urban

Into The Wilds...Of Forest Park

Véronique LaCapra — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 12:37:31 +0000

When most St. Louisans want to see wildlife in Forest Park, they head for the St. Louis Zoo.

But Forest Park Forever ecologist Peter VanLinn says there are plenty of animals in the rest of the park, too.

Not long after dawn on a brisk fall morning, he met up with St. Louis Public Radio's Véronique LaCapra in Forest Park’s Kennedy Forest, to look for some.

LACAPRA: What kind of wildlife might we see in the Kennedy Forest?

A Rust Belt dilemma: demolition or redevelopment

Adam Allington — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:30:48 +0000

The City of St. Louis has some of the highest home vacancy rates in the country, and last month the mayor of Detroit made news when he laid out ambitious plans to demolish as many as 10,000 vacant buildings by the end of his term.

With costs for maintenance and upkeep running in the tens of millions, many Rust Belt cities often find it expedient to simply demolish empty buildings in favor of vacant lots and the hope of future development.

But taking down problem properties creates a whole new set of issues which are often overlooked.

St. Louis is not Detroit: Assessing urban development challenges in 2012

Adam Allington — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:45:00 +0000

Over the past four decades Richard Baron has made a name for himself as a pioneering developer of blighted urban neighborhoods. Baron’s firm, McCormack Baron Salazar has completed scores of projects in St. Louis and across the Midwest. As a native of Detroit, Mich., Baron came to Missouri in the late 1960s.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Adam Allington sat down with Baron at a housing conference of the Bipartisan Policy Center, where he asked him to elaborate on some of the development challenges—and similarities—between Detroit and St. Louis.

Sound Bites: Urban farmers bloom where they're planted

Libby Franklin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:09:05 +0000

Urban agriculture has taken root in cities everywhere, including right here in the River City. It comes in many forms: the community garden, the backyard vegetable patch, the rooftop bee colony. But cultivating food in town can be complicated and wrought with challenges---so what is it that’s driving some city dwellers to skip the grocery store and get their hands dirty? Libby Franklin reports in the next of our new series Sound Bites, created in partnership with Sauce Magazine.

Del Taco gets hearing before St. Louis Board of Aldermen

Adam Allington — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 22:33:56 +0000

A taco stand shaped like a giant flying saucer was the subject of heated debate at the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen on Wednesday.

The board’s Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee approved a tax abatement bill which could move North Grand’s Del Taco one step closer to demolition.

The iconic gas station turned fast-food joint has become a cause célèbre among local preservationists.