Small cities in US Rust belt are leading an urban transformation charge

Life in Evansville, Indiana, during the 20th century mirrored much of the rest of the US’s industrial midwest: booming growth powered by manufacturing in the early decades – then a steep decline that left its streets empty and economy in practical ruins.

Since its heyday as an industrial powerhouse in the 1960s, Evansville’s population has fallen by 18%.

But today, following decades of urban decay, downtown life in this city of 115,000 people is changing.

It boasts hundreds of new apartments, a host of breweries, a thriving arts scene and even a Taylor Swift-themed escape room.

“It’s a more vibrant space. You’ve got more residents downtown, which means more businesses, more hotels [and] a new medical campus,” the mayor of Evansville, Stephanie Terry, said recently of the current downtown compared to a decade ago.

Read more of the full article from The Guardian here.