Rust Belt
Topic: Secondary Activities: Manufacturing and Industrial Location · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Rust Belt is the old heavy-industry region of the north-eastern USA and the Great Lakes. It once led the world in steel and car making. From the 1970s, it lost jobs as plants closed or moved to the Sun Belt in the south and to other countries. The causes were cheaper steel from overseas, automation that cut jobs, and coal losing importance. The name comes from the rusting, empty factories that were left behind. The region's politics now shape US debates on tariffs.
Example
Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania was a major steel city. Detroit in Michigan was the centre of the US car industry. Both lost many factory jobs. Cleveland and Youngstown in Ohio declined in the same way.
Don't confuse with
- Sun Belt: the warmer southern and south-western USA. Many industries and people moved there from the Rust Belt.