Urban Review’s top ten of 2004

One of the most annoying things from the mainstream media is top ten/twenty/hundred lists. Often it is a lazy way to rehash old material or get out of doing some actual work. So, in the spirit of the mainstream media, I present my top ten favorite posts from 2004.

True, I only started as of October 31st. Give me a break – I still managed to find ten I liked. This time next year it will actually be a challenge to come up with a top ten so I might just skip it then. Or I might go crazy and have a top 50 posts? But, that is still a year off.

So, here is the list (some of which are from my old software & server):

10) Citirama a good start, HBA’s builders just don’t quite get it

One of my earliest postings – taking a look at new homes on the site of the old Gaslight Square.

9) THF Realty sprawls big box development over region

Commentary on THF and the new Wal-Mart along Hanley road.

8) It Takes five houses to create a village?

A look at in-fill housing in the city

7) Kirkwood Plaza Station, another great idea with questionable execution.

Crtiicism of Kirkwood’s new mixed-use project.

6) I’m not picking on Brentwood.Really, I’m not.

A pedestrian’s trek from Brentwood to Bread Co.

5) Church Pastor say Hyde Park Neighborhood not a good place to live

Notes & commentary on a church that wants to raze it’s building & block.

4) Gravois Plaza less pedestrian-friendly than previous center

A photo essay illustrating the lack of consideration for the pedestrian at Gravois Plaza.

3) St. Louis Marketplace – a predictable failure

Another photo essay of yet another anti-urban shopping center.

2) Laclede’s Landing: a non-place for locals

A recent entry (yesterday) taking an angry look at proposed development on the Landing.

1) AG Edwards headquarters is an urban liability, not an asset

No other post has generated so much controversy than this look at AG Edward’s world headquartres. Like #2 above, this post is angry and the language reflects my anger.

Well, that is my list of favorite posts of 2004.

– Steve

I’ve been Googled!

Regular readers of Urban Review – St. Louis will notice something new – Google advertisements to the right. This is not intended as a money maker – just enough to cover server expenses. What is interesting is to see what ads come up based on the keywords of my site.

One such ad as was for a publication called Markets & Morality from the Action Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty. That certainly got my attention! While I have my own brand of personal faith, I haven’t a religious bone in my body. Which, considering that my father was raised Southern Baptist and my mom raise Mennonite, is certainly amazing. Thankfully, my parents raised us to be honest & moral – not necessarily religious. Anyway, I’m getting off subject.

This ad peaked my interest so I clicked on the link and began to peak around on the various perspectives & editorials in PDF format. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found:

I have come to the conclusion that “community” is a very elusive concept. The way that we even use this word in our contemporary culture is confusing. At one time, “community” meant the people living near us. Currently, “community” seems to mean people with whom we share an interest or an advocacy with no expectation that we live near or even have met anyone in our “community.” We mostly hear the word community in phrases such as “gay community” or “Christian community.” To talk about community as a physical place or a setting for real human relationships, as the New Urbanists have taught us to do, is revolutionary.

Quite true, community as a physical place beyond a sprawl subdivision is revolutionary. The above quote is from Eric O. Jacobson, an Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Missoula, Montana in a paper entitled, “Receiving Community: The Church and the Future of the New Urbanist Movement.”

The ideas behind the New Urbanist movement represent a significant challenge to the reigning orthodoxy, which has held sway within the guild of professional developers and planners over the past fifty years. The town of Seaside, and other successful New Urbanist developments, have demonstrated that this movement represents a viable alternative to post-World War II development practices. For the first twenty years of its existence, the New Urbanist movement has been primarily a secular movement, but it must not remain exclusively so. This article, argues that if the New Urbanist movement aspires to be more than just a short-term economic success or a market correction it is going to have to take the church more seriously as a conversation partner in its cultural project. In particular, the church can help the New Urbanist movement grapple with some of the powers and forces, which have an impact upon communities in ways that are more profound and enduring than economic factors alone. These forces involve such Christian concepts as redemption, interdependence, selfless service, and even right worship. Understanding these forces may not help New Urbanists to build community more efficiently but, rather, may teach us all how to graciously receive community as a gift.

Interesting. Certainly worth a read.

Churches certainly can play a role in the revitalization of St. Louis – or in the case of the Catholic Church – ignoring the city. Pastor Battle from the House of Deliverance Pentecostal Church in Hyde Park could benefit from these ideas of community & church.

In the meantime, if you bid on any “Urban Renewal” from the eBay ad let me know how that works out…

– Steve

Correcting the Record

The Congress for the New Urbanism or CNU is a great organization promoting traditional neighborhood design (TND), smart growth and New Urbanism – all slight variations on the same theme.

I recently ran across a great report on the CNU website called, Correcting the Record (PDF), which addresses claims of sprawl happy advocates such as our own Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis:

The most frequently quote individual behind these “Dumb Growth” efforts is Wendell Cox. In his papers, Cox attacks Portland Oregon as the epitome of Smart Growth, and uses Atlanta, Georgia as an example of the high quality of life provided by a car-dependent development.

Between the two I’ll definitely take Porland. Atlanta is a mess – you couldn’t pay me to live there. Still, organizations pay hacks to find way to say sprawl works. It is up to us to see through their lies and promote truly urban cities.

St. Louis has it’s own such pro-sprawl group – the Urban Choice Coalition. This group is a front for home builders and developers in St. Charles County wishing to protect the status quo – sprawl, sprawl and more sprawl. They want to continue the public’s “investment” in road projects but reject “subsidized” transportation. In the future I will take a closer look at their propaganda but in the meantime just take their crap with a grain of salt.

– Steve

Aerial Views online

Aerial views are a great way of checking the urban level of an area – building relationships to the street, amount of excess parking, highways dividing neighborhoods and such.

Aerial views can also just be downright fun. The internet and satellite technology makes this an easy process. Click here for one such service

BTW, with the holidays over the next two weeks I’ll be posting infrequently. For those that have sent me a “subscribe” request you will receive notifications via email when I’ve posted a new entry.

– Steve

Living for the City

Stevie Wonder’s Living for the City is a great song about hard times, racism, & pollution. Below is an excerpt from the lyrics:

Our city & region has a lot of sorrow and we should all be motivated to “make a better tomorrow.” This includes demanding our elected officials stop their thinking that any development is good development. We need to stop having the fire sale of our land. If we don’t place value on our urbanity who will?

Just enough isn’t good enough!!!

– Steve

Full Lyrics for ‘Living for the City’

Preview ‘Living for the City’ on iTunes Music Store