Vanishing Opportunities: St. Louis and the Housing-Affordability Crisis
“There is no gentrification in St. Louis.”
“St. Louis is so affordable.”
“We don’t have the housing problems of the hot cities on the coasts.”
If you hang around in St. Louis long enough, stay south of Delmar Boulevard in the city and south of Dorsett Road in the county, and maintain a social network that is overwhelmingly white and middle to upper class, these are phrases you’ll often hear.
These opinions rely upon comparing St. Louis to the rapid gentrification of coastal cities. Brooklyn was once dangerous, “sketchy,” and too much of a schlep to Manhattan. Today Bed-Stuy brownstones are going for millions, bodegas are selling expensive organic items, high-priced eateries are replacing affordable take-outs, parks once full of poor African-American children are now full of expensively maintained dogs (owned by newer white residents), rents are through the roof, and long-time residents are leaving by the droves.
The same story plays out in Washington DC, Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, and other cities. The gentrification in these areas has been so rapid that it has led to a shortage of affordable housing, a rise in homelessness, and massive demographic change. Thus, many people point to the differences between St. Louis and these cities and conclude that “there is no gentrification.”
However, recent conversations with St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and Equal Housing Opportunity Council community engagement specialist Glenn Burleigh paint a different picture.
“The surplus housing idea is based on the myth that there’s too much housing. LRA [Land Reutilization Authority] properties aren’t housing,” Burleigh says, noting that counting these uninhabitable LRA structures in studies distorts the numbers in the City of St. Louis. By way of example, he points to a study by University of Missouri-St. Louis professor Todd Swanstrom that claims housing affordability isn’t a serious local issue; academic papers such as this have a detrimental effect on tackling the (very real) problem.
“Gentrification is a big issue on the near south side and central corridor, and a lot of these neighborhoods have nearly filled up and completely gentrified,” Burleigh adds. “The next stage is Tiffany, the Gate District, Gravois Park, and the state streets.”
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page puts it this way: “I’ve been told by my task force there is a crisis in affordable housing.”
Page notes that while affordability is an issue, “the political climate has changed a lot,” and his office will be focused on “hammering equity and inclusion” because the lack of progress on these issues is holding back growth.
“Complicated issues will be tackled head on,” Page says.
“The Trump Administration is trying to get out of public housing, and sometimes a voucher isn’t good enough,” the County Executive adds, noting that a housing voucher is “only as good as the political climate.” A further challenge, Page notes, is that there needs to be more public education regarding landlords’ legal requirement to accept vouchers. As it stands, Page says, there is often “discrimination based on the source of income.”
Recently the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sought to close 201 public-housing units in the impoverished St. Louis County municipality of Wellston.
“I wasn’t going to sign off,” Page says. Ultimately, the mayor of Wellston, local members of Congress, and officials met with HUD Secretary Ben Carson and were able to save the housing. Yet the episode pointed to an often-shaky federal commitment to the issue of affordability in housing.
Burleigh elaborates on the need for such housing. “No one is creating affordable housing in the city, and ‘affordability’ is a loose term. It needs to be at the price-point people need. More than a quarter of African-American households in the city are spending more than half of their income on housing. The African-American population in many gentrifying neighborhoods has dropped by half, and part of this is creating suburban-style neighborhoods in the city,” Burleigh says, referring to the conversion of traditional two- and four-family flats into single-family homes. This phenomenon means that certain neighborhoods have seen declining population, despite also seeing a decline in the number of vacant buildings.
“Folks see a bunch of fixed up buildings and assume that population in that neighborhood has grown, but the improvements in housing stock have actually hidden further population declines in many near south neighborhoods, due to conversions of rental properties into larger single-family housing,” Burleigh says.
Housing issues in St. Louis County look a little different.
“The 2008 foreclosure crisis rolled through African-American neighborhoods in St. Louis County, and they got hit much worse than the city. Banks began buying North County homes in bulk,” Burleigh says.
“In other areas, such as University City, there is an increasing shortage of affordable housing. The third ward of U. City is the only affordable area left, and Washington University is approaching,” Burleigh notes, referring to the nearby university’s development and home-buying programs.
Both Page and Burleigh see affordable housing as a regional issue and agree it needs to be addressed in all geographic areas.
“The affordable housing issue knows no boundaries,” Page says.
Burleigh points to the NIMBY (“not in my backyard”) attitude in many city and county neighborhoods that hampers the creation of affordable housing; NIMBYism is particularly harmful to families trying to get their children into good school districts.
While the issue of affordable housing may be on the back burner of public discourse and may not be a high priority in local media coverage, the issue remains front and center for families with housing insecurity. Page, Burleigh, and others note that if steps aren’t taken now to address these issues, St. Louis may very well be looking at a severe crisis in the near future.
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