News of the Rust Belt from around the world, brought to you weekly by the staff of Belt Magazine. We’re independently owned; become a member and support us (plus get cool stuff for free!).

How To Decimate A City [The Atlantic]
The more worrying part, however, is not the current situation but the direction things are going: Over the past decade, the concentration of poverty in Syracuse and other American cities has increased, even as the nation has become wealthier and pulled itself out of a damaging recession.

Michigan Governor’s About-Face On Refugees Undercuts Resettlement Plans [The Guardian]
Last week, a group of eight investors in Michigan announced what may be a first-of-its-kind project to resettle Syrian refugees … But less than week later, after the tragedy of the Paris terror attacks, the investors face a dramatically different political climate that imperils the future of their project: Snyder, at least 24 other governors, and a number of federal lawmakers want to suspend accepting Syrian refugees into the US.

Indiana’s Poet Laureate Shaped By Region Roots [The Times of Northwest Indiana]
“The sensibility of being close to nature and the social awareness of what it’s like to grow up in the Rust Belt, in a highly industrial place that’s struggling. It enlarged my sense of self, and deepened my sense of how to connect to humanity.”

Where Will Americans Travel In 2016? [Examiner.com]
Buffalo will emerge as a top travel destination. The Rust Belt cities have all experienced significant growth in travel demand over the last two years. Cleveland (up more than 70 percent), Detroit (up nearly 70 percent) and Pittsburgh (up more than 60 percent) each benefited from the upswing in visitors, but Buffalo, with the highest increase in demand (over 90 percent) will be the city to watch in 2016.

Wait, We Have An Accent In Michigan? [Detroit Metro Times]
Midwesterners speak the purest form of American English, and everyone else in America is a weirdo with a funny accent. At least that’s what most Michiganders probably think.

Come Fly With Me! US Stuntman Performs Death-Defying 100-Foot Leap Over A Disused Train In His Turbocharged Buggy [Daily Mail]
RJ Anderson from California performed the daring stunts in Youngstown, Ohio, in the middle of America’s rust belt.

Jack White’s Third Man Records Slates Black Friday Opening In Detroit [Macomb Daily]
Third Man Records, the vinyl-championing Nashville-based record store opened by Detroit native and Grammy Award-winner Jack White … is expanding / repatriating itself to the blessed Rust Belt origin story environs of the Cass Corridor in Detroit, Michigan.

Building By Building, We Lose Our History [TribLive]
If you want to understand Pittsburgh, you have to know its past. It’s only through knowing about these industries that you can understand why Pittsburgh is even here.

Banner photo: Buffalo, NY by Doug Kerr