a city of the very wealthy

Today, in a meeting, someone commented on how the city is so fast, so much, so many.  He’s right.  I like that about the city.

Neal is my boss.  We both like the city.  Much of our work is in urban areas, something we are glad to be part of.

Lately, Neal has been playing one of his favorite themes.  That cities need diversity.  Not just ethnic/racial, but economic diversity.  Here in St Louis he feels that the Salvation Army, in which both of us serve, is doing something to help our city stay diverse.  Affordable housing is offered by the Army in the ‘workforce housing’ Railton on 18th Street, two blocks from Union Station.  At the Veterans’ Residence.  And the soon to be completed 3010 Apartments which will join the Veterans’ Residence in Midtown St Louis.

Why do cities need economic diversity?

“You can’t have a city of just rich people. A city needs restaurant workers, a city needs schoolteachers, a city needs taxi drivers.”  So says Kevin Starr.  People who “make the city run”.   Read more about what is happening in San Francisco in Erica Goode’s and Claire Cain Miller’s New York Times article Backlash by the Bay: Tech Riches Alter a City.  About the way that city is being changed by income disparities as tech workers move into San Francisco, forcing out longtime residents.

The Railton here is named after the first Salvation Army officer to work in St Louis.  George Scott Railton was part of William and Catherine Booth’s inner circle in Great Britain as they led a Salvation Army into existence.   Railton showed up in St Louis 134 years ago.  Failed in his mission.  Recalled to London in 1881. 

My favorite Railton quote?  In 1878 defending the Salvation Army against critics, he described it this way.  “Say many … you will become another sect.  What is a sect if not an association of people who separate from others for some reasons and purpose of their own?  But here is a vast organization of people moving at command to get closer and closer relationship to everybody.”

Closer and closer relationship to everybody.  The urban mission of God’s people, of which the Salvation Army is part, is to enjoy the so much, so fast, so many of the city.  So that all, together, will have a place in the city.

foreclosure

Detroit.

Foreclosure.

Suddenly unemployed.

A young woman who refused to let it break her.

Here’s a four minute New York Times video of LaKeisha Tuggle’s nightmare and how she fought back.

Workforce housing in St Louis

The Railton on 18th Street in St Louis.

I’ve seen its apartments and they are very nice. Bamboo floors. Great views of the city. Close to downtown.

And at affordable rents quite attractive for lower incomes. Major Neal Richardson, Divisional Commander for the region that includes St Louis, says there’s a waiting list of those wanting in. The Salvation Army here has found a very workable aspect of its mission in meeting human needs.

Destroying Detroit

Fascinating.

Doing research, I found this GQ article from last May of the ongoing demolition project of Detroit’s abandoned houses. I like Howie Kahn’s description. It reads the way most of Detroit looks to me.

The video’s the work of Tim Hetherington (1970-2011). Fascinating.

A Silver Lining In Chicago?

Now here’s something that runs counter to perceptions about families of school age children living in Chicago.

Crib Chatter reported on a recent article in Crain’s Chicago Business saying parents are trapped in Chicago because they are unable to sell their houses and move to what is considered the more child-friendly suburbs (better schools, safer neighborhoods, etc). 

My eyebrows rose at “they’re forced to become involved in CPS schools” and “enrollment at Catholic elementary schools in Chicago is up in each of the past two school years, the first time that’s happened since 1965” and “could this really be a boom for the city as, at least in some neighborhoods, trapped parents are forced to improve the schools?”

Who would have ever thought that maybe Chicago schools will benefit from the housing crisis?  Watch the first 90 seconds of this video from Crain’s.