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History of St. Louis
History of St. Louis
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"Where do you live?" If you have ever met anyone in St. Louis, this is probably one of the first questions asked. Whether you are from the city, county, north, south, east or west, most people in St. Louis are convinced that they can identify you by what community you come from.
The actual city of St. Louis is broken into three main parts; the North Side, South City and the Central West End. The three areas combined have approximately eighty established neighborhoods. If you decide to add the western part of St. Louis County, this number is most likely to double.
Many areas of the city were originally established by separate ethnic groups while most others were developed by social groups. You don't have to be a genius to realize the area known as "Dutchtown" was established by German immigrants. However, it may not be so easy to identify areas such as "Dogtown" or "The Hill" as the Irish and Italian areas of town. The Central West End is historically a very liberal yet sophisticated part of the city. This area can be further subdivided into a middle class and a very wealthy area depending on which side of Kingshighway you live on. University City was started mainly by Washington University students and is still predominantly populated by area college kids. This portion of the city has also grown a subdivision known as "The Loop." The Loop is extremely liberal and thought of by most people as almost mysterious or bizarre.
A new phenomenon happening in our city is the rebirth of many of our older and rundown areas. One of the best examples of this is the "Soulard" area of town, which now has an established nightlife as well as exquisite historical antique homes. Lafayette Square has also enjoyed the same type of success as Soulard. It is still in the middle of a high crime area, but is populated by upper-class people with beautiful homes with elaborate wrought iron fences and intricate security systems. This trend of fixing up old flats is spreading out from the areas of Soulard and Lafayette Square to neighboring communities at a rapid pace. The Compton Heights area is coming back with rebuilt old Victorian styled houses and private gated streets that contrast the French styled flats of Soulard. The Shaw and Tower Grove area are also following the lead of revitalization similar to these charming old neighborhoods.
Many of these ethnic groups still reside where their relatives first lived when they arrived many years ago, whereas a majority of the ethnic groups have dispersed all over the Chicago land area, creating many culturally mixed neighborhoods. Ultimately, all of these ethnic groups found their rightful area in which they belong in Chicago. To this day, the areas in Chicago that the different ethnic immigrants moved to back in the 1920s are very much so the same. These immigrants have a deep impact on the development of neighborhoods in today’s society. Without the immigrants’ hard work and their ambition to establish a life for their families and their future, Chicago would not be as developed and defined as it is now.
Lance Freeman tackles the issue of gentrification from the perspectives of residents in the gentrified neighborhood. He criticizes the literature for overlooking the experiences of the victims of gentrification. The author argues that people’s conceptions on the issue are somewhat misinformed in that most people consider it as completely deplorable, whereas in reality, it benefits the community by promoting businesses, different types of stores, and cleaner streets. These benefits are even acknowledged by many residents in the gentrified neighborhood. However, the author admits that gentrification indeed does harm. Although gentrification does not equate to displacement per se, it serves to benefit primarily homeowners and harm the poor. Additionally,
There are always different areas and beliefs in big cities, but in some cities they are taken to a whole new level. Everyone is proud of where they are from naturally, whether it’s in regards to their sports team, schools, or maybe a famous product that originated from there. There is a very well known divide in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, where there seems to be a highway or street creating an invisible line. Cincinnati is well known for its education, food, and the diverse lifestyles one may be able experience in the rather large suburban area. If someone asks a Cincinnatian where they’re from, they will proudly respond with either the Westside or Eastside! Common phrases one may hear are, “Westside best-side or Eastside money-side.” It’s not necessarily true that someone is considered good or bad due to their response; it’s just a pride factor to them.
The concept that you could stand at one end of town and see the other side of town gave the citizens a sense of protection and security. It was a semi-medieval town with actual walls still surrounding the inner core of the city. The dominant religion in the city was Lutheran, but the Catholics would begin to emerge in the late 1800s. The city was made up of people from mostly the working class. Because of the emergence of more technical academies and college preparatory schools there was the arrival of teachers, artisans, more government officials, and railroad personnel.
Another noteworthy urban sociologist that’s invested significant research and time into gentrification is Saskia Sassen, among other topical analysis including globalization. “Gentrification was initially understood as the rehabilitation of decaying and low-income housing by middle-class outsiders in central cities. In the late 1970s a broader conceptualization of the process began to emerge, and by the early 1980s new scholarship had developed a far broader meaning of gentrification, linking it with processes of spatial, economic and social restructuring.” (Sassen 1991: 255). This account is an extract from an influential book that extended beyond the field of gentrification and summarizes its basis proficiently. In more recent and localized media, the release the documentary-film ‘In Jackson Heights’ portrayed the devastation that gentrification is causing as it plagues through Jackson Heights, Queens. One of the local businessmen interviewed is shop owner Don Tobon, stating "We live in a
St. Louis is a historical city in Missouri that has been around for a while. “St. Louis, MO” states that In 1764 St. Louis was found by the French. Augusta Chouteau was the owner of a fur- trading post while Pierce Laclede Liguest which was a New Orleans merchant, while both of them found a town at the present site. They named the site St. Louis after King Louis XV from France and his Patron Saint, Louis IX. At first St. Louis was a town in 1809, and from 1812 to 1821 it was the capital Of Missouri. St. Louis was changed over to a city in 1822 (infoplease.com) .
... motivation for wealthy individuals to return to the inner-city core but it also provides impetus for commercial and retail mixed-use to follow, increasing local revenue for cities (Duany, 2001). Proponents of gentrification profess that this increase in municipal revenue from sales and property taxes allows for the funding of city improvements, in the form of job opportunities, improved schools and parks, retail markets and increased sense of security and safety ((Davidson (2009), Ellen & O’Reagan (2007), Formoso et. al (2010)). Due to the increase in housing and private rental prices and the general decrease of the affordable housing stock in gentrifying areas, financially-precarious communities such as the elderly, female-headed households, and blue-collar workers can no longer afford to live in newly developed spaces ((Schill & Nathan (1983), Atkinson, (2000)).
In conducting this assignment we visited the neighborhood of Washington Heights. During our visits we interviewed several of the residences; so that we could get a first hand prospective of what it is like living in the community, why they settled in the community and the many changes that they have witness durning their time in the neighborhood.
Chicago was the best place to live and visit for anyone. Many people traveled from far places to visit and live in Chicago. Long after the World War II many things started reshaping America. One of the most significant was the racial change all over America but specifically in Chicago. Many southern blacks started to move into Chicago. Chicago started to become mostly dominated by blacks and other minorities while whites started to move into the suburbs of Chicago. "Beginning in the 1930s, with the city's black population increasing and whites fleeing to the suburbs, the black vote became a precious commodity to the white politicians seeking to maintain control" (Green, 117). Many of the mayors such as Edward J. Kelly, Martin H. Kennelly, and Richard J. Daley won over the blacks and got their votes for them to become mayor. The black population grew by 77 percent by the 1940. The white population dropped from 102,048 to 10,792 during the years of 1940 to 1960. With all of these people moving into Chicago there had to be more housing. There were many houses built to accommodate all the people. Martin H. Kennelly at one time wanted to tear down slums and have public housing built in the black ghetto. Many of the blacks wanted to escape these ghettos so some of them; if they could they would try to move to the white communities. When the blacks would try to move into the white communities they were met with mobs. There were many hurdles that blacks had to overcome not only in Chicago but all over America. The blacks of Chicago had to fight for a place to live and to find a mayor that would help them for who they are, not their color.
Did everyone has taken a moment to imagine which neighborhood that you like to live? The Chinatown neighborhood of Chicago is one of the historic neighborhoods. According to Harry Kiang’s Chicago’s Chinatown, “In 1890, 25 percent of the city's 600 Chinese lived along Clark between Van Buren and Harrison Streets, in an area called the Loop’s Chinatown. After 1910 Chinese from the Loop moved to a new area near Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue, mainly for cheaper rent” (Encyclopedia of Chicago). The Chicago has two Chinatowns at the Southern part of the Chicago. Thus we can know that the old Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood is called the Loop’s Chinatown and located at Clark between Van Buren and Harrison Streets; the new Chicago’s Chinatown located
The community of Oak Forest, Il., lies in southwest Cook County approximately 27 miles south of Chicago. The town is less than half an hour from Chicago Midway International Airport and under an hour from O’Hare International Airport. The Rock Island Railroad metro provides commuter rail service from Oak Forest to Chicago. Interstates 57, 80 and 294 are accessible from the city.
Gentrification is the keystone for the progression of the basic standards of living in urban environments. A prerequisite for the advancement of urban areas is an improvement of housing, dining, and general social services. One of the most revered and illustrious examples of gentrification in an urban setting is New York City. New York City’s gentrification projects are seen as a model for gentrification for not only America, but also the rest of the world. Gentrification in an urban setting is much more complex and has deeper ramifications than seen at face value. With changes in housing, modifications to the quality of life in the surrounding area must be considered as well. Constant lifestyle changes in a community can push out life-time
As the moving in of new residents filled the community with new cultures, many old life styles are slowly disappearing. This quote in document E says: “Those tired old landmarks are being replaced with market housing, trendy eateries and a whole new population that’s heard about, but has likely never seen what the Downtown Eastside was all about.” The main point in this quote is while the new things are coming into the DTES, they did not care nor preserve the old life-stye of that place. While they are building new shops and housings, they are also removing what has stayed there for a long time, the old poor and rugged culture that represented
"Building Partnerships to Revitalize America's Neighborhoods." HBCU Central (Winter 2002): 1-6. Winter 2002. Web. 2 May 2012.
...ious environment. It is typical in Chicago for neighborhoods to be referred to by there Church or the cultural environment of the primary language. This is very well linked to the hierarchy of the cities as such in Mesopotamia, and the delegated jobs and status of its people. This is evident in the neighborhood surrounding the museum, as there is diversity on the streets leading through the area. It is apparent that when you arrive to Hyde Park, the affluence is increased, possibly due to the education of the people in the area and direct access to a fabulous university. I am sure as time goes by, I will have much more information after visiting this area, as to where the societal break may have derived from, or not. I am looking forward to the experience of finding out more and why. Which I truly believe this project was all about. Expanding our where and why.