Principal Cities vs. Edge Cities
As I was watching CBS Sunday Morning yesterday I was thinking about what to write for today, then I saw the segment Cities on the rise like never before and liked how it started:
Connie Curran remembers her years in the suburbs as “dull.” She told [Seth] Doane she started thinking about moving to the city a month after she moved into the ‘burbs.
“I bought this house – it had a white picket fence,” Curran said. “My sister saw it and she said, ‘You’re on Wisteria Lane!’ It was a great house and it was very peaceful. It was very homogeneous – and it was very boring.”
So last year, at age 61, this nurse-turned-healthcare entrepreneur – who found a new lease on life after beating stage-four cancer – settled into a spectacular home in San Francisco.
“When I saw that view I thought, ‘Now this is city, and this is a neighborhood. I’m living life. This is life. This is the luxury of middle age.”
She defined the luxury of middle-age as the ability “to move to the city and to enjoy the richness and vastness of the things that are here. I hang around 24th Street and usually pick up some flowers, pick up some fruit.”
Curran says walking everywhere keeps her fit. (full story)
By the end of the story, however, I grabbed my iPad and fired off an angry email to CBS Sunday Morning. What happened? Â They talked about the fastest growing city in the U.S., Olive Branch MS. Olive Branch is technically a city, but it functions as an auto-centric suburb of Memphis TN. The fastest growing city in Missouri? Wentzville:
Wentzville is the fastest growing city in Missouri from 2000 to 2008, according to recently released data from the U. S. Census Bureau. Wentzville increased in population by over 200 percent, adding more than 16,000 residents to the city since the 2000 Census.
True, as a percentage increase it is higher but they remain the dull homogenous non-place edge cities many are fleeing for principal cities and first & second tier suburbs. St. Luislost population in the last census count but I suspect the changes are more dramatic. Areas like downtown, Lafayette Square to the south, and Old North to the north, saw population gains. Â The biggest losses came from north St. Louis.
In the 1940s St. Louis’ planners didn’t see the middle class trend to the suburbs. The reverse is happening now. Â Middle class couples with school age children are still locating in new homes in edge cities but once the youngest starts college the parents seek out interesting and walkable areas. Â Those who can afford private schools aren’t waiting, they are living where they want while junior is still in school.
So the story started off great but ended with a family in an edge city as an example of “cities on the rise.”
– Steve Patterson
 “Middle class couples with school age children are still locating in new homes in edge cities but once the youngest starts college the parents seek out interesting and walkable areas.  Those who can afford private schools aren’t waiting, they are living where they want while junior is still in school.”
Do you have a source for that data? I’d love to have that as future reference.
“Middle class couples with school age children are still locating in new homes in edge cities but once the youngest starts college the parents seek out interesting and walkable areas. Those who can afford private schools aren’t waiting, they are living where they want while junior is still in school.”
Do you have a source for that data? I’d love to have that as future reference.
Clearly no source, my own observations combined with recollection of articles on national trends. A big change in attitudes is happening right now, people are waiting longer to get married and start families. Family sizes are shrinking but the number of childless households is increasing.
Clearly no source, my own observations combined with recollection of articles on national trends. A big change in attitudes is happening right now, people are waiting longer to get married and start families. Family sizes are shrinking but the number of childless households is increasing.
“True, as a percentage increase it is higher but they remain the dull homogenous non-place edge cities many are fleeing for principal cities and first & second tier suburbs.”
I disagree with this statement. When my husband and I return to Missouri at the end of the year, we plan to move to Wentzville. It’s centrally located for us to where our family and friends live, the home values are great compared to other areas like Chesterfield (especially since the housing market continues to favor buyers) and there are increasing number of activities in the area and in St. Charles County in general for younger families, like on Main Street in St. Charles. Yes, it’s probably more homogeneous than St. Louis City, but there is more space for businesses and homes. That is probably a main reason many people, like us, are moving to that area.
While I might end up working downtown anyway, and I do love downtown very much (graduated from SLU this past year), I would rather raise my family in a suburban area. Three years living downtown and having friends robbed, their cars stolen, etc. have made me realize that personally, the suburbs aren’t as bad as people make them out.
“True, as a percentage increase it is higher but they remain the dull homogenous non-place edge cities many are fleeing for principal cities and first & second tier suburbs.”
I disagree with this statement. When my husband and I return to Missouri at the end of the year, we plan to move to Wentzville. It’s centrally located for us to where our family and friends live, the home values are great compared to other areas like Chesterfield (especially since the housing market continues to favor buyers) and there are increasing number of activities in the area and in St. Charles County in general for younger families, like on Main Street in St. Charles. Yes, it’s probably more homogeneous than St. Louis City, but there is more space for businesses and homes. That is probably a main reason many people, like us, are moving to that area.
While I might end up working downtown anyway, and I do love downtown very much (graduated from SLU this past year), I would rather raise my family in a suburban area. Three years living downtown and having friends robbed, their cars stolen, etc. have made me realize that personally, the suburbs aren’t as bad as people make them out.
Right, people in suburbs are not robbed and their cars aren’t stolen. Personally I think it isn’t good to raise kids in homogenous exurbs. They need to learn to develop a sense of independence, something they can’t do when being chauffeured everywhere.
I was raised in a suburb of St. Louis and never felt I was “chauffeured” everywhere. Even if we lived in St. Louis City we would have had to drive to different areas, as public transport (Metrolink, buses) only goes so far around town and the major highways divide the city.
Nothing about our community was homogeneous either. My high school graduating class had many international students and students who bussed from the city. Did I mention it was a high-quality public school, too? Kids can learn to be independent outside of the city. Just depends on their upbringing and not necessarily where they are raised.
I know the whole region can’t live with St. Louis’ 1876 borders. Older suburbs are far more connected than newer exurbs which is why places like Kirkwood, Maplewood & Ferguson are popular. Metro buses do a very good job in the central part of the region. How is the public transit in St. Charles County?
From my experience, there are some buses, but that is about it. I think the disconnect between St. Louis City and St. Louis or St. Charles County would decrease if Metrolink were expanded. Not only would this help businesses and job growth, but the metropolitan area would become more united as a whole, kind of like how Chicago suburbs are more connected with the downtown area. It is my hope when we move home I can put my degrees (political science and public administration) to use and to generate more interest in expanding Metrolink and public transport as a whole outward to farther areas.
I think a lot of the reason we chose Wentzville was because family and friends are out there. My husband has been Active Duty Army the last three years and is looking forward to being back in his hometown, or at least in the same county as where he grew up. I enjoyed living in the city during college, and may work there, but also look forward to having a house for the first time in my life with a yard for the dogs we hope to get rather than apartment or dorm living that I had downtown. It’s just a personal preference for us.
It’s a big region with lots of places between the city and Wentzville. St. Charles voters have then option of transit if they were to tax themselves. The city, county and Illinois counties of Madison and St. Clair all do that. Outside of St. Charles’ Main Street St. & New Town Charles County is a massive auto-centric wasteland.
Have you read David Brooks “On Paradise Drive?” It addresses the issue you bring up on suggesting St. Charles County is a “massive auto-centric wasteland.”
From what I’ve read, he argues such communities similar to Wentzville and other cities in St. Charles County depend on their own businesses and industries, such as office parks, to fuel the economy. They do not need to depend on St. Louis City for jobs; they can provide their own. Many businesses have area to expand farther west and avoid land-use politics, as well as limited space, downtown provides.
While some people continue to commute east from St. Charles County for work, I believe over time and with development, the area could retain more workers. Plus, if gas prices continue to stay high while income stagnates, more people may begin to consider jobs closer to home.
I don’t agree that its transit that has created and exacerbated a divide between city and county. Although it is relevant… Saint Louis City and Saint Louis County differ in many more ways than purely location. I agree with Steve, the homogeneous atmosphere visible in most St. Louis suburbs just isn’t appealing to many who love city living. I personally would never be able to live in a suburb, anywhere, especially Saint Louis when such a vibrant city community is available.
I want to clarify I’m not anti-suburb. The suburb of Maplewood, for example, is very similar to it’s neighbor St. Louis. I’m anti-exurb such as Wentzville.
Thank you for that clarification. I agree.
I think the larger issue is that America is becoming less and less homogenous, and the more attuned your children are to dealing with people of all sorts of backgrounds, the more competitive (and happier) they will be. Living in a neighborhood of all one race, regardless of what race that is, is not going to prepare any person for the reality of 21st Century America. Heck, there are many racially diverse suburbs in the St. Louis region, some more diverse than parts of the city.
St. Louis City does have its crime problem, but the suburbs have their automobile collision problem. You realize you’re going to be more likely to be injured or killed driving from Wentzville to Downtown than your chance of being mugged, right?
Chris, I agree with you wholeheartedly on your statement. I also agree with what you said about the automobile collision problem. Nearly daily there is an accident on the highways, which doesn’t even count neighborhood accidents. Each area has its problems which require closer scrutiny to change them.
I have to agree M-I have lived more than 10 yrs in the city as well as more than 10 yrs in the county-the city crime is much worse. The city police also have a good handle on helping people NOT file police reports…so city crime rate is skewed…and not to mention, I guess based on make believe higher population the past 10 yrs. So much city crime goes unreported. That doesn’t mean police weren’t called-just no record ’cause calling isn’t same as filing report.
I totally agree.
I definitely agree with your statement. I remember during a service project as a SLU student, we cleaned up one of the blocks of the Shaw neighborhood. The block we cleaned up had an active neighborhood watch, but the block right beside it had a drug dealer the neighborhood watch was trying to remove from the area.
Did the police know about the drug dealer? Perhaps. But he still resided there. The neighbors still had to take the problem in their own hands.
Right, people in suburbs are not robbed and their cars aren’t stolen. Personally I think it isn’t good to raise kids in homogenous exurbs. They need to learn to develop a sense of independence, something they can’t do when being chauffeured everywhere.
I was raised in a suburb of St. Louis and never felt I was “chauffeured” everywhere. Even if we lived in St. Louis City we would have had to drive to different areas, as public transport (Metrolink, buses) only goes so far around town and the major highways divide the city.
Nothing about our community was homogeneous either. My high school graduating class had many international students and students who bussed from the city. Did I mention it was a high-quality public school, too? Kids can learn to be independent outside of the city. Just depends on their upbringing and not necessarily where they are raised.
I know the whole region can’t live with St. Louis’ 1876 borders. Older suburbs are far more connected than newer exurbs which is why places like Kirkwood, Maplewood & Ferguson are popular. Metro buses do a very good job in the central part of the region. How is the public transit in St. Charles County?
From my experience, there are some buses, but that is about it. I think the disconnect between St. Louis City and St. Louis or St. Charles County would decrease if Metrolink were expanded. Not only would this help businesses and job growth, but the metropolitan area would become more united as a whole, kind of like how Chicago suburbs are more connected with the downtown area. It is my hope when we move home I can put my degrees (political science and public administration) to use and to generate more interest in expanding Metrolink and public transport as a whole outward to farther areas.
I think a lot of the reason we chose Wentzville was because family and friends are out there. My husband has been Active Duty Army the last three years and is looking forward to being back in his hometown, or at least in the same county as where he grew up. I enjoyed living in the city during college, and may work there, but also look forward to having a house for the first time in my life with a yard for the dogs we hope to get rather than apartment or dorm living that I had downtown. It’s just a personal preference for us.
It’s a big region with lots of places between the city and Wentzville. St. Charles voters have then option of transit if they were to tax themselves. The city, county and Illinois counties of Madison and St. Clair all do that. Outside of St. Charles’ Main Street St. & New Town Charles County is a massive auto-centric wasteland.
I don’t agree that its transit that has created and exacerbated a divide between city and county. Although it is relevant… Saint Louis City and Saint Louis County differ in many more ways than purely location. I agree with Steve, the homogeneous atmosphere visible in most St. Louis suburbs just isn’t appealing to many who love city living. I personally would never be able to live in a suburb, anywhere, especially Saint Louis when such a vibrant city community is available.Â
I want to clarify I’m not anti-suburb. The suburb of Maplewood, for example, is very similar to it’s neighbor St. Louis. I’m anti-exurb such as Wentzville.
Thank you for that clarification. I agree.
I have to agree M-I have lived more than 10 yrs in the city as well as more than 10 yrs in the county-the city crime is much worse. The city police also have a good handle on helping people NOT file police reports…so city crime rate is skewed…and not to mention, I guess based on make believe higher population the past 10 yrs. So much city crime goes unreported. That doesn’t mean police weren’t called-just no record ’cause calling isn’t same as filing report.
I think the larger issue is that America is becoming less and less homogenous, and the more attuned your children are to dealing with people of all sorts of backgrounds, the more competitive (and happier) they will be. Living in a neighborhood of all one race, regardless of what race that is, is not going to prepare any person for the reality of 21st Century America. Heck, there are many racially diverse suburbs in the St. Louis region, some more diverse than parts of the city.
St. Louis City does have its crime problem, but the suburbs have their automobile collision problem. You realize you’re going to be more likely to be injured or killed driving from Wentzville to Downtown than your chance of being mugged, right?
I totally agree.
Chris, I agree with you wholeheartedly on your statement. I also agree with what you said about the automobile collision problem. Nearly daily there is an accident on the highways, which doesn’t even count neighborhood accidents. Each area has its problems which require closer scrutiny to change them.
I definitely agree with your statement. I remember during a service project as a SLU student, we cleaned up one of the blocks of the Shaw neighborhood. The block we cleaned up had an active neighborhood watch, but the block right beside it had a drug dealer the neighborhood watch was trying to remove from the area.Â
Did the police know about the drug dealer? Perhaps. But he still resided there. The neighbors still had to take the problem in their own hands.
Have you read David Brooks “On Paradise Drive?” It addresses the issue you bring up on suggesting St. Charles County is a “massive auto-centric wasteland.”Â
From what I’ve read, he argues such communities similar to Wentzville and other cities in St. Charles County depend on their own businesses and industries, such as office parks, to fuel the economy. They do not need to depend on St. Louis City for jobs; they can provide their own. Many businesses have area to expand farther west and avoid land-use politics, as well as limited space, downtown provides.
While some people continue to commute east from St. Charles County for work, I believe over time and with development, the area could retain more workers. Plus, if gas prices continue to stay high while income stagnates, more people may begin to consider jobs closer to home.
I live in the City now because I can afford Catholic school for my boys. If I could not, I would live in Webster or Chesterfield.
I live in the City now because I can afford Catholic school for my boys. If I could not, I would live in Webster or Chesterfield.