The best-run cities of America’s Midwest offer lessons in recovery
How to revive and thrive
THE DOZEN states of America’s Midwest have a population of 68m, equal to Britain’s. They share an economy worth some $4trn, equivalent to the GDP of Germany, the world’s fourth-biggest. And the region’s swing voters weigh heavily in politics. Donald Trump won the presidency four years ago thanks to narrow victories in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. This year’s contest may yet be decided there, too. At the same time the Midwest’s troubles, after decades of industrial decline, are also outsized. Detroit, despite its recent improvements, is sadly still emblematic of how hard it is for cities to recover. It has shrunk to just one-third of its peak population of 1.8m in the 1950s. What can the region do to prosper again, and what can the rest of the world learn from its experience?
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Revive, then thrive”
From the July 25th 2020 edition
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