Middle Neighborhoods: On the Edge of Greatness or Distress

"There are neighborhoods in St. Louis that are thriving and those that are very much struggling, but what about neighborhoods that fall somewhere in the middle?"

That's the question posed by an article by Kelly Moffitt to summarize a recent episode of St. Louis on the Air. The episode featured Alan Mallach, Henry Webber, and Reginald Scott, who discussed the idea of "middle neighborhoods, as examined in a recent research study titled "One the Edge: America's Middle Neighborhoods." The study was edited by Paul C. Brophy, and originally published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Now, however, the study is available in book form.

According to Moffitt's coverage of the study and its examples from the city of St. Louis, middle neighborhoods are threatened by a shrinking middle class. "Middle neighborhoods could fall into distress (areas with high poverty and declining real estate values) or they could turn into thriving neighborhoods … but that takes policy heft," writes Moffitt.

Such policy strategies include locating jobs nearby the neighborhood and identifying amenities in the neighborhood that can attract new residents.