Tale Of Two Census Tracts

"Though separated by only 30 miles, census tracts 2215.01 and 1097 might as well lie a world apart. The first tract stretches over thousands of acres, mostly in Wildwood, and is home to some of the newest and most expensive subdivisions in St. Louis County. During the 1990s, the area nearly doubled in population, adding 5,572 residents, the most of any tract in Missouri, according to recently released figures from the 2000 census. The second tract is wedged into a 1-square-mile area in north St. Louis and contains the heavy industries of the Near Northside riverfront and some of the city's oldest and most blighted neighborhoods. The area lost nearly a third of its population in the past 10 years -- 2,074 residents -- among the most of any tract in the state. Despite their obvious differences, some development experts say the areas are inextricably linked. The tale of these two tracts provides an extreme example of the population trend that's been ongoing in St. Louis since the end of World War II. While the number of residents in the region has remained relatively constant, they continue to spread over a broader geographic area."