Sundy Whiteside

In a July 20 editorial (“Prominent Philanthropists Set Example on How to Tackle St. Louis Blight”), the St. Louis Post-Dispatch urged area business leaders and philanthropists to do something about vacancy. Clearly, our vacancy challenge requires leadership and investment by the business and philanthropic communities as well as local government. As the editorial board acknowledges, and as research and the experience of other cities confirms, demolition alone will not solve the problem.

As detailed in the Post-Dispatch’s “Tipping Point” series, St. Louis has a serious vacant property challenge that cries out for serious action. Like other metropolitan areas (including Baltimore, Detroit, Memphis, Cleveland and Kansas City), we must face the consequences of decades of suburban expansion, population loss, detrimental public policies, predatory investors, regional dynamics that have contributed to an overbuilt housing market and a hollowed-out urban core, and disinvestment.