The New York Times shows how the cities in this region show their pride
on their chests: Clever t-shirts and city-themed items are hot. The
City Bird kids from Detroit get a nod, too.
Excerpt:
“You have to get the people who live there to be the best advocates
for the city, or else you don’t really have much,” Randy Vines said.
“So you need to change the psyche and change the way they see their own
city.”
The Vines brothers, 30, are not alone in their effort. In
cities like Youngstown, Ohio, and Detroit, damaged by the decline in
manufacturing and decades of population loss, entrepreneurs in their
20s and 30s are pushing back with the simple stuff of T-shirts, tote
bags and soap. Faced with condescending attitudes from outsiders and
grumbling from many locals, they are determined to peddle in pride, and
hope to convert others in the process.
“It’s reframing the
identity of these places that have been misrepresented,” said Abby
Wilson, a co-founder of the Great Lakes Urban Exchange, a new group
dedicated to bringing post-baby boomers together to work for the health
of postindustrial cities in the Great Lakes region.
Read the entire article
here.
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