STL & ATL; Lessons from the “New South”

My wife and I relocated from University City to Atlanta in May 2009.  I accepted a promotion with the brand consulting firm I work for after she was laid off as a radio reporter, and we reluctantly moved.  We loved the walkability of our neighborhood, the eccentricity of the nearby Delmar Loop, fabulous Forest Park, the city’s world-class architecture and its many unique neighborhoods with character to spare.

It was a painful decision to leave.  But the long-term job prospects for the marketing and media industries in St. Louis look grim for a laundry list of reasons.  So we cut our losses, put our recently renovated home on the market, and headed south.  As we explore the built environment and our new neighborhood in Midtown, oftentimes I find myself comparing and contrasting Atlanta to my beloved hometown.  And I can’t help but think there are important lessons the STL could learn from the ATL.

St. Louis and Atlanta are two very different cities.  Unlike St. Louis, whose growth and revitalization of its urban core could be considered fledgling by almost any measure, Atlanta is a poster child for success.  It has enjoyed substantial growth since the 1996 Olympics.  Its Midtown area along Peachtree Street and nearby parallel streets, once a scattering of abandoned buildings and a hotbed for drugs and prostitution, is now a thriving, densely populated urban core with street-level retail and wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks.

But St. Louis and Atlanta also share much in common.  They are both home to prestigious universities that have a profound impact on their surrounding communities.  In addition, both cities have entire neighborhoods that were splintered by sprawling freeways.  Much like the depressed section dividing downtown St. Louis from one of its greatest assets, the construction of the 75/85 Connector disconnected neighborhoods, and Atlanta is still dealing with the unforeseen repercussions.

Technology Square, the Georgia Institute of Technology’s campus extension in Midtown, is a an interesting example of how to successfully reconnect parcels divided by a major highway with a “lid” approach.  Georgia Tech built a pedestrian-friendly, attractively landscaped bridge over the Connector and revitalized land that used to be a collection of surface parking lots to house its College of Management, Conference Center & Hotel, Barnes & Noble Campus bookstore, and non-university office space:

As opposed to Saint Louis University, which tends to create parking lots rather than turn them into part of the urban fabric, Georgia Tech had the vision to build a bustling multi-use development with wide, walkable sidewalks:

The planners incorporated efficient, plentiful bike racks that allow two bikes to easily fit side by side, securely locking both the wheel and frame:

The courtyard of the Centergy Building, home to the Royal Bank of Canada’s Atlanta headquarters, is a benchmark example of a well-designed corporate mall.  Street-level retail, including a cafe, and well-placed benches and xeriscaping, create an inviting, highly usable space where people actually congregate:

The neighborhood is linked to MARTA light-rail transit via the Stinger shuttle, free to students and the general public alike:

The only surface parking lot in the neighborhood features Zip cars:

And Wednesdays during the summer, 5th Street is closed between Spring and William for “Flicks on Fifth,” a weekly outdoor film series:

Atlanta has whole host of problems, including urban sprawl of gargantuan proportions, some of the worst traffic in the country, an underfunded police department, epidemic crime, a crumbling sewer infrastructure, recent drought…And much like Saint Louis University’s expansion projects, Technology Square is not without controversy or ill-conceived plans for parking lots.

Georgia Tech intends to demolish the Crum & Forster Building for additional campus parking.  (Ironically, according to Wikipedia, the building was originally designed by the architectural firm that helped found GT’s college of architecture 100 years ago this year.)  But overall the Georgia Tech expansion points to a few lessons the great city of St. Louis could learn from the “New York of the South.”

First, it’s the little things that count.  Details such as wider sidewalks, efficient bike racks, easy access to mass transit, and good use of “mall” space matter.  Without these complementary pieces, the likelihood of creating a vibrant and commercially successful urban neighborhood like Technology Square is greatly diminished.

Second, in order to reconnect two fractured parcels of land, there needs to be a solid anchor on both sides of the former divide.  Technology Square would not have succeeded if the extension to the west side of the 75/85 Connector didn’t include mixed-use development, street-level retail and a reason for students and other locals alike to use the area.  Even though it’s smaller in scale and the adjacent parcels are much different than downtown and the Arch grounds, any debate regarding a “lid” for downtown St. Louis should carefully consider the Georgia Tech expansion.

Finally, St. Louis needs to embrace its architectural treasures.  Atlanta’s were destroyed during the Civil War when General William T. Sherman ordered the city burned to the ground.  Despite having it’s own devastating fire in 1849, St. Louis still has one of its greatest assets: a superb building stock that’s arguably one of the richest in the country.  Unfortunately, in many instances it seems to be squandered away due to poor planning or auto-centric development.

Georgia Tech’s expansion was largely a start-from-scratch project, and it didn’t need to take architectural preservation into consideration. However, it’s possible to incorporate the modern elements that make Georgia Tech’s expansion a success while preserving architecturally significant buildings in the process.  Saint Louis University, public institutions, private developers and other local entities that have such a deep and long-lasting impact on St. Louis’ urban core owe it to the communities they serve to have a longer-term vision.

After starting from scratch after the Civil War, Atlanta’s city planners and developers seem to have had little appreciation for the past.  Few post-Civil War historic buildings have been preserved in the “New South.”  Today, Atlanta is a sprawling metropolis of glass and steel canyons, creating an awe-inspiring nighttime skyline.

But it lacks much of the richness, architectural detail and aesthetic diversity of St. Louis’ remarkable building stock and unique neighborhoods.  In this respect, St. Louis can learn a thing or two from Atlanta’s past mistakes.  Preservation doesn’t necessarily impede progress.  And once architectural treasures are gone, they’re lost forever.

– Bryan Oekel