Fresh Coast

"Fresh Coast" is an American colloquialism used to describe the freshwater coastal region of the United States surrounding the Great Lakes.
Distinct from the continental coastlines of the West Coast and the East Coast, "The Fresh Coast" is located in the upper regions of the Midwest, bordering the country of Canada and stretching from the western edge of Lake Superior to the eastern edge of Lake Ontario in New York state.

The term was coined by Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett and is most often used to spur commerce in contrast to the colloquialism Rust belt. Regional media outlets have adopted the phrase "Fresh Coast" and continue to use it in efforts to rebrand overall Great Lakes development. The term connotes both the area's large of resource fresh water and exception educational resources (e.g. University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, Marquette University) The term continues to be embraces by the area and Milwaukee in particular as Southeastern Wisconsin is America's leading freshwater hub for both industry and academia.

“In 1959, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, and the city said, ‘We will become a tourism Mecca,’” Meeusen said. “But for 12 years, it didn’t do anything, and Disney moved on to Orlando. It opened Disney World there in 1972, and Orlando said, ‘We will be the tourism Mecca.’ They got their act together - changed zoning, created tax incentives and worked with their universities to create hospitality education programs.
“The city attracted other destinations, and Orlando is the tourism capital today, and Anaheim is not. Milwaukee right now is Anaheim in 1959 or Orlando in 1972. We could do nothing. Or we could get our act together and coordinate our corporate, academic and government to become the freshwater capital of the U.S. and possibly the world,” Meeusen said. (Rich Meeson is the current CEO of Badger Meter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.)

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