As part of this graduate level course in GIS, we researched problem properties in St. Louis City. We analyzed factors such as educational attainment, food access, job opportunity, housing affordability, and transportation, and their association (if any) with the prevalence of problem properties. This was accomplished by creating GIS products visualizing these various factors, and then by visually analyzing whether certain community characteristics coincided with high levels of problem properties. Our findings were presented to the City of St. Louis's Problem Properties Unit. We found strong, positive correlations between many of the factors that we evaluated, suggesting interdependencies among factors. Neighborhoods with high visual clusters of problem properties tended to have higher crime rates, poor food access, unaffordable housing, and lower quality schools. Black communities were disproportionately impacted across several measures.

1. U P D 5 3 7 : S A I N T L O U I S U N I V E R S I T Y
E R I K A B R O W N
C O R E Y W A L T E R S
K A T I E M C L A U G H L I N
W I L L K R A U S E
M A Y 6 , 2 0 1 3
Problem Properties
& St. Louis City

2. 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.

3. Presentation Outline
 Problem Properties
 Concentrations  Focus neighborhoods
 Focus Neighborhoods
 Backgrounds
 Base Maps
 Focus Topics
 Vacant land/buildings, housing affordability, food access,
transportation, education
 History, present situation, and theories
 Focus Area Neighborhood Maps
 Conclusion

4. 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
97%
1% 2%
Demographics
Black
White
Other
Photos from: Groth, Mark. "St. Louis City Talk." St. Louis City Talk. N.p., 2008-2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

5. 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 Ville
Demographics
White
Black
Other
Photos from: Groth, Mark. "St. Louis City Talk." St. Louis City Talk. N.p., 2008-2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

6. Carr Square Focus Area
 Population 2010:
 2,789
 Population change:
 +19%
 Median Income:
 $11,000-$33,000
 St. Louis Median: $46,137.07
 Land Use
 24% residential
 7% vacant
 69% other
Source: 2010 Census Data
97%
1% 2%
Demographics
Black
White
Other
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.

7.  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.

8. Dutchtown Focus Area continued
22.4
68.4
9.2
Gravois Park
Demographics
White
Black
Other
35.5
50.8
13.7
Dutchtown
Demographics
White
Black
Other
0.0
54.9
29.7
25.4
White
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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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.

26. 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/

27. 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;

29. 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. 6
2. http://www.nmu.edu/sites/DrupalEducation/files/UserFiles/Files/Pre-Drupal/SiteSections/Students/GradPapers/Projects/Ross_Amy_MP.pdf, p. 24

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

36. Transportation
 The country has become more reliant on private
vehicles1
 More costly
 Leads to larger distances between residence and employment
 Mobility 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.2012.01.004
2Anderson, 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

37. Transportation Effects
 All focus groups are connected to MetroBus
 Hamilton 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

43. 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

44. • Student-Teacher ratio is a well-
established standard for measuring
education 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

49. Focus Area Narratives
 Dutchtown and Carr
Square
 Less population
decline than others
 Economic proximity
 Lower socioeconomic
households
 Housing affordability
 Community instability
and disinvestment
 Greater Ville and
Hamilton Heights