the decline of manufacturing in the 70s. Compounding this is Chicago's (and really the whole midwest's) inexplicable snooty inferiority complex (nobody cares it's 'cheaper' or 'cleaner' than NYC, that's not the point of NYC anyway lol)

[@Lzrdman91]

Personallly I think the Midwest is due for a renaissance

[@Micg51]

I wouldn’t even group Chicago in the rust belt

[@MetroDon]

This boy hasn’t traveled yet he has just looked at maps.

[@craigjensen6794]

Many of the rust belt cities started reinventing themselves in the last decade or two. My hometown of Grand Rapids diversified it's economy and is now regularly listed as one the most underrated places to live, so much so that Chicagoans are flocking there, driving up home prices. Cities like Milwaukee and Pittsburgh have followed a similar trajectory.

[@thewannaberunner]

Video idea: Rust belt cities that DIDN'T have a population decrease like Kalamazoo and Fort Wayne for example. I think Grand Rapids and Dayton might fall in this too.

[@kyrgyz136]

Dayton has also seen a decrease in population, down 130k from its peak of 270k in the 1960 census. Kalamazoo is down 10k from it's 1970 peak of 85k.

[@bluerefr]

A lot of those cities mentioned didn't decline because they are based on univeristies in the city, With the University of Western Michigan in Kalamazoo and multiple university campuses in Fort Wayne.

[@ExerciseAsAFamily]

@@bluerefr in the case of FW, the colleges in this town are very small IPFW now PFW is its biggest and only became a non commuter college about 10 years ago. I think part of our increase in growth was the massive GM assembly plant in 1980 and GM relocating employees to the summit city when they close down other facilities. Also being the world headquarters for several large companies like Vera Bradley, Sweetwater Sound and Master Spas that also keep their production and distribution in the area helps growth.

[@ruckusbeblack]

My friend lives in Kalamazoo. Different Michigan than detroit

[@001yacinda]

Allentown PA is surrounded by rust belt cities and isn't declining

[@dylanlowers5236]

I think you really missed out here by not mentioning Youngstown Ohio. Similarly to Gary Indiana, Youngstown had the rug pulled out from under it and experienced a serious population decline. I believe the city lost over 100,000 people in ~40 years and for a city of its size that’s insane. There are entire empty neighborhoods in the city and not much is being done to bring the city back. On the other hand you have Pittsburgh which while losing population is revitalizing itself and expanding its economy into the tech sector. Downtown Pittsburgh is awesome, probably the best of any Rust Belt cities I’ve been to. Also Scranton sucks a lot too

[@brentvance3958]

Pittsburgh is ranked #3 as the best comeback for rust belt cities behind Grand Rapids MI. And Buffalo NY. I live in Cincinnati and it’s ranked #6. So the cities are doing well.

[@gio160]

Pittsburgh is a beautiful city

[@itzawildgamer4119]

Pittsburgh is such a cool city def my favorite in the rust belt

[@johndooley661]

Ohio Michigan Indiana Kentucky West VA Pennsylvania absolutely are Americans anus .

[@novus201]

I Feel like Philadelphia is a better comparison for rust belt cities than Boston is.

[@Marylandbrony]

I’m not sure if this is a good example for the rust belt but Baltimore and Washington D.C are almost twins but one is clearly closer to the rust belt post-industrial cities in the Midwest and the other is a mainly services based city due to being the U.S capital. They have similar urban populations, climate, architecture and culture.

[@taxthesocialist2602]

I'm so sick of New Yorkers, Jersians, Assachusetts, Virginians, etc. moving to Pennsylvania in endless hordes. I feel invaded with all the out of staters!

[@kb0x]

@@taxthesocialist2602 just see us Texans.

[@henryjohnson7083]

@@taxthesocialist2602 say that again ‼️and we tired of Californians moving here too

[@hitek9too255]

Philadelphia definitely feels and looks like a rust belt, blue collar city.

[@rylandplassmann9095]

I like how Detroit instead of chasing after former glory is instead reorganizing to operate as a smaller city.

[@honeycomblord9384]

Even as someone with Ohio blood in me, I respect it. Glad that Detroit is beginning to do better nowdays.

[@ronniejanuszki]

Yikes! Normally I do really like these videos, but the Rust Belt is home to some of the most culturally significant and best cities in our country. I think almost all of them are seeing a boom and are being revitalized quite significantly. I think bulldozing "bad neighborhoods" is quite the OPPOSITE of what we should be doing in this country. Look at Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati, a neighborhood in shambles, 100% completely revitalized and is home to some of the best architecture in the city. I hopped on this channel very early on, but I think like others stated, this video is super out of touch with reality. Chicago is really one of our best cities-- not perfect, but what is "better?" Houston? LA? I would say those are cities that the rest of the world laughs at.

[@silvertbird1]

Good point. I live in Dallas, Texas with very boring architecture, and when I see videos of the beautiful buildings in Rust Belt cities I really would love to see more of them preserved. So much is being lost that is unique to that part of the country.

[@highway2heaven91]

@@silvertbird1 Disagree with you there. The Dallas area has some of the best architecture in the country. At least in terms of modern architecture.

[@highway2heaven91]

Houston has well over 100 countries represented in its population and LA is known worldwide for Hollywood, the film industry, iconic beaches and theme parks. These definitely aren’t cities that the world laughs at 😂.

[@gio160]

@@highway2heaven91 Houston is a sprawling concrete shithole and LA is laughed at by just about everyone but heroin addicts

[@losh330]

@@highway2heaven91 they're talking about planning wise.

[@bryanCJC2105]

I wouldn't add Chicago to the group of decayed cities. Most big cities like NYC, DC, LA, Philly, and Chicago had major urban decline from the late 60s thru the 80s. I do think you need a closer look at Chicago because the last 20+ years has seen Chicago make a dramatic turnaround. Chicago has one of the most diverse employment bases and balanced economies in the country. Today, Chicago has a very vibrant economy, cultural scene, and is a major tourist destination. It has been considered one of the best cities in the US and the top city in the US for corporate relocations. It is among the world's richest and higher educated cities w the nation's 3rd largest GDP. Several 100+ story high rises have been constructed recently and home prices are reasonable for a large city. Yes, Chicago's population had major suburban flight since the 50s but, it has stabilized. It is also one of the best maintained of the US's big cities. Chicago, like big cities everywhere, has its problems but the cities vibrant economy and standard of living far outweigh those problems. I know someone is going to go on about Chicago's crime rate but, it isn't that bad. Chicago isn't even in the top 25. Many southern cities are far more dangerous.

[@PutinHasGiantLadyBoobies]

This Geography Beaver is a real idiot. Chicago is an Alpha World City. I could list 1000 things that make Chicago different than other rust belt cities.

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

He’s probably never been to chicago. Channel is not good. I’ve unsubbed tbh. Lots of better and well researched geography channels out there without the annoying voice.

[@bryanCJC2105]

​I do like his channel, his enthusiasm for the subject matter, and I like his voice. This particular video needed more work but I think he's got a good concept to keep going.

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

@@bryanCJC2105 Eh, trash channel is trash. Don’t see any room for improvement based on how he has replied to certain comments here. Videos based on facts have no place for the biases that he clearly has.

[@michael5G]

Agreed, except that there haven't been multiple 100+ floor building constructions recently; just the (beautiful) Vista tower. Trump tower stopped at 98 floors (they have 2 more levels of windows but stopped floors for insurance reasons), and a bunch of other projects have been canceled (spire + many more). The biggest hope here is the Tribune Tower East, which should hopefully be within 30ft of Sears tower height, but I doubt this gets fully executed. The other 100+ buildings (hancock and sears) are many decades old.

[@bengalsix]

If I had to guess why Milwaukee (1960) and Toledo (1970) peaked later than most cities, maybe it's because of their respective proximity to Chicago and Detroit, both of which peaked in 1950. I could imagine Chicago and Detroit residents, noticing opportunities in their own cities dwindle, see another smaller city less than 100 miles away as a good first place to relocate to. Maybe where the grass looked greener, at least for a little while longer.

[@whostheplum1711]

Cleveland in the 1930s had the New Deal and its first modern skyscraper built in the time. It was also the time when the city recovered from loosing standard oil and moved over into new manufacturing ventures.

[@GamingBren]

Funny thing I was recently looking at the Rust Belt’s highways in Street View. EDIT: In particular, I followed I-80, and part of I-90 when they are concurrent along the Indiana Toll Road and Ohio Turnpike from Gary to Cleveland.

[@DanielleWhite]

I remember the reports about Bethlehem Steel when I was a kid growing up in Scranton (which had it's own fall starting after WWII, largely because of anthracite's declining popularity.)

[@manfredmann2766]

Billy Joel sang about that in Allentown.

[@Viperion101]

The word “China” was not mentioned once. That’s a problem. You cannot mention the decline of the rust belt without also mentioning China.

[@MrDrumline1234]

For sure. I don’t think the word “outsourcing” was said once

[@KarltheBarl]

It was more than just china, people are just leaving moving to the sun belt taking jobs away from rust belt cities.

[@mariamart_0]

You can globalization for the economic decline of Detroit’s rust belt in Flint, MI and Elton, MI. It can mean that there is just a decline in manufacturing sector in that industry and automotive sector is already at a faster death..

[@johnnguyen6159]

For Detroit, suburbanization also played a critical role in the city's decline because a lot of the jobs moved either overseas or to the suburbs. Take the big 3 for example which none of their Engineering operations are in the Detroit city limits; Ford HQ is located in Dearborn (just west of Detroit), Stellantis (Chrysler) HQ is located in Auburn Hills ~30 miles north of Detroit, and GM's main Engineering is in Warren (just north of Detroit). Today the economy in the suburbs of Detroit are pretty diverse and Oakland County (just north of Detroit) is one of the most wealthy counties in the state. Detroit proper has also become more diverse in economy with a lot of major tech firms moving into the city. Unfortunately the future of full time office space is up in the air. On the flip side Detroit getting better (although the pandemic really slowed down the recovery). A lot of development has been going on in the CBD. Hopefully with future developments of the UoM Detroit Campus, MSU Research Center, and a Innovation Center will provide the foundations in fueling the recovery of Detroit.

[@garretttkolodziej2252]

This dude has clearly never been to the Rust Belt before in his life. I'm a lifelong Michigander and though the stories of Flint are true, Grand Rapids and Detroit are getting many large companies to commit jobs that were originally HQ in Chicago and Minneapolis. Detroit has also cleaned up its books and has tired to diversify its economy. Cleveland and Toledo are similar to that arc as well

[@BeaverGeography]

I live in the rust belt smart guy

[@alanwu3322]

@@BeaverGeography How about you respond and address what he said without being petty?

[@andreajohnson7874]

@@BeaverGeography look, this was a miss. You can go two different ways. You can admit your research was off and admit it wasn't your finest work or you can double down. One way will probably lead to a loss of subs. Your choice.

[@GudCopBadCopYT]

I agree; it was air-con ... people just left instead of demanding that city leaders do something about the rising crime.

[@aidanburns6163]

"Chicago" and "worst cities in the country" in the same sentence is something I'm struggling to wrap my head around

[@BeaverGeography]

Lmao Chicago sucks

[@danielwiesenhofer7702]

@@BeaverGeography why does it suck in your opinion? I've been there quite a few times and I thought it was a pretty cool city. Granted I was mainly in the central areas but to say Chicago as a whole sucks seems a little shallow.

[@sammymarrco2]

@@BeaverGeography a few neiboorhoods are what you hear in the news, its a solid city otherwise.

[@sammymarrco2]

yeah im confused lol

[@K_d_-dz6ps]

@@BeaverGeography Chicago does not suck. Admittedly, crime is a major problem and there are a number of impoverished neighborhoods in certain parts of the city, but Chicago is very much a WORLD CLASS city. It has the third highest GDP of any city in the U.S., and it has a very diversified economy. It's metro area is still increasing in population (No, not growing like the southern metro areas, but growing nonetheless). It has not suffered a decline on the level of cities such as Detroit or Cleveland. This is not to bash Detroit or Cleveland, but Chicago is not quite in the same boat as those cities.

[@kak775]

I grew up in southwest Michigan during the 2000s when pessimism turned to positivity, and ricocheted right back to hopelessness after the 08' recession. I thought this was the coolest place to grow up in because of the Great Lakes. As I grew older I recognized exactly what made this place so depressing (including the frigid and extreme weather). Lots of manufacturing jobs relocated, including many from the decimated auto industry in Detroit. Later on, business closures became normalized even after the recession. Then covid hit and I knew where things were heading. At this point most of my friends have moved elsewhere and I'm slated to follow suit.

[@jedijake1734]

No mention of outsourcing industry to Asia and no progressive improvements to car design which has resulted in no export market for American cars.

[@jimc.goodfellas]

It's sad to see so many things in our country decline ..

[@johnathin0061892]

America is really on its death bed now. It is all going to just get worse.

[@HelheimMudkip]

Oh hey it's Yes Man. Famous for helping me rebuild New Vegas!

[@AeroGuy07]

Michigan and Ohio fought a war over Toledo. Ohio got Toledo, though one could argue that Michigan won the war.

[@thenotoriousmichaeljackson8938]

Yea im from Cleveland & I recognize Toledo basically Detroit lil brother

[@whywhere1768]

who has the bigger gdp??

[@scottyomcbrian]

I think Beaver is correct in many of these problems that the rust belt cities had. The writing was on the wall, but it's hard for communities to see past their current situation. I think the Beaver left out one important key takeaway: how quickly things can change. These cities thought they were thriving metropolises.. until they weren't. This could happen (and likely will) happen to other regions as well. For example- the Southwest has seen tremendous growth the past few decades. While this growth has seemed endless, it's not exactly a secret that this arid region is running out of water. Lake Meade is at its lowest level since it was filled. Couple drought with economic woes and other regions of the country may seem more appealing, including these Great Lake states with rich soil and abundant freshwater.

[@boberttorres4689]

Facts CA could be the next rust belt as people and industry leave by the millions

[@peterbelanger4094]

He did overlook how the growth in the size of cargo ships went beyond what the St Laurence seaway and Welland can hold. This cut off great lakes cities from a lot of new shipping opportunities. But upgrading them to the new panama canal standards is environmentally impossible, too much would have to be dug up, the 1000 islands would get ruined.

[@HoshizakiYoshimasa]

US rust belts loss was Asia',s gain. Japan may have lost ww2 but soundly defeated the Americans in the Automobile war.

[@wadehm63]

Driving through Detroit is an eye opener for those who never been there. There are entire blocks and neighborhoods where there are no longer houses or stores or people. The few houses that remain are burned out, vandalized hulks that offer refuge to the wildlife that is coming back and also to the homeless and the drug addicts. If you search these houses eventually you will come across a body. Detroit fire no longer puts the fires out in these, they are too dangerous so they stand by and watch them burn, similar to what the politicians did as Detroit burned and imploded, although the firefighters let burn the death traps so they can live. Politicians of both parties care not one bit for the people of Detroit, only about the downtown and the money they can personally make off it. I spent 28 years as a firefighter starting in 1983 and watching things fall apart in this state as a Michigan native has been depressing. The fishing and hunting is great though and there are many things to love about this state. The politicians aren’t among those things. This is neither a Democrat or Republican thing, the decline of Detroit and Flint are the fault of both.

[@internetidiotreloaded9233]

You honestly can't say that Flint and Detroit's issues are the result of both parties when neither city has had a Republican mayor since 1962.

[@wadehm63]

@@internetidiotreloaded9233 You do have a good point there and I would agree with that 99%, but neither party is really doing anything here for Michigan.

[@Subway_E7947]

Normally I’m a big fan of these videos but I have to say, this one I do dislike. The rust belt is great, it is dirt cheap and really walkable with great transit, and they have been turning a lot of things around lately. So your saying sun belt places like Houston and LA and better, which suck in pretty much every reason. There’re spread out, really hot, prone to climate change, horrible transit, etc. Also a lot of sun belt cities have way worse crime than most rust belt cities.

[@dianeadkins-diorio1783]

Here's another prominent example of urban decay: Akron OH... nicknamed "The Rubber City" after Goodyear and other major tire manufacturers set up headquarters there, but once things started going downhill it got really bad... and when you have prominent abandoned landmarks such as the former Rubber Bowl and Rolling Acres Mall (both of which closed weeks apart from each other in 2008 and sat abandoned for years before they were finally demolished), you also attract urban explorers in addition to the vandals... in the last few years leading to Rolling Acres Mall's closure the whole neighborhood around the mall practically became a ghost town :(

[@jakkew5753]

Actually, most of the initial population decline in the core cities was due to suburbanization and white flight, not manufacturing decline. Most rust belt states had their fastest growth in the 1950s. Most of the industrial decline of the rust belt happened after 1970, when the Sun Belt began to rise.

[@jlpack62]

Chicago isn't one of the worst cities in the country. On the other hand, nearby Gary is just a wreck.

[@williamrogers4290]

In your presentation you often state that many cities and states within the "Rust Belt" did nothing when faced with declining populations and revenue. You began your video referencing Flint, MI as an example. I think you were somewhat harsh in your assessment of Flint, MI since they were seeking to reduce costs in shifting their water source from lake water to river water. The problem occurred when "bean counters" failed to fund proper supervision of the water treatment process and purchase rust inhibitors such as calcium carbonate. The resulting degradation of the piping system was a man made disaster. This was the root cause of the crisis and should have been mentioned in your presentation.

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

I wouldn’t expect this kid to understand the nuances of what actually caused the issues in Flint.

[@remcoms]

The Rust Belt seems to really be rusting...

[@bluerefr]

Where do you think the name comes from? It was only coined during it's fall.

[@terrificspokesman7416]

I'm pretty sure the name rust belt comes from the ways cars rusts in that area. They put alot of salt on the roads which cause cars to rust quicker.

[@jstoli996c4s]

In the past 10 years, Buffalo and Cleveland have done a lot to get back on the rise again. Plus outstanding architecture that just can’t be matched in places like FloriDUH.

[@nlpnt]

Climate change is a good point, the Great Lakes region and points east like upstate New York and inland New England are among the best-poised for resilience.

[@JordanDrewVideos]

People forget about cities like Houston, San Antonio, Tucson... crime is very bad around the Mexican border!

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

If you only watch this channel, you’d think that the sun belt is a utopia

[@JordanDrewVideos]

@@RealisticTimberwolvesFan He's gonna have people moving there and getting robbed/killed 😂

[@taxthesocialist2602]

Diversity doesn't seem to be our greatest strength.

[@pauls6677]

I spent most of my life in the rust belt but have lived in other areas. A good number of people who still live in this area will say yeah the weather sucks from December to mid April but people who have good paying jobs are able to have a nice living and there is less traffic. Not spending a good part of one’s day in traffic is priceless. One trend that has occurred in NE Ohio recently is people who have well paying jobs in NY and Chicago have been building big homes on multi acre plots either working from home part of the time or going into the office staying in a hotel on the company dime.

[@devinmay3038]

I have a feeling that in the next few decades, people will start to migrate back north if this trend of increasing heat waves continue in the south. I'd bet 50 years from now, the great lakes region will be the fastest growing region in the US.

[@mal5206]

You didn’t expand on the role racism has in the decline of the rust belt.

[@jasonreed7522]

Because the main decline was caused by nations like China opening their doors and it being cheaper for companies to manufacure stuff with essentially slave labor than with US workers who demand things like livable wages and healthcare benefits. Also the Northeast (including mid west) is traditionally one of the least racist regions of the USA, granted everywhere has its assholes. Note the litteral migration of African Americans from the south to the north in i believe the 60s.

[@travelsofmunch1476]

This comes across as a video from someone with a distant and poor understanding of the Rust Belt and in particular Chicago

[@jemiller226]

Woof...did you talk to anyone from these cities before you made this video? The Rust Belt is going to be *the* place to live within 20 years, mark my words.

[@BeaverGeography]

I live in one of these cities dude

[@Max-bi8fn]

@@BeaverGeography then u should rly take a look at factors like climate change, cost of living, public education, the largest amount of fresh water in the world, some great city infrastructure, and culture to realize how wrong you are

[@lamontjohnson5810]

Chicago is NOT one of the worst cities in the nation. Not even close.

[@taxthesocialist2602]

It is where a certain demographic is the majority.

[@ralphjohnson3202]

@@taxthesocialist2602 Yeah like white MAGA Trump supporters.

[@NukemA3]

This video bums me out. I was enjoying the videos from oldest to newest and this ruined it for me. Saying that Chicago is in "absolute shambles" is flat-out untrue. Seriously, it is legitimately false information. It has complex issues, like all cities but it's a beautiful and thriving place. Detroit has come a very long way, even in the past 10 years. I'm continually surprised by its progress every time I visit. The fact that this video fails to point out the numerous and significant bright spots of these cities and only focus on the faults is unfair and deeply distorted. Reading the comments from the creator gives a bit more insight: "LMAO Chicago sucks", "POV: you live a couple hours from Chicago you donkey", "Meet me outside your dumb bean bro I’ll mess you up". I'm guessing (and this is just a guess) this person lives just outside of the metropolitan area where people who don't live in the city are often the loudest, harshest and most-biased critics. Ultimately, my opinion doesn't really matter but I can vote with the Unsubscribe button.The creator has lost credibility as a result of this video and their childish comments. I have to imagine viewers who live in these cities (and choose to live there) share similar sentiments. Hopefully the creator will learn not to alienate their audience in the future. This is really disappointing.

[@sachsenfuchs8955]

Yeah I heard Chicago is actually doing pretty well and has pretty good public transport, plus all that stuff about the crime is blown outta proportion.

[@brainwells6634]

Illinois is still going strong because of Chicago

[@grantmaiorana9741]

usually a fan of beaver's takes but the commentary in this video seems very shallow and out of touch.

[@sammymarrco2]

yeah def his worst video imo and his other are solid

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

@@sammymarrco2 honestly really start watching his other videos in the context of this one and you’ll start to see all his videos outside of the highway videos are pretty smooth brain takes that seem pulled from r/conservative

[@ekrwy2]

The biggest issue was NAFTA. How are you going to compete with steel that is not taxed? China don’t give two rips about their people and the quality of the steel was absolutely horrible, still is to this day.

[@GrandMarais]

Chicago is *NOT* one of the worst cities in the country

[@K_d_-dz6ps]

Agreed

[@taxthesocialist2602]

It is because of a certain demographic being the majority.

[@K_d_-dz6ps]

@@taxthesocialist2602 It’s because of Satan, who is behind the scenes (spiritually), enticing human beings to hate and to destroy one another. Only JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF can bring about peace in this world. This world is in a spiritual warfare (not only Chicago). Other than the demonic plague of violence, Chicago has been plagued by demonic racism, in which a certain demographic was confined to certain parts of town where they could not attain financial freedom or security in the way another demographic was able to. Though “a certain demographic” has made some gains, “the other demographic” (as a whole) is light years ahead, and have generations and generations of family wealth to ensure that lead. This was done by “the other demographic” on purpose. It has always been known that poverty leads to desperation, and desperation leads to increased crime … NO MATTER WHAT COLOR the impoverished demographic may be. This is not to excuse individual decisions to commit crime. Yes, those individuals are definitely wrong and should be brought to justice. However, I am making it clear that “one demographic” is not more culpable than others. The sins of certain races / social classes may be broadcast for the masses to see right now, but there are “human devils” with college degrees, corner offices, three-piece suits, and billion-dollar net worths who appear to be “the good guys”, but they are wreaking worse havoc on this world than any “street gangster” could ever do. God will see to it that they are fully exposed in the near future.

[@honeycomblord9384]

@@taxthesocialist2602 There's still more white people than black people there.

[@bull_technology]

As someone from the rust belt, this video is fairly appalling. "These cities are still pretty bad," you clearly don't know what you're talking about. I live in Pittsburgh, a city with the declining population, and it's a wonderful place to call home. It's walkable, artsy, not in decay, and staggeringly beautiful. I also have family from Buffalo, and Buffalo too has a great downtown.

[@BeaverGeography]

Then you get out of the downtown and they struggle. I’m from the rust belt and I’ve been to Pittsburgh. The downtown has been redefined and is absolutely beautiful, but there are still a lot of bad areas in the city

[@bull_technology]

@@BeaverGeography Are there areas in decay? Absolutely, but this can be sad about even the most thriving metro areas in the United States. Yes the steel towns of Braddock and McKeesport of long past their prime, but let us not forget that Pittsburgh has rapid growing suburbs to the north. Every struggling neighborhood you could point out in Pittsburgh I could also point out many new and growing areas. I watch most of your videos and find them relatively well informed, but I strongly disagree with sweeping statements such as most rustbelt cities being "pretty bad".

[@Boblib1970]

@@BeaverGeography Struggle? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 You CLEARLY don't have a clue. Do you live in Pittsburgh, or did you just visit once for a weekend and read stuff on line? Like @Bull Technology said, the northern suburbs are exploding. And the southern ones are growing rapidly too, just not as fast as to the north. We sit atop of the Marcellus Shale region and the southern suburbs absolutely BOOMED from oil and gas headquartering here for about 15 years. That has slowed recently, but jump start that that has provided still lives on. South Fayette township was a backwards farming community when I was a kid. It's transformed itself into one of the most premiere municipalities in the region, with top rated schools and A LOT of upper middle to upper class neighborhoods that are still being developed. You need to do more research than just visiting and google before you make your videos. If you're this wrong about Pittsburgh, how accurate are you about other places?

[@owlbuquerqueturkey]

I think the Duluth, MN/Superior, WI metro area should be included in the Rust Belt. They weren't major manufacturing towns, but they were steel towns, and share many other characteristics of Rust Belt cities. They're just isolated by themselves up in the north woods, so everyone forgets about them.

[@pif4347]

So outsourcing jobs overseas for decades wasn’t a factor at all? Massive trade deficits taking away buying power? We need to make things in America Again.

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

Nope, if you ask this channel, it’s just because rust belt dumb sun belt good. Beaver is a smooth brain.

[@cbchandlerr1875]

Cities in the rust belt have much better city planning compared to the south.

[@alanwu3322]

Chicago as one of the worst cities in America? I find that's coming from a place of bias. Chicago is one of the most cosmopolitan and wealthy cities in the nation...

[@charlesthrush8134]

This is a bad video and you do not have an actual understanding of why the rust belt fell into a sharp decline. I know you’re a highway channel but I didn’t know you were a Robert Moses fan. That “bad neighborhoods that need to be torn down” is an awful way to go about helping cities get back on their feet.

[@brennangum6236]

Pittsburghs numbers are deceiving. Whats cool is we are seeing the turn around with our own eyes. From 2000-2010 the population decreased by 8% but from 2010-2020 the pop only decreased by 1%. The deceiving part is that allegheny county (all of the areas around pittsburgh) grew for the first time in decades by 30,000 people the past 10 years. I think the Pittsburgh area is due for a little growth spurt. It's economy is very balanced and its prices, cost of living, and income is very attractive. The city itself is beautiful and there's a lot of cool things to do for such a small city.

[@bryanCJC2105]

I see a lot of constructive criticism for this video and this particular video needed more work but I think he's got a good channel concept to keep going. I do like his channel and his enthusiasm for the subject matter. I hope he doesn't get disheartened by the criticism.

[@athleticguy15]

He needs to learn to accept criticism a little better.

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

@@athleticguy15 For real. His responses in the comments are childish. I was never subbed in the first place but his channel shows up on my feed a lot so sometimes I watch the videos. I’ll be sure not to anymore. Everyone should be unsubbing.

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

He deserves the criticism. If he continues to respond to it how he has then he won’t last on youtube much longer. Kid is better suited for 4chan tbh.

[@icezebra]

Living in NE Indiana, I can tell you that manufacturing here is still strong. In fact, the 4-county area in the NE tip of the state has about 30-50% of their respective populations in manufacturing alone.

[@landmarkbaseball2092]

While the cities named do have some of the worst areas, they have some areas that rival the nicest areas in the country. If you’re west of Cleveland you wouldn’t even know the difference between it and any of the most luxurious areas of the country.

[@thenotoriousmichaeljackson8938]

Also bro you kinda got Cleveland peak population right. Cleveland (city) peaked in da 1930’s But Cuyahoga County (Cleveland and it’s suburbs) peaked in da 1970’s.

[@dystopian2153]

I think the reason why the rust belt failed goes a lot deeper than what you're saying you're just scratching the surface

[@Marylandbrony]

A lot of the growth of the rust belt is just as much from retirees moving south where there generally fixed incomes can go further with their dollars with bigger houses and no disadvantages like needing to plow snow or having stairs in many cases not to mention retirement communities with people specifically there own age living together, As much as families moving in. If you lived on a pension would you rather live in New York City or Tampa in terms of cost of living? I think you also neglected the industrialization in some regions of the south and other regions simply skipping indirectly and going for services during the 1960s and 1970s. Which attracted workers to these states along with having cheap and modern housing compared to many north. Especially college educated people in technology or finance.

[@lylebarnard7447]

The flight from rustbelt was triggered by the oil embargo of 1970's Japan started to build more fuel-efficient cars Detroit did not change with the times quick enough

[@JXY2019]

Putting Chicago in the same category as those other cities doesn’t seem right. Chicago did lose manufacturing jobs but largely replaced them with jobs in finance and other sectors.

[@K_d_-dz6ps]

Chicago is still very much the POWERHOUSE of the central U.S. Only New York and L.A. have more clout. Yes, Dallas and Houston are making their gains, but they still can’t touch Chicago. (and, as many other comments say, Houston has a higher crime rate than Chicago). Chicago may have its blemishes, but it’s still a shining star, and an internationally-acclaimed world-class city. We will always defend her honor 💪🏼

[@BeaverGeography]

k

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

@@BeaverGeography Damn dude, getting childish with the replies too? Lmao

[@peterbelanger4094]

Y'all still have a lot of serious problems blemishing your reputation to sort out. Notoriously corrupt too. (btw, not defending NY & LA either, they got serious problems too)

[@K_d_-dz6ps]

@@peterbelanger4094 Yes, Chicago has many serious problems, as most major cities do. It’s still a POWERHOUSE in this nation.

[@honeycomblord9384]

@@peterbelanger4094 Yeah, the number of gun deaths aren't looking pretty. On the bright side, our houses aren't horiffically expensive. Just don't tell the Californians that.

[@ivanoffw]

I remember in the 90's when the Rust belt was getting its name, the moral of the story I got was diversify. Oregon had a downturn in the 80's because of a decline in the use of wood products, many cities main, and probably only industry. Today, the cities that do the best have a diversity of industries on their tax base so that a downturn in one industry does not spell the end for the entire economy of the area. I believe that some of the rust belt cities are starting to form co-ops that perform local services so they don't have to rely upon luring a large corporation to come to town, only to leave once the tax breaks end.

[@killercaos123]

A couple of states that could use a revitalization of Unions

[@Rebelnightwolfe]

Love the videos. And love that lisp you have. It's soothing to listen to your videos with the information you present in them!

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

The lisp is almost as bad as his takes. People who sound like this do not deserve 16k followers.

[@gmodrules123456789]

It's crazy how the government just... let these giant factories disappear. US Steel, Ford, Chrysler, these were effective the foundations of the US economy in the northeast. And when these companies started having problems, they were just allowed to fail. I feel like there has to be a way to bring some kind of manufacturing back to the region. Maybe not steel or automobiles, but something else. Semiconductors might be an option. There's no real reason we couldn't invest in building up that industry.

[@Ballin191]

The government didnt let these manufacturing sectors disappear, globalisation and the free market did that. You can only bail out a company so much. -Without those lucrative federal contracts to manufactur war material, companies coming out of the war economy and into the consumer economy played it too safe. Innovation stagnated. -Japan was building better, cheaper, and more fuel efficient vehicles. -The OPEC nations priced the US oil industry out of the export market. -China opened its borders in the 70's/80's to international manufacturing. Due to the cheap, untapped labor pool in china, many US manufacturers outsourced to china en Masse. This alone killed many sectors of domestic manufacturing. Namely steel and textiles.

[@gmodrules123456789]

@@Ballin191 So the government did let them leave. What kind of functioning state lets its major industries move to other countries?

[@taxthesocialist2602]

@@Ballin191 Factually false. Two terrible trade deals, both supported by our current Resident in Chief, sent millions of our factories overseas. Do some research before you spew nonsense, punk.

[@xandro2445]

How is chicago one of the worst cities lmfao

[@JohnKennethHuszagh]

oh you did NOT just call Chicago one of the worst cities in the country, come here and fight us

[@BeaverGeography]

Meet me outside your dumb bean bro I’ll mess you up

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

@@BeaverGeography this comment proves all that we need to know about your knowledge. Anyone who knows anything about chicago knows that the bean is not relevant in the slightest. You probably think that’s all there is to it. You should consider deleting this video, it makes you look really quite bad

[@bearworldwide101]

@@BeaverGeography dude really come on. Act like an adult and take your L. If Chicago was one of the worst then St. Louis which would also be a Rust Belt city of you did your research visited personally and talked to people you would notice that crime rates at 100k people St. Louis, Oakland CA, Memphis, Atlanta, North Little Rock, Newark, and Washington DC would all be more violent with alot less population than Chicago. Even Gary Indiana being only 35 minutes away from the border of Chicago is more violent per 100k people versus Chicago even though Gary isn't 100k anymore making it even more violent per person than a city of almost 3 million. And as for decaying there are parts of the city that are failing bro from Englewood to Roseland and Austin to North Lawndale but we have a building boom in the city people are moving to Englewood because of the cheap cost of housing and land even though it has crime and such but things take time to rebound. Now I haven't been to other cities in the rust belt outside Detroit most of the 94 corridor Milwaukee St. Louis Indianapolis to Toledo and such but I can rest assure and say that in years maybe a decade or two we will see a rebound in some ways manufacturing might make a comeback but not the manufacturing we saw in the 50s and before. Same with computers and chip manufacturing bioengineering and urban farming and one major thing is entrepreneurship that is what's going to make that comeback be bigger. I also have a tick about that Texas triangle video claiming that the state is shifting blue in some areas maybe but you forgot that we are seeing a realignment in politics where even your typical liberal leaning voter is now right wing to the new left. Texas isn't liberal not by a hunch either especially when your average liberal leaning voter is shifting rightward and Latinos which were once a beacon of hope for Democrats are shifting rightward by an alarming rate it flipped one district in a solid blue seat in the RGV and flipped three solid blue counties as well mayoral elections sheriffs judges and other local seats are flipping red as well. If the tides are right in this election it would be a bloodbath for Democrats in a red state like Texas. As for Illinois I would see upsets not enough to turn the state red again but enough to be a wedge on progressive politics that are harming our state's economy.

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

The rust belt has one major resource that Arizona & Florida lack. Abundant freshwater. You can't live as a human being without freshwater. The great lakes are a massive source of freshwater for the country. Something the intermountain west struggles with year on year.

[@thomasgrabkowski8283]

Florida has plenty of freshwater

[@danirox4581]

@@thomasgrabkowski8283 unfortunately Florida has a lot of people

[@weareorigin]

What happened was the poorer, less educated families were left in the Rust Belt states. The lingering resentment, worn down cars, and abandoned buildings showed the problems. Adapting and changing finally lifted the cities out of the declines.

[@rxinpharoah]

Thankth for the video, very informative and I love your channel, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, don’t let thumboday make fun of you becauth you have a lithp 💪💪💪

[@vortigan9068]

love your vids bro

[@Nomadd_swe]

Great video as always mate, have been loving the recent topics a lot and shoutout to Brizan for the great thumbnails

[@Brizan]

Thanks Man!

[@Boblib1970]

Pittsburgh MSA has been relatively flat since the 1950s, not shrinking. Also, it is a much better example of a Rust Belt city that has adapted than Boston because it is an ACTUAL Rust Belt city, not a North Eastern city that's part of a Megalopolis.

[@timg2727]

Your characterization of Chicago as being one of the worst cities in the country is baffling, and after watching the video I'm also still not sure I understand why Boston even entered the conversation.

[@driverdoug2002]

One shocking in depth KZbin video showing the Detroit' s exodus is in "Abandoned Detroit - The City of Neglect Documentary" This KZbinr shows abandoned properties similar to the housing crisis of 2007-8, where files and personal belongings were left in place for the dust to collect. Japan was the first Occidental country to build a competing manufacturing base, and then on to China. I leave it to you, Beaver Geography; you're doing great at showing us how to do what we like and build a channel. I know you're on your way to your 10,000 plaque soon!

[@jeremiahjewell3398]

kinda ridiculous to describe chicago as “one of the worst cities in america” and “in absolute shambles” imo

[@maroon9273]

Detroit, flint, St. Luis, Kansas city, Cleveland and Baltimore is worst than Chicago.

[@HennyAguaa]

Personally offended that he said Chicago is one of the worst cities, don't worry guys, he can't hurt us, he's not from 63rd

[@stickynorth]

You should also do a video that compares Toronto to Cleveland... Detroit... Buffalo... Hamilton and of course Chicago... Why does it succeed while others fail? What's its secret sauce? I'd argue it's a mix of good transit and urban planning with the fact it never hollowed out its downtown for a freeway ring road. Sure it has a freeway running through its downtown but not like other cities...

[@whywhere1768]

toronto “succeeded” because it’s the principal city of canada. it’s not because of urban planning or transit, it’s because it was viewed as canada equivalent of new york city

[@LetsGoPens528]

You said Flint, MI has 95,000 pop. While you showed a graphic which said it had 81,000...

[@williamrodriguez8238]

Totally agree with your assessment of Toledo. It's absolutely awful. I'm glad I moved away!

[@granitesevan6243]

The two main factors: globalisation and the emergence of the virtual economy. In the case of the latter, the economy is no longer based on material, but rather speculative models of value determined by the central banks and predicated on debt. Not even a Keynesian investment in manufacturing or other possible sources of employment could remedy the situation as it would cause hyperinflation. Capital is no longer "real", in the old sense. The last remnants of material comfort we enjoy now are becoming ever more scarce and are acquired by more and more dubious practices (neo-colonial exploitation of the third world being one example), hence the significance of globalisation in this discussion. We're doomed, but I'm sure we'll all find a way to get through it 😬

[@yametekudasaii01]

The rust belt needs to upgrade technology, tourism, tech and healthcare jobs.

[@clayton1117]

Being from Buffalo, New York. I've been unfortunately familiar with the Rust Belt's decline.

[@peterbelanger4094]

Buffalo is where the major industry started. Niagara falls provided lots of electricity first. The Erie canal brought more in from the east. It was a major hub for a long time, then it all collapsed. The snow chased a lot of people away too.

[@jakebutler291]

Pittsburgh is arguably a success story of the past two decades, and a lot of that can be attributed to Carnegie Mellon and UPitt being education powerhouses. The presence of institutions like those can make a huge impact on culture and industry.

[@captainskeletor7783]

As a born and raised Pittsburgher, I completely agree and feel no other need to comment.

[@matthewmcree1992]

There are only a few examples of Rust Belt economies transitioning successfully into the modern post-industrial economy of the post-Bretton Woods-era - the largest example in the Midwest being that of Minneapolis-St. Paul (which appeared to be on the same path as Chicago and Milwaukee until there was a dramatic turnaround that led to the Twin Cities economy being far more comparable to that of Seattle and Boston than to that of Milwaukee and Detroit). The difference seems to be that the highly educated population of Minneapolis-St. Paul was conducive to the growth of the many large corporations headquartered in the Twin Cities, while the excellent infrastructure, numerous well-regarded higher educational institutions, and functional state and local governments also incentivized these corporations to stay - in addition to fostering the growth and development of new firms. Whereas the economy of the Twin Cities once was dominated by manufacturing like the cities of the Rust Belt, it was far more diversified than other Midwestern cities (except for Chicago, which despite its problems with crime and poverty, still has a massive metropolitan regional economy that remains globally competitive), and the Minneapolis-St. Paul economy now thrives due to particular industries like healthcare/medical technology/biotechnology (e.g., Medtronic Global Headquarters, the world-famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN), insurance (e.g., United Healthgroup), finance (e.g., US Bank, while modern Wells Fargo was the result of NorWest Bank buying Wells Fargo and despite being headquartered in San Francisco, has its 2nd largest operations in Minneapolis), consumer retail (e.g., Best Buy and Target), food processing and distribution (e.g., General Mills and Land O'Lakes), and higher education (e.g., the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - one of the largest universities in the US with nearly 60,000 students, University of St. Thomas, various smaller colleges including the prestigious liberal arts institutions of Macalester College and Carleton College, usually ranked in the top 25 and top 10 respectively national liberal arts colleges by US News & World Report; various music and arts colleges, and so on). It is a reasonable question to ask whether other Rust Belt cities could have transitioned over to a modern post-industrial economy like Minneapolis-St. Paul did, but my opinion is that the case of Minneapolis-St. Paul was a one-off example that required both regional planning, high state funding for good-quality public education (which requires the high taxes that Minnesota levies on its citizens), excellent amenities that can attract new residents and retain highly-educated younger people from moving to other regions, etc. Also, there is one really big difference between Minneapolis-St. Paul and most other Rust Belt cities, one that isn't politically correct to talk about, but that I believe was a factor in stopping the decline - there was never a large minority population in the Twin Cities (unlike in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland; Flint, MI; St. Louis, etc.), and I postulate that because there were few minority residents during the era of White Flight, more middle-class white people chose to stay in the urban core cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, leading to less population decline, and less decline of the tax base in the urban core. The population of the metropolitan area now has a rapidly growing population of African-Americans, African immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, etc.; Latino immigrants and Latinos from other parts of the US, and Southeast Asian immigants and refugees (particularly Hmong refugees from Laos and Vietnam). in 1970, the city of Minneapolis was 92.8% Caucasian/White, while this number has dropped to 58.0% as of 2020, due in large part to immigration from abroad. How much of this was a causal factor for why the decline was so much less severe than for other more diverse cities in the Midwest would be a fascinating thing to study. Detroit and Cleveland were far too dependent upon heavy industrial manufacturing, and the decline of American manufacturing destroyed them economically. Whether this could have been stopped is hard to speculate about.

[@egocentral1]

The worst cities in the country? I mean I don’t know. Have you ever been to Tulsa?

[@RealisticTimberwolvesFan]

This kid has a heavy southern bias. So I think he would consider Tulsa a great place. He’s not very smart.

[@halfpac5]

Your selecting of cities is concerning....looking at a region and then focusing on extremes....not sure what your goal with this video was, but many metros in the rust belt are growing...not necessarily at the pace of other parts of the country, but your complete focus on a handful of extremes is misleading.

[@Kitty-ex2gq]

3:57 the decline in the rust belt in terms of steel and factory jobs (and correlational increase in these same professions in Japan) is DIRECTLY related to corporate greed in terms of paid labor. Foreign labor was MUCH cheaper than good paying union wages. Other than federal intervention in the from of labor protections there was little if anything that could have been done to stop the decline of the rust belt. TL;DR: There wasn’t a “lack of wanting to do anything economic” there was an option but do to the political climate at the time, it was bound to fail.

[@ThePaintballgun]

I think that as water insecurity in the south west grows with climate change, we could very well start to see a migration of people back up to the Great Lakes region.

[@devinmay3038]

I completely agree. Heatwaves in the south are getting hotter and more frequent. The west is running out of water. In the southeast, floods and hurricanes are becoming deadlier and more frequent. I think it's safe to say there will be a mass migration from the south in the future if these trends continue.

[@JonathanPersaudx]

I don’t live in Chicago but could never say it sucks.

[@Dovietail]

As of ladt month, no major airline flies into the city of Toledo any longer. Unbelievable!

[@lokesh303101]

Hybrid Co-Working Spaces and Optical Fibers with 1000 Gbps transmission and 7G Networks and Hispeed Pod Travel and Water Reservoirs.

[@AlexCab_49]

But now with a warming climate, I can see the sun belt shed off some population and for that population to head to the great lakes region

[@duailibi2]

i find it a weird coincidence that these cities started to fall after the 1950, when urban renovations and interstates where getting built all over these cities. You should research on that.

[@tangyorange6509]

Hey Beaver. Me and my girlfriend were taking a trip to a town outside of our home in Chicago and I made sure to drive on 180 lol, it was weird

[@BeaverGeography]

Enjoyed it though? I’d love to get down there for a day

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

2:10 that invention is a gift to mankind