The Great Rust Belt Property Tax Dilemma
A large percentage of the land in Cleveland and Pittsburgh is tax-exempt. What does this mean for the health and wealth of cities?
How Did Alleged Ukrainian Money Launderers Buy Up Downtown Cleveland?
And what does it mean for the city moving forward?
Possible Landscapes
The future of the Calumet/south Chicago region will have to contend with its infrastructure and layered history.
Jim Jordan’s Gerrymandered District
In the Ohio 4th, as in gerrymandered districts all over the country, democracy is at stake.
The Best of Belt Magazine 2019
Announcing a new anthology of regional writing, available exclusively to Belt members.
Did Art Walks Cause Trumpism?
(Or, let's stop with the economic anxiety.)
The Moral Power of Rust Belt Labor
As recent strikes by unions across the region demonstrate, collective action remains as vital as ever.
The Potential of Public Art
The work of public memory is not only about the past, but about a shared vision for the future.
The End of Youngstown’s Vindicator
The city's daily paper is closing down, leaving a gaping hole in the local journalism landscape.
What Indiana Dunes National Park and the Border Wall Have in Common
Among other things, they offer the opportunity to envision a healthy future for everyone.
The Future of Chicago is the Future of Us All
On history, the mayoral election, and the work of black women.
Power and Peril at the Great Lakes
Lessons from one 1971 near-disaster for the future of nuclear power in the region.