Miwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett hates “the Rust Belt” as a moniker for the Great Lakes region — who likes rust? — so he’s been pushing for a more apt nickname:
The Fresh Coast. “That captures who we are, and it captures who Chicago is, and it captures who Cleveland is,” Barrett said. “We are cities that were built on the Great Lakes. And now as the economies have changed, as the water issues have changed, this is becoming a greater and greater economic and demographic strength for us.”
Lake Michigan is synonymous with Chicago and Milwaukee for reasons that are especially apparent this time of year, as people play and lounge on its beaches, bike and jog along its shoreline, and swim and sail in its waters.