^Not in any noticeable numbers. I did see a monk though
And most of the people dressed like hipsters were actually European or Asian tourists going to the Motown Museum. Same experience I've had at Sun Studios, Apollo Theatre, Mississippi Delta, Congo Square in New Orleans. Foreigners love the history of American music more than a lot of Americans do.
^ I'm optimistic on the NBM attracting foreigners.
btw, if anyone is wondering what a lumbersexual is, here is particularly glaring one:
I'm not sure if its open yet, but Carhartt will be opening a retail store in Midtown Detroit catering to the abundance of area lumbersexuals and hipsters.
Never been to Westport, but that's honestly fine by me. If there's one thing I don't want St. Louis being known for, it's hipsters. Cherokee Street still kicks ass. I'll "party and eat like a king" there any time I want to.
^ I certainly don't mind if we're known for hipsters.... all are welcome in my book. But I agree that Cherokee shouldn't be overrun with them; hopefully it will remain a diverse place that keeps its mixed-identity... I'd hate for the hipsters to drive out the Mex-Am businesses, e.g..
EWG will have another version of "Where We Stand" released tomorrow morning...it ranks/compares STL metro to top 50 regions.
Wednesday marks the release of the 7th edition of "Where We Stand – The Strategic Assessment of the St. Louis Region." By noon Wednesday, the comprehensive report on how the St. Louis region compares to the nation’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas in 222 measures will be available online at www.ewgateway.org/wws. The last edition of Where We Stand, published in 2011, featured 129 categories, and limited the comparisons to 34 peer regions. With the nation’s 50 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), St. Louis is ranked in a wide range of categories, including transportation, demographics, land use, housing, education, income, economic opportunity, health, racial disparity, environment, crime, government, and engagement and access. This Where We Stand also has an introduction titled “St. Louis in the Global Economy” which breaks down how St. Louis compares to other cities in the emerging global marketplace. When it comes to population, the St. Louis metro area increased 0.7 percent from 2010 to 2014, which ranks it 44th among the nation’s 50 most populous metros. At 2.8 million, St. Louis is 19th nationally, just behind Tampa at 2.9 million and just ahead of Baltimore at 2.7 million. When the land area of MSAs is considered, St. Louis ranks 9th with 7,863 square miles.
I've mentioned OK City several times on here. While their Downtown is very small and rather bland outside of Bricktown and the Devon Tower, I envy their Riverwalk. Again, an example of a city utilizing the river. Something we do very poorly in St. Louis. I almost picture Bricktown perfectly fitting into Chouteau's landing. Could opening up that area with a Riverwalk work? I have no idea, but the area south of Downtown is likely the best area to dig a canal for a "riverwalk". I'd like to see a Chouteau's Pond that starts with Chouteau's landing, extending from the River, across the entire existing train yard. Am I mistaken or was Great Rivers Greenway working with the railroads on relocating tracks from that area? Has there been any movement on that? That would seem to be the biggest hurdle, outside of finding investors and developers for the project.
^ There was an application for TIGER funds several years ago to get some things moving forward in the freight area but I haven't heard anything of late.
Interesting article on coorporate location and sprawl in Dallas area. FedEx office is moving farther out to Plano to be closer to other world class firms and provide shorter commutes for employees. Also allows them to consolidate into one space.
FedEx Office headquarters move to Plano aims to consolidate
When FedEx Office begins the move into its 300,000-square-foot headquarters in Plano next month, it’s moving into a powerful neighborhood.
Toyota North America’s headquarters is under construction across the street. Frito-Lay’s headquarters is caddy-corner. J.C. Penney is right next door.
“These are world-class brands, and FedEx Office fits in that category,” FedEx Office CEO and President Brian Philips told me in an interview at his current office at Three Galleria Tower at 13155 Noel Road.
FedEx Office doesn’t plan to add or cut jobs with the move. FedEx Office has nine noncontiguous floors in the Galleria in Dallas and two floors in a facility on Custer Road in Plano now, and the move to the new campus will consolidate those.
“It’s all about bringing our team members together under the same roof,”
The relocation to Plano will mean a shorter commute for about 80 percent of FedEx Office’s employees.
“That was deliberate,” Philips said. “We mapped where everybody lived, we looked for the center of gravity and began our search from that point outward.”
^I think when analyzing population trends, an article like this, shows you why cities like Dallas are growing at such a fast pace. They’ve got lots of JOBS. That is the key to population growth. They also operate in a state with no income taxes. So does another growing city, Nashville.
Now, in comparison, St. Louis continues to either grow at a snail’s pace or shrink. I know the STL job market has slipped in recent years, due to corporate acquisitions and sales. Also, we do a poor job attracting immigrants. We also have taken a PR hit, with Ferguson and the racial tensions and crime spike that have come with it. I think we have yet to see the full impact of this bad PR. Even with all of this, I wonder what more we can be doing as a region, to grow and at least keep up with other peer cities like KC, Indy and others. I think there are efforts underway to get more immigrants here. Is that enough? Should more be done? I think Ferguson’s aftermath has taught us a lot about the region and a lot about what needs to change. I think efforts are underway to curb the spike in crime. I’m not sure about jobs. I see companies like Boeing, World Wide Tech. and others, adding jobs, yet I see almost 3000 jobs losses on average, in July 2015. At this point, I’m just hoping to keep pace with peer cities. What do we need to do, to get to that level? I know that tech jobs are big and there are lots of positives happening in STL, with regards to tech. Is it enough? I see condos and new development all over the City. I see positives. I wonder, are we just going through a lull and will this change? Will we start to see improvement? Are we doing the right things here, to set up the region for future growth? I think having programs like Arch Grants, T-Rex, Cortex, etc, says we are. If other cities are duplicating that and even doing better, I can’t imagine we’ll get ahead any time soon. I guess these questions stem from reading recent articles stating Nashville will add 1.2 million over the next 25 years. KC is adding way more population than STL. The examples are everywhere. Even Detroit is finally rising from the flames. STL has too much to offer, too many world class amenities, institutions, corporations and all of the makings of a city that can be great again. If the answer is leadership, then something needs to change. This region has so much potential, yet we are barely seeing any growth. I guess I am just frustrated, seeing our region where it is, in comparison to smaller cities, as well as peer cities. We will never likely compete with cities like Dallas and Chicago, but we should compete with and surpass cities like KC, Indy and others. I think the time is now, for us as a region to be open to ANY changes necessary, to move in the right direction. The point of my post is to ask. What can we do to change course and is enough being done to achieve that?
^ I'm of mixed-mind on growth.... I do want a higher level of growth but don't believe growth for growth's sake is particularly beneficial to a region's quality of life. I think our priorities should focus on maintaining high wages, increasing an educated workforce, expanding transit opportunities and encouraging more redevelopment in the core. If we can do these things I believe we'll achieve an even stronger quality of life for the region and reduce poverty and crime, etc. while at the same time increasing our rate of growth. But this is going to take a greater level of regional cooperation than what we've been able to demonstrate so far as well as an understanding that we all need to work together on strengthening the core.
If there's one economic change I'd recommend (besides more investments in education & transit) is being more aggressive with incentives for new investments.
I agree... We want the right type of growth for our region. Education & transit are at the forefront. I just have to look at other peer cities and can't understand what they have, that we do not. Many people travel to these cities and of course, say they are nice, but can't see what they have that we do not. I know cities like Nashville seem to have good mojo right now, but is what they are doing something we could replicate? I know they have the 'right to work' & no income tax advantage. They also have other things going for them, but at the same time, are they doing things we can do. I know they have a more unified regional government. That would be big for us here in STL. Are there other things though..... ?
I still think Nashville is better off because it never really had the widespread blight of St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, and most other Rust Belt cities. There are other factors as well, but the blight here is hard to ignore.
^ And of course that blight is largely a reflection of older manufacturing giants being hammered in the post-war era.... the Superfund Carter Carburetor plant in the news today is a reminder of that... and the challenges of pivoting to a broader economy were something non rust-belt cities haven't had to deal with as much. So one question is how do we compare to Rust Belt peers; Pittsburgh isn't a growing region but economy-wise I think it is doing better. Cleveland and Detroit are picking up their game but continue to have challenges as we do.
Interesting squib about Atlanta region's diversity... it looks like blacks and whites are moving into Atlanta City but its inner burbs are the most racially diverse as more hispanics and asians locate there:
"This pattern has been the case for some time," said Paul Donsky, manager of Communications and Marketing for ARC, in an email. "The inner-ring burgs are the most diverse places in the region. Hispanics and Asians are not really settling in the urban core."
Donsky said Atlanta Public Schools and City Schools of Decatur are the only two metro school districts with growing Caucasian populations. The rest are becoming more diverse.
roger wyoming II wrote:^ I'm of mixed-mind on growth.... I do want a higher level of growth but don't believe growth for growth's sake is particularly beneficial to a region's quality of life. I think our priorities should focus on maintaining high wages, increasing an educated workforce, expanding transit opportunities and encouraging more redevelopment in the core. If we can do these things I believe we'll achieve an even stronger quality of life for the region and reduce poverty and crime, etc. while at the same time increasing our rate of growth. But this is going to take a greater level of regional cooperation than what we've been able to demonstrate so far as well as an understanding that we all need to work together on strengthening the core.
If there's one economic change I'd recommend (besides more investments in education & transit) is being more aggressive with incentives for new investments.
I gotta disagree with you. Right now i would take any kind of growth you can muster as long as it comes from outside our region. Basically as many refugees, and migrants as we can attract and absorb. Right now we are in a situation of not being able to give away large swathes of the city. Once that is settled then we can go back to focusing on "smart growth".
Regional diversity needs to become a strength if we want to attract those best and brightest. Right now St. Louis is seen as a black and white city. I've known several asians, hispanics, indians and middle easterners who have looked to other places because they never felt like there was a sizable community here that represented them. That needs to change asap.
