Hometown Buzz

It was interesting growing up in a place like St. Louis. Whenever it was brought up in a national context it was usually to show just how much of a basket case it really was, and with good reason. For about a seventy year period (1910-1980) it seemed as if every decision made by our civic leaders was the wrong one. For every notable good decision (building the Arch, or building Busch stadium downtown) there were dozens of awful decisions. The result was a moribound central urban core, rife with crime and decay and bereft of residents.

Of course I didn't live downtown, I lived in one of the near-in suburbs. But then again, almost no one lived downtown. The truth is during the 1970's and 80's the central life of St. Louis was played out in the close suburbs (St. Louis County) and not in the city, which was in many ways an alien palce to County residents. The urban riverfront area was just the place you went to see Cardinals games, or take out-of-towners to see the Arch. The urban core just was not central to most St. Louisians lives.

That seems to be changing. Since the 80's historic neighborhoods in the City have started to come back. (See here, here, and here for examples) People have even started to move back downtown, mostly in renovated loft apartments. It seems like a ludicrously small thing, but it was a big step recently when a supermarket (presently the only supermarket downtown) recently opened in St. Louis. There were finally enough people living there to support it.

Finally, I have started to see positive stories about St. Louis in the MSM. CNN did a lengthy piece recently about the city as a Mecca for "hip-hop" artists. It may not sound like much, but when you have heard nothing but "basket case" for so long, it can make even a story about "hip-hop" sound like music to my ears.

I suspect that the 21st century will see a nationwide trend towards reinvigorated urban centers. And I don't mean the small enclaves of Yuppiedom that there have often been to this point in time, but stable and safe neighborhoods with families raising children. You can call it a "New Urbanism" that rediscovers that cities can be great places to work, live and play.

My prediction is that the 2010 census will show that St. Louis has reversed a decades old trend. I predict the census will find more people living in St. Louis in 2010 then it found in 2000.

The irony is that I'll probably never live in St. Louis again to enjoy it all.