AGING AREAS AROUND CITIES PUSH SUBURBAN RENEWAL

In recent years, newer US suburbs have flourished and big cities have lured business and residents back downtown. Caught in the middle are older suburbs, many in the Midwest where economic growth has been particularly slow. Their plight has attracted the interest of scholars and even earned them a name: inner-ring or first suburbs, as compared with the outer-ring suburbs or exurbs where developers can in many cases build from scratch. During his 12 years as mayor of Jennings, MO, a struggling suburb of 16,000 on the edge of St. Louis, Benjamin Sutphin has developed a simple philosophy for urban renewal: raze and rebuild. He's presided over the demolition of two regional shopping centers, dilapidated homes, abandoned tennis courts and a shuttered drive-in movie theater, promoting new retail, recreational and residential projects in their place. "Something had to be done," says Mr. Sutphin. (Source: RealEstateJournal.com) Full Story . . .