UPD 537 : SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY

ERIKA BROWNCOREY WALTERS

KATIE MCLAUGHLINWILL KRAUSE

MAY 6 , 2013

Problem Properties & St. Louis City

Background for Class

This report presents work done by Dr. Joanna Ganning's Spring 2013 Intermediate GIS class at Saint Louis University. Dr. Ganning is an Assistant Professor with the Urban Planning and Real Estate Development (UPRED) program, housed in the Center for Sustainability. This project developed through discussion between Dr. Ganning and Dotti Pennington, Customer Service Manager for the Citizen's Service Bureau at the City of St. Louis. Ms. Pennington is also a Spring 2013 graduate of the UPRED program. Our goal is to provide the City with high quality data, mapping, and analysis that will assist in efforts to mitigate or reduce the prevalence of problem properties. This project has multiple objectives:

to provide the City of St. Louis with a map-based representation of problem properties; 

to provide analysis of conditions surrounding areas of relatively concentrated problem properties;

to provide a clear dialogue of the relationship between contextual variables and neighborhood instability;

It has been our effort throughout to provide a reasoned and fair, factual approach. We strive to provide context and analysis rather than policy evaluation or recommendations. To that end, we hope this document is as useful to your efforts as its development was to the educational aims of the course. 

Presentation Outline

Problem Properties Concentrations Focus neighborhoods

Focus Neighborhoods Backgrounds

Base MapsFocus Topics

Vacant land/buildings, housing affordability, food access, transportation, education History, present situation, and theories Focus Area Neighborhood Maps

Conclusion

Hamilton Heights

Population 2010: 3,105

Population Change: -19%

Median Income: $18,000-$23,000

Land use: 57% residential; 32% vacant, 11% other

Source: 2010 Census Data

The Ville Demographics

97%

1% 2%

Demographics

BlackWhiteOther

Photos from: Groth, Mark. "St. Louis City Talk." St. Louis City Talk. N.p., 2008-2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

Greater Ville/Ville Focus Area

Population 2010: Greater Ville: 6,189 Ville: 1,868

Median Income (for both the Greater Ville and Ville): $11,533 - $22,504

Population Change: Greater Ville: -24% Ville: -31%

Source: 2010 Census Data and St. Louis City

1%

97%

2%

The Ville Demographics

White

Black

Other

1%

97%

2%

The Greater VilleDemographics

White

Black

Other

Photos from: Groth, Mark. "St. Louis City Talk." St. Louis City Talk. N.p., 2008-2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

Carr Square Focus Area

Population 2010: 2,789

Population change: +19%

Median Income: $11,000-$33,000 St. Louis Median:

$46,137.07Land Use

24% residential 7% vacant 69% other

Source: 2010 Census Data

97%

1% 2%

Demographics

BlackWhiteOther

Closest focus area to Downtown

Photos from: Groth, Mark. "St. Louis City Talk." St. Louis City Talk. N.p., 2008-2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

Population: Dutchtown: 15,770 TGS: 13,333 Gravois Park: 5,225

Population Change: Dutchtown: -8% TGS: -10% Gravois Park:-10%

Median Income: Ranges from $30,000 -

$55,000, depending on neighborhood, compared to the median city income - $46,137.07

Source: 2010 Census Data and St. Louis City

Dutchtown Focus Area

Photos from: Groth, Mark. "St. Louis City Talk." St. Louis City Talk. N.p., 2008-2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

Dutchtown Focus Area continued

22.4

68.4

9.2

Gravois Park De-mographics

White

Black

Other

35.5

50.8

13.7

Dutchtown De-mographics

White

54.9

29.7

25.4White

Black

Other

Tower Grove South Demographics

Land Use: Gravois Park

90% residential 5% vacant 5% other

Dutchtown 93% residential 2% vacant 5% other

Tower Grove South 92% residential 2% vacant 6% other

Highest Crime Counts per Area

o Hamilton Heights: Destruction of property malicious/private property, drug possession cocaine, public order violation

o Carr Square: Public order violation

o Greater Ville: Adult assault age 17 and up domestic, destruction of property malicious/private property

o Dutchtown: Destruction of property malicious/private property, leaving scene of accident

Defining Vacant Properties

“Residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and vacant lots that exhibit one or both of the following traits:

1. The site poses a threat to public safety (meeting the definition of a public nuisance)

2. The owners or managers neglect the fundamental duties of property ownership”

Source: National Vacant Properties Campaign, 2005

Urban Disinvestment

St. Louis has approximately: 22,328 parcels of vacant structures 21,833 parcels of vacant land

Often concentrated in low income, predominantly minority neighborhoods.

This issue presents itself as a significant cost to the City as both an economic issue and one of social welfare.

Urban Disinvestment

Vacant buildings: Attract crime Cost the City property tax revenue Reduce neighborhood property values Drain resources from local departments and Impact community health.

*Source: National Vacant Properties Campaign, 2005

Urban Disinvestment

No one cause for vacant property, either in St. Louis or the nation at large.

It is a culmination of political, economic, and cultural forces that have occurred over decades.

Effects of Vacant Property

The “Broken Windows” Theory has been widely cited as one of the principal frameworks for understanding the linkage between vacant properties and crime.

The nature of the physical environment leads to an increase in criminal activity.

In theory an area showing signs of physical disorder is vulnerable to increased incidences of crime.

Crime

Vacant properties are most correlated to the occurrence of crime.

Blocks with vacant properties are twice as likely to contain higher rates of crime as blocks without vacant buildings.*

Vacant homes are associated with higher levels of drug use, drug sales, prostitution, and an increased chance of injury by fire.**

*Source: National Vacant Properties Campaign, 2005

**Garvin. More Than Just an Eyesore: Local Insights and Solutions on Vacant Land nd Urban Health. Journal of Urban Health, 2012.

Arson

Vacant buildings are prone to arson and accidental fires that put local fire fighters at greater risk and cost cities financially.

Each year more than 70 percent of vacant property fires are arson related. *

The physical dangers to fire fighters is greater because of invisible threats such as unsecured walls and open floors.*

* Source: National Vacant Properties Campaign, 2005

Lost Property Tax Revenue

Real estate has an interrelated relationship; the actions of one property will have a fiscal impact on the other.

Vacant properties decrease the property and tax value of nearby businesses and residences.

A 2001 study from Philadelphia determined that properties within*:

a) 150 feet of a vacant structure lost $7,267 in value, b) 150 to 300 feet lost $6,819, c) 300 and 450 feet lost $3,542

*Source: National Vacant Properties Campaign, 2005

Community Health

Derelict housing is associated with poor health factors from pre-mature death to diabetes.*

Physical disorder is believed to be connected to negative health related episodes because it promotes, “chronic stress and attendant maladaptive physiologic responses, encouraging risky behavior, and eroding resident social interaction.” **

Cohen, D. M. (2003). Neighborhood physical conditions and health. American Journal

of Public Health, 467-471.**Garvin. More Than Just an Eyesore: Local Insights and Solutions on Vacant Land and Urban Health. Journal of Urban Health, 2012.

Background on Housing Affordability

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition: The rental market has seen

continued demand, which has increased the cost of rental housing, even in affordable places.*

In no state can one full-time job at minimum wage provide a 2 bedroom rental at fair market rate.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in order for a home to be affordable, no more than 30% of monthly or annual income should be spent on housing.**

*National Low Income Housing Coalition. (2012). Out of Reach Report: America’s Forgotten Housing Crisis. Washington, D.C.**http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/

Effects of Unaffordable Housing

In low income communities, dispensable income is limited. Thus, difficulty arises in keeping up with other financial responsibilities.* Creation of neighborhood instability

Community disinvestment by households due to declining dispensable income.

Unaffordable housing can lead inadequate nutrition, reduced access to medical care, and a decline in overall quality of life.**

*National Low Income Housing Coalition. (2012). Out of Reach Report: America’s Forgotten Housing Crisis. Washington, D.C.**Human Impact Partners. (2012) Human Impact Partners Evidence Base. Retreieved from: http://www.humanimpact.org/evidencebase/category;

Food Access

Definition not just spatial, but practical Affordability (fewer supermarkets, more grocery stores)1

Correlation with vacant land Vehicle access

Cascading effects (national trends) Food insufficiency and nutritional value linked to

educational performance, early development (self-image) Obesity: Higher healthcare costs, fewer job opportunities

Compounding effect on budgetary issues, quality of life

1. http://economics.wustl.edu/files/economics/imce/madeleine_daepp_2013.pdf, p. 62. http://www.nmu.edu/sites/DrupalEducation/files/UserFiles/Files/Pre-Drupal/SiteSections/Students/GradPapers/Projects/Ross_Amy_MP.pdf, p. 24

*Grocery stores, as seen here, consist of supermarkets, grocery stores, corner stores, and specialty stores.

Transportation

The country has become more reliant on private vehicles1

More costly Leads to larger distances between residence and

employmentMobility vs. Accessibility1

Location and quality of public transportation is often not as important as its connection with where people work and live

Neighborhood design2

Better neighborhood design and safety make areas walkable to access transportation, or walk to employment, education, etc.

1Martens, K., Golub, A., & Robinson, G. (2012). A justice-theoretic approach to the distribution of transportation benefits: Implications for transportation planning practice in the United States. Transportation Research Part A: Policy & Practice, 46(4), 684-695. doi:10.1016/j.tra.2012.01.0042Anderson, K., Richardson, V., Fields, N., & Harootyan, R. (2013). Inclusion or exclusion? Exploring barriers to employment for low-income older adults. Journal Of Gerontological Social Work, 56(4), 318-334. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.777006

Transportation Effects

All focus groups are connected to MetroBusHamilton Heights and Carr Square are closest to

MetroLink

It is the connection between where people live and their opportunities More and better job options, education, healthcare, etc.

Access to quality transportation allows people to move throughout the city Leads to shorter commute times; more time to work or

spend outside of work

Education Attainment

PBS Newshour cites that a student of Roosevelt high school, a public St. Louis high school in a predominantly minority neighborhood "struggled with gangs, poor attendance, and little discipline. Its problems were not unique among St. Louis schools.”* These issues lead to overall lower educational attainment in areas

with low ranking public schools, as shown with the correlation between the educational attainment map and the ranks of the focus area public schools.

Many cite education as the key to socioeconomic mobility, and here the inequalities in the American educational system clearly play a role.**

*Woodruff, J. In St. Louis, Efforts To Help Low Income Students Go A Long Way (April 30, 2009). PBS Newshour. [Radio News Program]. Retrieved from PBSNewshour.org: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/jan-june09/stlouis_04-30.html** Barry, B. (2005) Why Social Justice Matters. Polity Press: Cambridge; Friedman, Howard S. (2012). “The American Myth of Social Mobility.” The Huffington Post, 16 July 2012, Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-steven-friedman/classmobility_b_1676931.html

• Student-Teacher ratio is a well-established standard for measuringeducation quality

• National public school average1: 15.2• St. Louis Public Schools average: 13.1• National private school average2: 12.5• St. Louis Private school average: 11.9

• St. Louis better than average nationally• But disparity between North and South

St. Louis

1 Estimate, Fall 2011 http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28 2 Estimate, 2009 http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28

Focus Area Narratives

Dutchtown and Carr Square

Less population decline than others

Economic proximityLower socioeconomic

householdsHousing affordabilityCommunity instability

and disinvestment

Greater Ville and Hamilton Heights