In St. Louis, non-profit organizations search for tangible ways to combat gentrification.
Washington University in St. Louis’ publication, The Source, defines gentrification as “the displacement of poorer residents in rebounding urban neighborhoods.” In St. Louis, MO, displacement of its residents, many of whom being black, has historical roots.
The “Delmar Divide” refers to Delmar Boulevard, a street that also serves as a dividing line across St. Louis City and county, according to Next City. This distinction is a physical representation of segregation in the city.
The affluence and general resources afforded to those areas depending on which side of Delmar you live across marks a very stark difference, even today.
During the Great Migration, formerly enslaved persons moved from the south to northern cities, such as St. Louis. The city’s white-dominated real estate market employed tactics of discriminatory and racist action to steer Black folks to neighborhoods north of Delmar, and white families south of the line. Tactics included redlining practices, like denial of mortgages and other lines of credit to Black neighborhoods.
A 2015 St. Louis University and the University of Washington in St. Louis study notes that south of Delmar, the racial makeup is 70% white, with an average home value costing $310,000 dollars and 67 per cent holding bachelor’s degrees. Just north of the boulevard, the racial makeup is 99% Black, with an average home value being $78,000 and five per cent of inhabitants holding bachelor’s degrees.
A St. Louis-based, non-profit organization, Invest STL, wants to aid equitable community development for St. Louis residents and strengthen their sense of agency to fight for their place, literally and figuratively. The group’s work is guided by four investment areas: neighborhood investing, system investing, policy design and activation and narrative reframing.
“That's where we want to make an impact. Do people feel they have the power, recognize it, and do they know how to use it to prevent gentrification, prevent displacement, you know, whatever issues they're facing in their neighborhood?” said LoRin Jackson, the group’s Systems Design + Learning Partner. “Are they equipped and ready? And then does the system also support that agency of theirs to respond in their own power?”
At the moment, Invest STL’s deeper investments span the Dutchtown South and West End Visitation Park areas of St. Louis. The organization will be announcing two new investment neighborhood clusters in 2025.
One prominent piece of their work is the Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place initiative, a housing direct, place-based wealth-building pilot program that aims to keep residents in their neighborhood amid forces of displacement that impacts Black residents in the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods of St. Louis. The idea, in fact, came from the community themselves.
“I think the idea of Rooted was birthed out of those, kind of initial conversations about preventing displacement and building wealth, before the tide turns, you know, or like the wave comes,” Jackson said.
Exactly 50 eligible Black households within the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods were chosen at random to participate in the initiative. Each qualifying household is given $22,000 dollars and a financial planner at no extra cost. The funds, though, have very specific allocations, all aimed at addressing immediate needs to help build long-term wealth ($2,000) and then building said long-term wealth in the West End and Visitation park neighborhoods ($20,000):
- Purchasing a property in the neighborhoods
- Renovating a property in the neighborhoods
- Starting a small business or expanding an existing one in the neighborhoods
- Opening an investment account
“It's not just an investment in these households in this neighborhood for them to build wealth. But it's really to ask the question, ‘if you put money into households in a neighborhood that is on the verge of this type of economic upswing, or has been, you know, exposed to the negative effects of like areas that have been disinvested in the past. When you find these neighborhoods on that verge, what happens if you put money directly into households and give them the tools, the skills and the ability to make those investments themselves?,’” said Michael Pagano, Narrative and Communications Partner for the organization.
The initiative has received financial support from firms such as Wells Fargo, Boniface Foundation, Commerce Bank, National Development Council, NISA Foundation and Regions Bank.
“What we're betting on is that we'll find that hopefully, this pushes back on gentrification a little bit and gives residents who have been in that neighborhood a long time, or at least six years before that verge kind of started to turn, it gives them the opportunity to stay and grow with that growing economic future.”
While Invest STL and their respective initiatives have found success within the community, the realities of trying to sustain and preserve communities doesn’t come without its challenges.
“It's challenging work, because what we're doing is we're changing the long held approach to community development, and we're left with the word frame breaking,” said Derek Laney, a Invest STL’s Neighborhood Solidarity Partner at Invest STL. “So that in itself is a challenge to go against the current norms of how to do a thing.”
Laney describes the gist of their work being “macro-level thinking and micro-level acting”.
Jackson notes the challenging nature of their work and its impact. “Some days I don’t show up 100%, I gotta meet myself there. It’s like, ‘what can I accomplish today with the energy I have.’”
The organization hopes that their work can serve as a model for other cities to invest in communities and build longevity for marginalized communities.
“We think of legacy as both something that taps into the value of the past, but it's also we're working towards building a legacy for the future,” said Pagano. “In a sense, It's both directions of that, acknowledging that this neighborhood has been a thriving historically Black neighborhood in St. Louis for a number of generations. And we want to kind of project that forward as well.”
By early 2027, Invest STL aims to invest in six to nine neighborhood clusters, which would serve approximately 20 neighborhoods. This year, the organization also plans to launch its first-ever public donation campaign to bring in and invest out more funds in St. Louis neighborhoods and the people who inhabit them.