WINTER 2002-2003

A Fresh Start in Distressed Cities

East St. Louis: One City's Story

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A Fresh Start in Distressed Cities
Experts Present Ideas on Renewal

John Gulick makes a point during a roundtable discussion at the Rays of Hope conference in East St. Louis on Oct. 22 and 23. Gulick is a community development specialist with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

By Linda Fischer
Assistant Editor

Let’s play a word association game. I say, “East St. Louis.” You say? Most likely “crime, corruption, poverty.” You might want to add “crumbling buildings, inferior schools, trash-filled vacant lots.” And the list goes on.

For decades, poverty has tightened its grip on this city, keeping thousands who live there in its stranglehold. To those who don’t know better, the situation seems hopeless.

East St. Louis, Ill., like many impoverished areas, is all of the things mentioned above. But take a second look. In the midst of the devastation that pervades the city, there are signs of new life. New stores are going up, new schools are under construction, new houses stretch down tree-lined streets. The progress is on a small scale, but something is happening in the city.

That “something” prompted the Community Affairs department of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to hold its recent conference on community development across the river in East St. Louis. The revitalization efforts there inspired the title of the conference: Rays of Hope: A New Day for America’s Distressed Urban Areas ...FULL STORY