City Affair Saint Louis

As the crowning achievement of humanity, cities can be essentially defined by the bonds between people. While development, finance, and culture grab the most attention among urbanists, it is time to examine the public responsibility that underlies urban environments.

Are we responsible for maintaining a foundation of solidarity with all elements of society? Is egalitarianism possible in the divisive modern urban environment?

We will discuss issues of social justice and activism with a panel of local advocates:

Shawn Mckie - The Juice Project blends media literacy and health literacy education with physical exercise and art for social change. The Juice Box, which is also home to J.U.I.C.E., Inc., sits in a predominantly Black low-income neighborhood, and thus, re-imagines the corner store.

Jay Swoboda and RJ Koscielniak - Whats Up Magazine is St. Louis' activist publication with an ear to the street. Whats Up is sold by St. Louis' homeless and strives to create fairness, opportunity and community by covering issues that socially conscious people want to know about.

Claire Wolff - The Urban Studio Café is a non-profit cafe with a mission to foster a sense of strong community, creativity, knowledge and enrichment while providing a quality cup of joe. The Urban Studio has a successful history of providing enriching programs to youth in Old North St. Louis. Revenue generated by the cafe supports these programs.

Emily Beck will moderate the panel discussion.
Following panel discussion we will open the floor to questions.

EVENT INFORMATION

SEPTEMBER 2, 2010
7:30-9:00 PM
OLD NORTH ST. LOUIS RESTORATION GROUP OFFICES
2700 N. 14th St.
ST. LOUIS, MO. 63106


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Saint Louis has a better performing and more used transit system than many comparable cities and regions, yet popular opinion continuously sides against Metro. Current events have demonstrated that transit is a vital component of the economy. While the state of Illinois recognizes the importance of transit, Missouri provides 7% as much funding for Metro and ranks 35th nationally for transit funding.

Given these structural issues what can we do to help?
We will hear about new metro initiatives and discuss strategies for supporting Proposition M with the following panel:
Tom Shrout - Tom is Executive Director of Citizens for Modern Transit, an advocacy organization founded over twenty years ago to advocate for light rail transit in Saint Louis. Mr. Shrout first spoke to City Affair in April 2009.

Courtney Sloger - Courtney is an online media specialist for Metro where she coordinates the new metro blog Next Stop STL: http://www.nextstopstl.org/

Melissa Legge - Melissa is a former Metro intern and senior in environmental studies at Washington University

Following forty five minutes of panel discussion we will open the floor to audience questions.

EVENT INFORMATION

Thursday, February 4 2010
7:30-9:00 PM
Arcturis Offices
Laclede Gas Building, Second Floor
720 Olive Street Saint Louis, Mo. 63101

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