rust belt

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

1. the heavily industrial area of the northeastern U.S. containing the older industries and factories.

rust belt

noun

1. an area where heavy industry is in decline, esp in the Midwest of the US

Word History and Origins

Origin of rust belt¹

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

At its worst, L.A. seems to be self-absorbed, deeply segregated for all its ethnic mix, stupefyingly rich and Third World poor, self-congratulatory yet in places as squalid and grimy as any Rust Belt burg, wearyingly obsessed with success, civically inept, a big floundering lummox of a place.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’m probably the most proud of that album as a sonic work of art,” Joel says in the HBO doc of “The Nylon Curtain,” on which he and Ramone deployed the whoosh and crunch of a steel mill to juice the beat of this Rust Belt threnody.

From Los Angeles Times

If you want to peer into a post-steel future, look at Redcar on the northeast coast - an area sometimes described as Britain's "rust belt", owing to the derelict industrial sites scattered across the landscape.

From BBC

They are building housing at a pace much closer to those of Rust Belt cities like Detroit and coastal cities like Los Angeles these days.

From Slate

Paramount, a small city of 54,000 in southeastern Los Angeles County, is known for how its residents and government officials worked in the 1980s to transform their hometown from a blighted “rust belt” community to one that gained national awards.

From Los Angeles Times