This is the second book
in the St. Louis Metromorphosis book series from the Public Policy
Research Center. By most standard indicators, the St. Louis region is in
a prolonged period of stagnation or decline. The urban core has suffered
huge population loss. The central city has a large poverty population,
high crime rates, and deteriorating public services. Residential
patterns are highly segregated by race and wealth. Political
fragmentation in the region and the corresponding absence of effective
leadership are legendary. Based on these standard measures of strength,
vitality, and growth, the region’s future appears dim. But these are not
the only indicators by which the present and possible future of the
region, including the central city, should be assessed. The region
contains many “hidden assets” that, if effectively nurtured and
promoted, augur a brighter future for the St. Louis metropolitan area.
After reviewing the area’s performance on the standard indicators of
growth and development, this volume identifies several hidden assets
that distinguish St. Louis from other metropolitan areas, including
areas that rank higher on the standard performance measures. A partial
list of such assets would include an abundant, durable, and affordable
housing stock; the resurgence of several commercial and entertainment
areas; a major medical complex; a stellar and popular sports tradition;
a major plant sciences facility and accompanying gardens; many excellent
and diverse public and private schools; and a historic and robust blues
music tradition.
Some of these assets are not “hidden” (e.g., the medical complex), but
together they compose a distinctive mosaic of amenities and resources
the value of which merits assessment. The volume addresses several
hidden assets, asking how the asset developed and prospered in an area
not otherwise known for its contemporary successes, how the community
sustains the asset, what collateral advantages it confers, and how it
contributes to regional development.
It is evident that there are three possible futures for St. Louis:
stasis, decay, or nonobvious development. The trick is to nurture
continued sustainable growth in the package of hidden assets. Such
developments may not, at least in the near future, register on the
standard indicators of metropolitan vitality and growth. But they
represent an attractive alternative future to stasis or decay.
About the Author
Richard Rosenfeld
is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of
Missouri–St. Louis. He is coauthor of Crime and the American Dream
and has published widely on the social sources of violent crime. He is a
member of the National Academy of Science Committee on Law and Justice
and a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology. He was born and
raised in St. Louis, Missouri.
