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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

"Hyde Park Area Rehabilitation"

In 1953, the City Plan Commission published a tri-fold pamphlet entitled Hyde Park Area Rehabilitation. The 56-year-old pamphlet is a sore reminder of how long we have been dealing with the problem of aging north side neighborhoods, and how long we have failed to solve that problem.



6 comments:

barbara_on_19th said...

The "Young Adult" stamp cracks me up. Kids, don't forget to check out your inner city deterioration learning materials. There will be a quiz!

Vanishing STL said...

My understanding is that in the 50's and 60's most federal money went to massive urban renewal slum clearance projects like Mill Creek Valley, and funds were not readily available for rehabilitation programs, which this brochure advocates, so it is no wonder that Hyde Park is in the deplorable condition it is in today.

The CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) program that today is used for a lot of rehabilitation of housing was not started until 1974, which was too late for areas like Hyde Park.

I wonder if they made a "Depletion Area" pamphlet?

Mark Groth said...

The population of HP was listed as 6446, any idea what it is today?

barbara_on_19th said...

Unfortunately, not much CDBG money is used on the northside. The poverty and substandard housing conditions on the northside are two reasons that prop up the CDBG revenue stream into StL. That does not mean the money is SPENT up here. The State Auditor, Susan Montee, basically turned in a scathing indictment of the city's CDBG distribution and documentation practices in her 4-2009 audit of CDA, LCRA and LRA.
http://www.auditor.mo.gov/press/2009-38.htm

Anonymous said...

Barbara's comment about the distribution of CDBG funds is totally false. It is a myth that lots of people work to perpetuate. They are doing a disservice to the betterment of St. Louis and community relationships.

Montee was addressing the home repair program in large part. That too is heavily concentrated in north city, especially when combined with lead abatement,

Benjamin Zack said...

Just curious, was the 9.4% rate for lack of plumbing normal seen in other areas of the city as well?