America’s Siberia: An Introduction to the Rust Belt 14 April, 2017 Novosibirsk State Regional Scientific Library Presented by Brooks Rexroat Assistant Professor of English Marshall University, Huntington,W.V. Visiting Fulbright Scholar Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University 1 Where is the Rust Belt? 2 The Rust Belt: A History of the Name 1984 presiden.al candidate Walter Mondale is broadly credited with coining the term, which stuck as a largely derogatory term for blighted, post- industrial ci.es. In recent years, the term has come to stand for the resiliency of these communi.es, not their former hardships. 3 The Rust Belt: What Happened There? • A confluence of events: globalizaon, shiIed workforces, changing corporate strategies, and depleted resources in some regions. • A failure of communi.es to diversify. • An exodus of workers to other regions. Photo drawn from Ohio History Central 4 The Rust Belt: A Doomed System of Interconnection If ci.es originally thrived under single-industry produc.on, why did an en.re region falter instead of just select ci.es? The ci.es may have concentrated on a single produc.on method, but the en.re region was a system of heavy industry—each town connected to and sustained by its neighbor. As individual industries toSered, the en.re region buckled, unemployment skyrocketed, and those who could leave did so quickly, leaving the least skilled and most impoverished workers behind to cope with the wreckage of broken ci.es. 5 Rust Belt Cities and their Specialties Cleveland Ohio: Banking Hun.ngton, West Virginia: Railroad Cars and Coal Central Pennsylvania: Oil extrac.on Ashland, Kentucky: Oil refinery Charleston, W.V.: Chemical Produc.on PiSsburgh, Pennsylvania: Steel Produc.on Akron, Ohio: Rubber Produc.on Toledo, Ohio: Automo.ve Components Detroit: Vehicle Design and Produc.on Flint, Michigan: Automobile Assembly Dayton, Ohio: Aircra design and assembly 6 The Rust Belt: Key Traits • Single-industry towns, purpose-built for a now obsolete func.on • Heavy disparity between wealth and poverty. • Deep civic and regional pride. 7 The Rust Belt: A Turnaround Taking advantage of low property values in depressed areas, young and ambi.ous groups of ar.sans—called the “maker” class—have inhabited en.re neighborhoods and revitalized them with fresh ideas and diverse cultural and product offerings. hSps://www.youtube.com/watch? v=ketb0y7UV4U 8 Siberia and the Rust Belt: Similarities -Names with misinterpreted historical connotaons. -Wealth in resources have both helped and hindered the regions. -Deep regional pride. -Prominence of a primary local industry -ShiIing demographics -Natural beauty doSed by major ci.es -Youth-driven renaissance -Tourism for a blend of posi.ve and negave reasons 9 The Rust Belt in Photographs 10 The Rust Belt in Photographs 11 The Rust Belt in Photographs 12 The Rust Belt in Photographs 13 The Rust Belt in Photographs 14 The Rust Belt in Photographs 15 The Rust Belt in Photographs 16 The Rust Belt in Photographs 17 Questions and Contact [email protected] Facebook.com/BrooksRexroat Twier: @BrooksRexroat Blog: brooksrexroat.com/dispatches-from-siberia Blog Subscripon: Apple News, Keyword “Dispatches From Siberia” 18 .