the decades-long attempt to convince factory towns they can survive on wifi instead of steel.
means the ongoing effort to reinvent former industrial regions through tech, healthcare, and small business after manufacturing collapse gutted them.
from coined as american factories emptied out from the 1970s onward, when nafta, automation, and cheaper overseas labor hollowed out the industrial midwest and northeast, leaving pittsburgh, cleveland, and detroit to reinvent themselves or rot.
pittsburgh — steel mills replaced by uc medical center and robotics startups
detroit — bankrupt in 2013, now drawing tech investment and rehabbed lofts
youngstown ohio — lost 40 percent population, now betting on additive manufacturing
buffalo niagara — medical campus and solar gigafactory anchor 2010s comeback push