Rays of Hope

Join Federal Reserve Board Gov. Mark Olson, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole, National Neighborhood Enterprise founder Robert Woodson and other prominent speakers for this premier event on revitalizing distressed urban areas. Co-sponsored by the Community Affairs department of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's East St. Louis Action Research Project, the conference is intended for a national audience of bankers, investors and members of community development organizations.

Site

The community development conference will be held in East St. Louis, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Widely recognized in the past as a severely distressed community, East St. Louis has been the site of several successful revitalization projects in recent years. New housing, a library, a youth center and the extension of the MetroLink light rail line connecting the city's residents with jobs in St. Louis and surrounding communities are among those projects. With its problems and success stories, East St. Louis provides a backdrop for thought-provoking discussions on urban redevelopment.

Topics

The topics include traditional and nontraditional approaches to building sustainable communities, to attracting businesses to the inner city and to redeveloping brownfields. Presenters will showcase models for urban design and building wealth. There will also be an Info Expresso (expert-led discussions during breakfast); a tour of redevelopment projects along the MetroLink route; and an opportunity at workshops to exchange ideas on community development financing and on resolving community conflicts.

Major presentations include:

The Decline of Urban Areas
Andrew Theising
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Reinventing Distressed Areas
James Carr, Senior Vice President
Fannie Mae Foundation

Building Communities from the Inside Out
John Kretzmann, Co-director
The Asset-Based Community Development Institute
Northwestern University

Realizing the Potential of the Urban Market
Vada O. Manager, Director of Global Issues Management, Nike Corp., and other prominent East St. Louis alumni

See the full agenda.

Cost

$135 if you register by Sept. 30. $200 if you register later.

Accommodations

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Casino Queen Hotel for the nights of Monday, October 21, and Tuesday, October 22. The new seven-story hotel is on the Mississippi River across from downtown St. Louis and offers a spectacular view of the Gateway Arch. To receive a room rate of $60 per night, register by October 7. Please contact the hotel at:

Casino Queen Hotel
220 S. Front Street
East St. Louis, Illinois 62201
(618) 874-5000 from Illinois
(314) 241-2628 from Missouri
(800) 777-0777 toll free
www.casinoqueen.com

If you have questions about the conference or would like a registration form, call (314) 444-8646 or send an e-mail to communityaffairs@stls.frb.org.

Back to top