What Would a Proposed Development Mean for Chicago’s Southeast Side?
A developer promises green jobs, but residents are skeptical.
Urban Renewal Today
Tracing the past, present, and future of housing development and displacement in Detroit.
Envisioning a Progressive Future for Lima, Ohio
Lima’s current mayor is retiring after thirty-two years. Sharetta Smith, his current chief of staff, says “it’s time for the next generation to lead.”
The Best of Belt Magazine 2020
Announcing a new anthology of regional writing, available exclusively to Belt members.
Following the Yellowlined Road
Yellowlining—the lesser cousin of federal-government redlining—was a discriminatory force that historians and economists have only begun to explore.
Will Minneapolis’s Upper Harbor Terminal Project Be Good for Its Neighbors?
The city wants to develop public land in a majority-Black neighborhood. What would equitable development look like?
Racism, Rebellion, and Police Violence in the Midwest
Stories on the long history of racism and police violence in the Midwest—and what to do about it.
The Fight Over Wind Power in Lake Erie
The contested case of the Icebreaker Wind Farm has implications for renewable energy in the region.
The Best of Belt Magazine 2019
Announcing a new anthology of regional writing, available exclusively to Belt members.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Affordable Housing Project
American System-Built Homes in Chicago (and elsewhere).
The Last Days of Rezkoville’s Purgatory
In Chicago, a long-empty swath of land south of the Loop is the latest site of a planned mega-development.
In the Shadow of Lincoln Yards
A $5 billion development threatens one of Chicago's most beloved venues—and much more.