By Rodney Maurice-Senior Consultant
From skylines to civic pride, a media agent explains why defending St. Louis matters in global city conversations.
As a media agent, I immerse myself in online groups to understand what members enjoy reading and discussing. One group in particular—World Cityscapes & Skyscrapers on Facebook—where I serve as an All-Star Contributor, truly stands out. The group has more than 650,000 members from around the world, including as far away as China. These members are passionate about their cities and skylines—and so am I.
What I won’t do, however, is allow anyone to talk down on my city of St. Louis, Missouri. Over the years, I’ve been warned multiple times in the group. Some of my posts were removed, and I nearly lost my account altogether. Perhaps that’s exactly why I was eventually recognized as a top contributor—because I defend my city and refuse to tolerate disrespect or misplaced hatred.
Recently, I took the opportunity to explain to the group why St. Louis is the way it is. We don’t pretend to be better than anyone else—we simply stand in our truth. The post received rave reviews. Of course, there were a few critics, but overall, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, with many compliments as the article continues to gain traction and views.
There are two out-of-town commentators who praise St. Louis, and one guy from Texas who flat-out bashes my city. But if you were truly born and raised here, you understand what outsiders miss.
St. Louis began as a major city within St. Louis County. Then came the “Great Divorce” (Google it), when backward city politics pushed for separation from the county. How the state—or the federal government—allowed that still baffles me. The result was St. Louis City becoming independent, a decision that proved disastrous.
At the time, the city was growing, while the county was largely forestland—parts of which later became Forest Park, sitting just inches from the county line. The county then sought a wealthy developer to purchase land outside the city for a new county seat. That second downtown eventually became Clayton.
Today, Clayton looks like a city of 90,000 people, yet it has only about 27,000 residents. Its skyline continues to grow, fueled by companies that either fled downtown St. Louis or started in the county from the beginning. St. Louis is often its own worst enemy. City leaders celebrated the Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium but failed to keep the lights on for new ideas.
Downtown
Downtown became heavily centered on low-income housing, and with that came challenges that drove people away. Hundreds of high-rise projects were vetoed in the name of protecting the Arch, pushing development westward to the Central West End, Clayton, and beyond. Sometimes it was never about building height—it was about political games, flawed design arguments, or a refusal to offer incentives.
This is still a city full of old-world charm and stunning architecture. Great food. The birthplace of the 1904 World’s Fair. A city that rises along the mighty Mississippi like no other. St. Louis is beautiful—once you get past the racism and the ongoing struggle to address homelessness.
Population
People love to talk about population loss, but they don’t feel it the way I do. Those people didn’t disappear. They moved to the county—closer to jobs, better schools, and, at one time, better government. White flight played its role, just as Black families were being pushed out of public housing and their own neighborhoods. Later, as Black families gained access to better jobs, they too moved into the county for the same reasons: schools, stability, opportunity.
What was left behind were abandoned family homes—grandma’s house, relatives left to fend for themselves. With abandonment came crime, survival, gangs, drugs—problems every major city faces.
Love us or leave us, every city has a story. But before you throw away the keys to St. Louis, take the time to learn its history. Google it. You might be surprised.
No one really left.
They’re just in St. Louis County.
Some real time replies:
Love St. Louis!
Would love to see your city, it is one of the few in our country I have yet to see.
Love your pride in your city. I used to feel that way about Seattle, once a proud middle class city, now unaffordable with among the highest homeless populations. My favorite cities are those left behind in the late 20th Century like Buffalo and Cincinnati. I haven’t seen St Louis, but assume it is probably similar. They seem like places where people can go to chase dreams
Sam Petite Yes, everything Rodney said! And our zoo is top three in the country for sure – and it’s free.
Sam Petite Pop out there is so much to see and do. And if you love food, remember most culinary treats were discovered here at Missouri’s only World’s Fair in 1904. You must go to the Hill, that is our Italian neighborhood; little Italy they call it. Or City Foundry for our fabulous food court, with one pending downtown St. Louis. If you like sports, we are the only city in MO with a downtown baseball MLB Cardinals
Texas. LMFAO
I love Saint Louis!
Rodney Maurice Norman . Baltimore MD did the same thing. Baltimore separated itself from Baltimore County in 1851 as well. Big mistake. Now Baltimore has only the extremely rich, the extremely poor, and a small middle class. The middle class has moved to Towson, Woodlawn, Reisterstown and many other unincorporated areas of Baltimore County. Big, big mistake on Baltimore’s part
Good article. I enjoy visiting St. Louis, and enjoyed my six years in Kansas City, but never did like Missouri. Noting to complain about, just don’t like it. I’ll take the hit for the irrationality. We spent as much money (cars and such) in Johnson County as we could. That said, St. Louis is a magnificently cosmopolitan city, and this story quite effectively relates a credible narrative from a thinking writer. Many thanks.
People who isn’t from St.Louis think that St.Louis only have 200k+ people..nope, St.Louis could actually be the 10th largest city in America if the county & city would come together..the city limit have 200k+ people but the county have 994k population and St.Charles have about 430k+ in population
St.Louis County went from 979,000 in 2023 to 994k in 2025.. St.Louis population is growing and the whole region is growing at a pretty good rate. St.Louis city limit is the only area that is losing people because most of them like you said, is moving to the county or into St.Charles county.
I have lived here for several years now and have found STL to be a great city with so much culture, and beautiful architecture. Never had a problem with crime. So much to do and enjoy with many free activities and great food choices with all the ethnic neighborhoods. Friends visit with a love for the city and all its free activities such as museums, zoo, arch, parks and world renowned
Botanical Garden. Largest little Italy in the USA
I live in Chesterfield. The main reason we live here is because of the quality of Parkway School District. Our city incorporated in 1988 in part because our neighboring city, Town and Country, kept annexing neighborhood
Not many people understand how the population works. Most city residents move to the county but another perspective is most cities have the option to annex land in their respective counties. St Louis can’t do that. Even the small cities/townships in STL county and St Charles county do this. So it makes the crime in the city seem higher by percentage but case by case, the numbers are low
In closing, this post has generated many thoughtful comments. Out of respect for privacy, I won’t share them all here—but the message is clear. Love where you live, and never allow anyone to disrespect your space. Get out and explore St. Louis soon!
St. Louis pride, urban perspective, global city discussions, city identity, community resilience, local advocacy, urban development, city leadership, standing tall in cities
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Thank you for sharing. Wonderful article. I love geography and cities very much interest me. The Clayton situation is interesting. I often wonder why locations are or are not included in cities.
This is very interesting, I will share with my students. I like to see when people praise and defend their livable space. Ironically, my mom grew up in MO. Keep up the great stories.