In 1920, Detroit was the 4th largest city in the U.S. Cleveland was 5th.

As recently as 1970, Detroit was 5th and Cleveland was 10th.

Today, Detroit is 24th and Cleveland is 53rd.

It's hard to exaggerate the degree to which urban decline has affected the cities of this region.

If you haven't lived through it and experienced it first-hand, it's difficult to understand the psychological effects on these places and their people. https://thestile1972.tumblr.com/post/65760080867/confessions-of-a-rust-belt-orphan-how-i-learned-to

Industrial might built these places. It provided opportunity for millions.

It was a powerful economic engine, but it wasn't glamorous. It was sometimes tragic.

When you lived through its demise, you realize that the truth is rarely pure and never simple.