February 18, 1991
HEY, ST. LOUIS, YOU'RE OK
By Michael E. Lewyn
In 1990, shortly after I moved to St. Louis, my former hometown of Atlanta was selected to host the 1996 Olympic Games. Because St. Louis is about the same size as Atlanta, local commentators suggested that St. Louis couldn't measure up to that winning Southern city. For instance, Ray Hartmann of The Riverfront Times wrote that Atlanta is a "world-class city" because its "citizens believe in each other," while "in St. Louis, unity doesn't even seem to extend beyond one's own limited sphere of activity." Hartmann claims that Atlanta is "unbeatable" because of its "biraciality," while St. Louis is doomed by its divisiveness. In fact, St. Louis has several advantages over Atlanta.
First, St. Louis is far safer than Atlanta. The table printed on this page shows 1989 crime rates per 100,000 people for St. Louis and Atlanta. If St. Louis had as much crime as Atlanta, 75 more city residents and 91 more suburbanites would have been murdered in 1989.
Not surprisingly, St. Louis residents are friendlier and less fearful than Atlantans. For instance, St. Louisans are more willing to live near poorer neighborhoods than Atlantans. In St. Louis, as in Atlanta, most whites do not want to live in or near heavily black neighborhoods. However, white St. Louisans are at least willing to live in the same city as blacks. Between 1960 and 1980, the white percentage of St. Louis' population dipped to 53 percent from 71 percent, a 18-point drop. By contrast, Atlanta's white population nosedived to 32 percent in 1980 from 62 percent of the city's population in 1960. As the city of Atlanta encompasses a much larger land area than St. Louis (131 square miles as opposed to 61), city population statistics understate the amount of "white flight" from Atlanta.
Indeed, some white Atlanta suburbanites will undergo considerable personal sacrifice to avoid contact with blacks. In 1980, Gwinnett County, one of metro Atlanta's fastest growing areas, voted to keep Atlanta's public transportation system out of the county. Why? According to USA Today, public transit opponents claimed that public transit would "bring crime many Gwinnett residents fled Atlanta to avoid. Some call that argument a subtle way of saying blacks aren't welcome in Gwinnett." In other words, many Atlanta suburbanites apparently believe that public transportation equals blacks, and blacks equal crime. Can anyone imagine Clayton (or even Creve Coeur) trying to keep out Bi-State buses?
Second, St. Louis is easier to get around in. Although Atlanta has a beautiful light-rail system, some areas within the city of Atlanta have virtually no access to public transit. For example, my parents live within the Atlanta city limits, just six or seven miles from downtown, but have no access to public transit. Here in St. Louis, I know people who live 10 to 20 miles from downtown and take the bus to work. Commuting by car is also somewhat easier in St. Louis. According to the 1980 census, the average St. Louis-area resident commutes 23 minutes to work; the average Atlanta-area commute is 26 minutes.
Third, St. Louis is much less of a two-class city than Atlanta. Although per capita income in Atlanta is higher ($10,341 as opposed to St. Louis' $8,799), Atlanta's poverty rate is also higher (27 percent as opposed to 21 percent). Thus, Atlanta has greater extremes of wealth and poverty than St. Louis. If St. Louis consisted solely of north city and West County, it would look like Atlanta.
Finally, St. Louis is much cheaper than Atlanta. I know a woman who just bought a house in South St. Louis for $45,000. To buy a house for that price in Atlanta, one would have to live in a drug infested slum or in a rural area 10 or 20 miles from the city.
As a past (and possibly future) Atlantan, I would not deny that Atlanta has some advantages over St. Louis: It is richer, more dynamic and has nicer weather. Nevertheless, St. Louis is better than St. Louisans think it is.
Posted by lewyn
at 2:59 PM EST
