This research aims to study revitalization strategies of rustbelt cities in North America and their implication for Korean traditional industrial cities which have underwent gradual economic decline in recent. For their regional economic innovation, our case cities commonly invest in developing new industries for their future rather than assisting for competitiveness of their basic manufacturing. New industries include a medical service and life science industry, robot and ICT, green energy, financial business and cultural tourism, etc. A popular location of these new industries is a downtown area in a central city which millennial generation prefers to live. Under a smart growth policy, downtown areas with research universities and historic amenities have been rebuilt as innovation districts of high-tech industry and professional service. At the same time, inclusive growth policy assists economically distressed communities in a central with public aid and tax assistance exemptions for stimulating business enterprise and creating jobs. Abandoned housings and vacant lands have been purchased by local government for building open space or depositing them for future use. Rather than planning for population growth, our case cities restructure their space for smart shrinkage. At last, in planning and implementing their urban revitalization strategy, private organization and public-private collaborative agencies are more active than local government. In addition, a large portion of finances for their development came from both private investments and levy of local beneficiaries rather than pure public assistances from national and local government.