Ferguson's potential

Ferguson July 4 parade

Charles Marohn wrote a thought-provoking piece on the built environment of Ferguson, Missouri, where teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed. An inner suburb of the post World War II period, Ferguson is in decline. The value of the buildings is unable to pay for upkeep of infrastructure, Marohn writes, which has "massive social, cultural and political ramifications."

While the riots of the 1960s took place exclusively in inner-city neighborhoods, the backdrop for the Ferguson social unrest is a suburban arterial road with automobile-oriented businesses such as McDonald's and a QuikTrip convenience store and gas station — famously looted and torched.

Marohn argues that Ferguson's land-use pattern is unsustainable financially and, further, that the car-dependent planning puts economic pressure on the residents.

While agreeing with much of his analysis, I would like to offer the counterpoint that decline in suburbs like Ferguson is not inevitable and that such communities have significant potential for revitalization.

Ferguson has a density of 3,400 people per square mile, which is higher than most outer suburbs. Its street network is also somewhat more connected, which is a key underlying quality that would enable this city to be transformed into a more efficient, mixed-use, car-optional place.

Ferguson's average Walk Score is 35, which is car-dependent -- but at the center of town, South Florissant Road, the Walk Score is in the mid-60s -- somewhat walkable. That part of town has experienced a degree of revival in recent years, documented in this called Ferguson: 10 Years of Progress. The walkable part of town has been spared rioting, looting, and arson.

West Florissant Avenue, about a mile east of the center of town, is a suburban arterial with low property values, long in decline. Yet the low density and underuse of infrastructure offer an opportunity.

Marohn points out the problems with the zoning and the street design that add to the low values and lack of job prospects for residents. These problems can be fixed. West Florissant Avenue could be made walkable, bikable, and transit friendly -- better connecting the people who already live there to the things they need. Such changes could bring in new businesses and residents that build the tax base over the long run.

I'm not pretending this will solve the social and racial problems in Ferguson. The damage to the reputation of Ferguson by the shooting and ensuing riots will take years to overcome. But the national attention could also bring in some funds that could transform the community, if the funds are used wisely.

I have no idea whether Ferguson will follow that path. Thousands of inner-ring suburbs across the US have many of the problems described by Marohn. Many of them are in the midst of, or poised for, revival. Some will make it due to social, political, and economic factors, or just good fortune. Ferguson is luckless lately, but that could change.

Robert Steuteville is editor and executive director of Better Cities & Towns.

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