Addressing Neighborhood Infrastructure Safety in North St. Louis

In North St. Louis City, simply driving down Grand Blvd. showcases the infrastructure challenges that residents experience on a day-to-day basis. Broken sidewalks to empty buildings to the lack of streetlights, exemplifies deeply rooted neglect and overlooked community needs. These neighborhoods, where divestment runs deep, make these repairs often difficult in an area that experiences high rates of poverty. Instead of being a place of refuge, home for many residents of North City has become a source of stress and uncertainty. 

The consequences of poor living conditions throughout the neighborhood exacerbate both mental and physical illness over time. The lack of access to safe and affordable living is not coincidental but rooted in decades of divestment that have left North City with aging infrastructure and limited resources to address key challenges. This once thriving neighborhood is no longer, largely due to practices like redlining and exclusionary zoning, which occurred heavily between the 1930s and 1960s in St. Louis. This left areas like North St. Louis overlooked as residents leaving negatively impacted the economy (Oliveri, 2015). 

Our Director of Community Development, Jeremy Main, further explains the implications of divestment and depopulation in North St. Louis City today: 

“We're at the center of depopulation of our city still on the North Side,” Jeremy said. “When people leave, their houses stay and start to become abandoned housing and it creates a downward pressure even more on existing home prices.” 

He goes onto explain that businesses will consequently close due to the lack of a consumer base.  “Then depopulation can also drive the mix of amenities leaving a neighborhood, and all of that continues to reinforce downward pressure on the economy.” 

This history of divestment creates conditions where neighborhood infrastructure safety is compromised.  

People like Jeremy are heavily working toward addressing the community's infrastructure issues, something that is personal to him, being from the JeffVanderLou area himself. He, along with a group, started the Brickline North Community Development Corporation to serve the neighborhoods of Jeff Vanderlou, Covenant Blu-Grand Center and St. Louis Place. They work closely with residents to understand their opinions and goals, ultimately determined to turn those aspirations into reality, ensuring that community members feel confident navigating their neighborhoods. As Jeremy describes, these issues continue to shape the North Side today: 

“Our neighborhood has been overpromised and underdelivered for generations,” Jeremy said. “Part of safety is in our infrastructure. I have neighbors who don’t leave their homes as much as they would like because the sidewalks aren’t safe.” 

Mission: St. Louis, which has become an established part of the community, will be a part of the revitalization of the community. One large effort will be making navigability easier for the community. In May, the Brickline North Community Development Corporation plans to begin construction on North Grand to rebuild sidewalks, add lighting and bike lanes and safer bus stops. Another effort will be in improving overall road safety through road reconfiguration to prevent car accidents. In their development efforts, they have also had local artists create banners and art that represents the community.  

The goal of developments such as these is meant to improve infrastructure while reserving affordability that ensures that long-term residents remain in their neighborhoods. This project sets the tone for development in this area that seeks to prioritize community voices.