CONNECTIVE TISSUE

David Judd, UM-St. Louis prof and co-author of The Tourist City, wants St. Louis to be linked by more than just highways between sports palaces and shopping malls

A A A Comments (0) By Roland Klose Wednesday, Sep 8 1999

Governmental structure, however, isn't the biggest obstacle to effective urban planning, Judd says, and therein is a lesson for St. Louis. Political and economic power, he contends, still is centered in a "very conservative corporate white male culture." Civic Progress, the organization of corporate chief executive officers that continues to carry considerable clout on major issues, goes to bat for projects that make money for them. "But to get anything that has a bigger, more ambiguous public purpose — everyday amenities like vest-pocket parks, pedestrian malls, coffeehouses, places where people want to eat — it's hard to get the civic elite on board, because they don't see how they make money."

That's why Judd gives high marks to the proposed Downtown Development Action Plan, a Harmon-administration initiative. Judd says the plan appears to provide the "connective tissue" that will tie the city's multimillion-dollar investments together and make the central city a place where tourists will visit and return. The plan calls for new housing, additional parking, pedestrian promenades and a new attraction along the Gateway Mall.

Jennifer Silverberg

Dennis Judd says downtown St. Louis offers a collection of venues � sports arenas like Kiel Center, museums and malls � that aren't tied in a way that encourages people to spend time downtown.

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Judd cautions that cities that succeed tend to "have a participatory civic culture" that invites citizens' groups and neighborhood organizations into the planning process. A city, after all, "depends on the efforts of ordinary people," Judd says.

Dennis Judd discusses urban tourism and his new book, The Tourist City, at Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave., at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9.