Homesteading in Soulard, St. Louis
Soulard today is seen as one of St. Louis’s most vibrant neighborhoods. It has gained residents while the city’s population has fallen. However, it remains the exception to how the city pursues redevelopment.
August Wilson’s “Radio Golf” Still Timely
The story of the Hill District is one of the vibrant Black culture that fueled Wilson’s career. It’s also a story of redevelopment initiatives that harmed the conditions in which that cultural richness could flourish.
The Last of Cleveland’s ArtCraft Building
It wasn’t the sale of the building that came as a shock - it was the buyer that caught the Cleveland art community off guard.
A Tale of Two Newspapers
Both cities were even large enough for two daily newspapers – even if only briefly. The dominant newspapers – the [...]
Remember Me Different
Mrs. M would not be given the courtesy of a new lease, as the building had changed management. Cachet G! was closing. Cold and calculated gentrification.
How to Buy a House in Milwaukee
Is homeownership the answer to Milwaukee’s affordable housing crisis? It’s complicated.
Will Minneapolis’s Upper Harbor Terminal Project Be Good for Its Neighbors?
The city wants to develop public land in a majority-Black neighborhood. What would equitable development look like?
The Last Children of Mill Creek [Excerpt]
"My father was the grandson of Mississippi slaves, and the son of a thrice-married and divorced mother who had cleaned white peoples’ homes and cared for their children in two states by the time they settled in St. Louis in 1929."
No Room for the Elbow Room
"Okay, radical honesty:/The Elbow Room probably wasn’t the greatest bar in the history of bars"
Under the Big Dome
How the now-defunct Civic Arena buried Pittsburgh's "Little Harlem."
Eastern Market and the Quest for Authenticity
In Detroit, changes to a historic market raise questions around equity and development.
Detroit’s Eastern Market
Scenes from the city’s historic food and culture hub.