Today is the 4th Anniversary of UrbanReviewSTL
Four years ago today I started UrbanReviewSTL. I began writing as a way of focusing following my father’s month-long hospitalization due to a massive heart attack on October 1, 2004 at the age of 75. He was with us another 3 years and 3months, passing on the first of 2008 at age 78.
Over the years this blog has gained a loyal following. When I started I had no expectations about what it might become, I just wanted to vent. Thank you readers!
My life has changed greatly thanks to the blog. My renewed interest in Urban Planning caused me to enter grad school – starting the Master of Arts in Urban Planning and Real Estate Development (UPRED) program at Saint Louis University. My stroke in February slowed me down but I will now graduate in December 2009.
This blog and my unsuccessful 2005 campaign for 25th Ward Alderman has enabled me to have access to officials that I never would have had otherwise. Some, such as St Louis Magazine & the St Louis Business Journal, say I have power and am an influencer. Others have said I’m not using this power effectively and that I should be doing more. You can’t please everyone.
I’ve written 1,600+ posts and had quite a few interesting guest posts from others. Reader comments now exceed 16,000. Thank you so much to my guest bloggers, readers and those that participate in the conversation by commenting!
Often people are critical of the topics I write about or the positions I take. With the war & economy tanking how can I write about valet parking & street trees? From day one I’ve written about what I observe. For the most part I have strong opinions but occasionally there are topics where I am ambivalent so I put it out there for readers to hash out the pros & cons. I write about that which interests me and is on my mind.
After a month or two I joined the STL Syndicate, maintained by Brian Marston. After two years of having my blog hosted by Marston I moved it from MoveableType to WordPress on my own server. Last year I added advertising as a way to generate a small amount of income from all my hard work. I could have used Google ads and probably made as much or more money but I wanted more local ads.
Over the years this blog has picked up a few awards such as “Best Blog” by the RFT readers and editors of St Louis Magazine. Thank you! I’ve also watched my Google pagerank rise from nothing to 5 out of 10 as of today – higher than MayorSlay.com (4/10). On Technorati my “authority” is, today, a respectable 68. Of the 100+ million blogs they follow mine is in the top 90,000.
Originally I wanted the domain urbanstl.com, but it was already taken. A little more than two weeks after I started UrbanReviewSTL.com the Urban St Louis discussion forum was started at that domain. I joined the forum on 12/31/2004 as member number 41, my age today. The forum now has over 2,000 members.
A host of excellent blogs on urbanity & St Louis has popped up over the last four years. As a community we have demonstrated a strong interest in urban issues and a wide range of perspectives on these topics. Among the urban/place-based blogs I read regularly are:
- The Ecology of Absence by Michael Allen. This year St Louis Magazine named Allen the 51st most powerful St Louisan. I dropped off their list. Congrats Michael, well deserved!
- STL Rising by Rick Bonash. I’ve known Rick for a few years now and I really respect his viewpoint even though we don’t always agree.
- Vanishing STL by Architect Paul Hohmann. Hohmann and I often agree, a rare thing indeed.
- Downtown St Louis Business by Brian Spellecy. Spellecy always has all sorts of interesting tidbits of information on commercial leases downtown as well as good ideas for the reuse of our still vacant buildings.
So Monday I start year five, four years of hard work behind me. I’ve enjoyed every minute. It’s hard to predict what the future holds for me — just count on me writing nearly everyday, sharing my urban observations and pushing for St Louis to become the vibrant urban community it once was. Thank you for reading and Happy Halloween!
Another great year. Keep it up.
These local blogs have caused me to have a greater interest in the City and indeed have even moved me to act in certain cases. Overall, certain issues have prevented me from moving into the City but they still receive 1% of my income 🙂
Thanks for the plug Steve, and congratulations on the start of your 5th year!
Congrats, Steve. Your blog is truly an asset to STL citizens.
Happy birthday UR and thanks for all you’ve done, Steve. From Tower Grove Heights to my somewhat newly adopted home of Atlanta, I now view development projects with a more informed eye due to your frequent photographs and verbal analysis of good versus bad urban design. It’s made my city living experience more enjoyable.
Congratulations, Steve! I remember those heady days back in fall 2004 when you launched Urban Review. How can we forget? That’s when the wrecking ball struck the Century Building. Our cause could have been lost, but thanks to your blog and others the cause has only gotten stronger.
Thanks, and happy anniversary!
thank you for your service and congradulations on a milestone. 4 years, and hopefully many more to come! As a loyal reader (among many) I am so glad you are still at it.
Believe it or not, you have inspired me with every post and I still follow you every day, even here where I go to school on Washington DC. I can’t help but think you lead by example as I study for a masters degree of my own in public communications.
Without the perspective you have given me, I would have never considered starting a pedestrian right and public transportation blog where you taught me to question aassumptions so much through your own example.
And now I still can’t shake all the work that must be done in the city I still call home. Under new management 61revised.com will still supplement your voice in my hometown, even as current residents add their own voice to a chorus of voices making saint louis the vibrant urban center it deserves to be.
Thank you for speaking put as a lone wolf in the darkness. I will never forget the ideas you have shared, and will keep looking for your insight in my own work. Thank you
Happy Birthday. I began cruising the site after your wise and prophetic insights on how the new WalMart on Hanley was the path to more destruction and a lower quality of life. I agreed and sure enough the path was built as traffic increased, pedestrians disappeared and parking lots exploded. With all this new asphalt more asphalt was needed, and the results are becoming increasingly worse: more noise, more air and sound pollution, more cars, SUVs, pickup trucks,… you know.
– –
The decay is spreading rapidly as the region is hooked. Richmond Heights has also jumped on the “bring MO crap” wagon and has used ED to ruin the Hadley Twp neighborhood. As lives are destroyed along with homes and property values, few seem to understand and appreciate the inevitable decay.
– –
Clayton too has used ED abusively to foster a favored development. Now the Shady Oak, a movie theater I used to walk too frequently, is being torn down to may what locals prefer, a parking lot. It must be hard seeing how quickly the region is falling as it victimizes itself. Happy Birthday and this time blowing out the candles is prophetic.
I enjoy reading you and from others here. I don’t come here to espouse my beliefs, I check in nearly every day to see what I can learn from others. And I like what I see and hear, even when I don’t get it or don’t agree.
.
The number 1 experience from an avid reader, such as myself, would be the lack of completely off the wall comments or spammers, almost every opinion expressed here seems valid. Thank you to you and every one here that makes this a not-to miss center of intelligent discussion on St. Louis issues.
I too enjoy your blog. Although I think Mr. 51 is a slimy water carrier in bloggers clothes. Happy B-day and many many more.
Hard to take accusations of slimyness seriously when they come from the moniker “Palin ’12.”
By the way, it’s number 65 for Joni Mitchell this Friday. She too is willing to stand up for what she believes in and made famous the phrase “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”. There is no better song to describe the Lou mentality, a region that worships parking lots and highways as Main Streets.
Take it however you want MA just don’t drop that water.
“Palin ’12” — Come out from behind the Republican Internet mask. If you have truth to say, why hide behind a cloak? Whose water do you carry? McKee’s? Slay’s? You attack someone who uses his real name whenever he posts online, and accuse him of hiding his agenda. If I have a problem with Allen, I can email him or talk to him at meetings. If I have a problem with your chickensh-t postings, how do I contact you? Crap like yours is tearing up north city and keeping us from working together. Maybe that’s part of the (team four) plan.
By the way, with “blogger’s clothes” you just about made me spit out my water! LOL. You are a gifted PR man, “Palin ’12.”
Neighbor……you can’t even save your neighborhood
I like Palin ’12.
It’s a good plan for killing the Republican party!
Palin is the gift that keeps giving. Please, P L E A S E allow the GOP to actually be dumb enough to allow that embarrassing pile of crap to claim their party mantle in 2012.