NEAR NORTH SIDE
Read more about the potential for the Near North Side of St. Louis and learn about the neighborhood's history.
Near North Side’s Journey
2014 CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING GRANT AWARD (HUD)
Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant aimed at creating a transformational plan to revitalize Near Northside Neighborhood
Conducted over 150 meetings to drive the planning process.
Collaborated with a cross-functional team comprising local leaders, residents, and community partners.
2015 BYRNE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INNOVATION AWARD (DOJ)
Criminal Justice & Neighborhood Safety Grant aimed at reducing crime in Near North Side Neighborhood
Identified three crime reduction strategies between 2017-2019, leading to a 33% - 57% decrease in overall crime.
Violent crime saw a significant 30% reduction during the same period.
2016 CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVE AWARD (HUD)
Choice Neighborhood Initiative Grant aimed at the implementation of the transformational plan to revitalize Near Northside Neighborhood
Primary grant focus on People, Neighborhood, and Housing
St. Louis City: Primary Grantee
Urban Strategies Inc.: People and Neighborhood
McCormick Baron: Housing
History of the Near North Side
The Near North Side neighborhood of St. Louis is located in what was the Village of North St. Louis, founded in 1816. The city of St. Louis absorbed the Village in 1841 when its city limits expanded. Around the same time, an influx of European immigrants began settling in the neighborhood. The area remained primarily white European until post-Civil War reconstruction, when its population more than doubled due to African Americans migrating from the South.
In the 20th century, the Near North Side was hit hard by decades of out-migration, industrial decline, slum clearance, and urban renewal. In the 1950s, the area was declared a slum and became subject to large land clearance and urban-renewal efforts.
During the 1950s-60s, entire city blocks were razed and divided into large Parcels. This area has a long history of public housing, including arguably the most infamous public housing project ever built in the United States, Pruitt-Igoe, in 1954. Along with Pruitt Igoe, several large-scale high-rise public housing projects were built, including Vaughn Towers and Cochran Gardens. The projects eventually declined into a hub of dilapidated buildings, crime, and destitution. A large patch of overgrown unused land remains on the site of the Pruitt-Igoe development, which was demolished in the 1970s. In 1969, the Near North Side was also site of a housing strike against the St. Louis Housing Authority. The strike was started by Carr Square Village residents and eventually included residents from various properties in the neighborhood. It led to the resident management movement and the creation of the Carr Square Tenant Management Corporation.
The area experienced stark disinvestment over the 20th century despite several revitalization attempts. Failed public and private projects as well as racial barriers largely led to the decline of this once-prosperous neighborhood.