If you care, drive the side roads.
As long as I can remember, I’ve had a heart for the most vacant parts of St. Louis. From my earliest childhood days doing service work in St. Louis Park and Hyde Park with our church, to informing where I’ve chosen to live and work my entire adult life, this call to North City has been constant.
For over 14 years, I’ve made a point of commuting off the beaten path to get around town. If I’m going downtown I take Delmar and the blocks north instead of the highway. On the west end of the city, I choose Minerva, Ridge and St. Louis instead of Page. Goodfellow, Euclid, Taylor, Sarah, and 20th, instead of Kingshighway, Jefferson, and 14th/W. Florissant. When there’s a little extra time, I’ll find myself biking or driving around for no other reason than to take in as much as I can.
The main streets are too fast to connect with who and what’s around you, and offer only a narrow view of the community. The stroads in St. Louis have adapted to cater to the automobiles that use them only to pass through, walkable storefronts replaced with parking lots to accommodate for (if necessary) the briefest possible stops.
But venture through the neighborhoods and you see what the majority of the city is like, and how it was built to serve its people. Despite the collapse of population and corresponding crumbling shells of buildings, you will still see mixed-use corner stores even deep into primarily residential areas, folks utilizing their porches, and popular hangout spots.
It’s on these regular rides I’ve kept tabs on the built environment that continues to vanish. Also, communities that have stayed resilient and are rebounding. It’s where I’ve seen some devastatingly inhumane conditions, and where dedicated individuals have held it down for each other and are rebuilding, as well. This has been one of my most impressionable and informing habits.
I implore anyone who feels drawn to the revitalization of the city, and all elected officials and civil servants, to regularly take detours through the city to witness our neighborhoods, and contribute your own presence.
