Interesting. I've always viewed it as a slightly clever term connoting the region's heavy reliance on the steel industry in the past and the undeniable economic

Interesting. I've always viewed it as a slightly clever term connoting the region's heavy reliance on the steel industry in the past and the undeniable economic/demographic decline that followed. I obviously don't know about Pittsburgh, but it is absolutely not viewed as a perjorative in some other cities typically considered part of the rust belt.