St. Louis Plans: The Ideal and the Real St. Louis (Volume 1)

St. Louis has a rich history of planning that heretofore has not been documented. The plans that have been made over the years by public, nonprofit, and civic agencies have given the St. Louis metropolitan area its shape and direction. Plans are the basis of the physical and built environment as well as of the activities and agendas that are carried out within this environment. This volume, the third in the St. Louis Metromorphosis Book Series, will review the history of various aspects of planning and provide insight into planning successes and challenges. The volume will also look ahead with lessons for the future.

            St. Louis Plans will present a novel exploration of the St. Louis region, one that considers the blueprints for the urban area as it exists today. The book will take the angle of Harlan Bartholomew, who said that “the objective of a city plan is the improvement of living conditions, the stimulation of prosperity, and the creation of intangible values in added health, comfort, convenience, and community well-being.” Therefore, the book will illustrate the ways that future plans can provide a path to those “intangible values.”

            Planning typically refers to that which occurs at the governmental level. This book will explore the various angles from which St. Louis plans have arisen, from the regional, municipal, and neighborhood levels, and in specific sectors including education, health care, and workforce development. As the face of government shifts toward regional cooperation, the outline of our past will be particularly relevant. Timely issues that the twelve authors of the book’s essays will explore include emergency preparedness, planning and leadership at the neighborhood level, transportation, and health care.