What is the future for what was one of the greatest cities in the Midwest, St. Louis, MO, the Gateway to the West?
(STL.News) We have written about this multiple times before. It is clear what needs to happen, but nothing appears to change. If the community leaders wait, the cost of renovation may exceed practicality after years of decay and vandalism. Businesses have left, homeliness has moved in, and crime has increased to the point that businesses left because they want their employees to be safe.
There are daily discussions, but anyone can talk. We need people of action, not people who discuss the issues. Discussing issues does not fix the issues.
The town is dying, and downtown is pretty much dead with little hope in the near future. Crime, violence, economic destruction, poor leadership, terrible road maintenance, and multiple municipalities that need to merge into one to carve out the overwhelming complexity of progress when multiple leaders are involved. You get egos, territorial battles, and, as a result, no progress.
KMOV STL published a video talking to residents from across the region, and the consensus is pretty much the same.
We know there is significant potential to revitalize downtown and the entire region, but one thing has been proven: the multiple municipalities will not accomplish anything without merging into a single entity, making the process and funding more feasible and achievable.
If the city and county were to consolidate into a single unified city, its national ranking would depend on how broadly that merger was defined. If the entire metropolitan area were incorporated, including surrounding Missouri and Illinois suburbs, the new city would have a population of roughly 2.8 million people, making it the third-largest city in the United States, behind only New York City and Los Angeles, and surpassing Chicago.
If the consolidation were more limited—such as a merger of St. Louis City and St. Louis County—the combined population would be about 1.27 million, placing it around the tenth-largest city nationwide. Either scenario would dramatically elevate St. Louis’s standing among major U.S. cities and significantly reshape its political and economic influence. Who would not want to be the leader of that accomplishment?
It always comes down to leadership. Consider the Chesterfield, MO, community. They are growing and taking advantage of St. Louis’s poor performance. Their plan and vision are working.
The last republican leader left office in 1949. It has been a democratically controlled city for 77 years.
The reunification of the municipalities is critical to grow. St. Louis city has too many problems to handle on its own. The region needs to come together and put the region and its residents first, not their political positions. “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” has never been truer. Right now, we are falling and have been for decades.
Currently, STL is known for its crime, violence, deteriorating infrastructure, empty downtown, vacant streets, homelessness, drugs, and more, but is this all the region is capable of?
Property taxes have escalated, and conditions have worsened. There are no apparent plans except for Chesterfield, which is making great progress. That can’t occur! It is wrong.
The metropolitan region needs to unite, or it will fall, which, in most definitions, has already occurred. But there is hope. But action needs to happen soon, not later or never.
This is not an attack on leadership, but an encouragement to change course, as the current course is NOT working, never has worked, and never will.
If we do not change the plan, the outcome will continue to produce the same results. Change has to occur before it will be seen.
Make St. Louis great again!
Related articles published on STL.News:
- St. Louis’s Full Potential: Compelling Case – Reunification City/County
- The Biggest Threat to the Future of St. Louis
- St. Louis: The Forgotten Gateway to the West
- St. Louis Needs More Than Oversight
- St. Louis in Crisis in Decades
- St. Louis Politics in Transition
- St. Louis Takes Bold Steps to Restore Public Safety
- St. Louis Police Chief Urges Parental Accountability
- St. Louis in Crisis: Population Loss, Crime, & Political Upheaval
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