This section contains essays on a variety of subjects related to renovation and development in the City of St. Louis. I hope to solicit contributions from people who have unique perspectives on renovation and the City of St. Louis. If you would like to see your work on the web and help out others by contributing your thoughts to this site, please contact me.

All content in this section is copyrighted. Please respect the authors' time and effort by properly citing all references to this work.

Essays

• Planning Your Renovation: Consider the Buyer - While there might be some validity behind the cliché "There’s a buyer out there for everything", there is no denying that the real estate market functions under the simple principle of supply and demand. How to make your product "more buyable" than the several other rehabs on the same block is a key factor to today’s rehabbers.

• Architects and Community Development - Design practice in low and moderate income neighborhoods is a niche in which not all architects have a role. It is vital that professionals practicing in these areas understand the difference between “neighborhood” and “community”.

• Overview of Planning and Zoning Theory - People have been “planning” for millennia, but urban planning as a profession has existed for just a few centuries. Planning is based on the idea that spatial location and characteristics can influence social norms and support the public good.

• St. Louis Board of Adjustment Fails to Uphold Zoning Ordinance - The St. Louis Board of Adjustment recently upheld a Conditional Use permit to allow a drive-thru restaurant to be built adjacent to existing single-family homes.