the most dangerous city

St. Louis was named the most dangerous city this year. Interestingly, last year's safest city was Brick, NJ. Congratulations, Tim and Kathi, for living in a safe place. In my class, we were talking about white flight and the revitalization of cities. White flight was actually government sponsored after WWII because the GI Bill was more likely to give loans for someone to build/buy a house in the suburbs than the city. Why? Well, if you're really interested, I can explain it to you. But for the casual reader, accept it and move on. In any case, we discussed Chicago, which had its fair share of white flight. 20 years ago, it probably would not have been particularly safe for me to take the El through the neighborhoods I go through now. Not that they're Brick, NJ, but they're improving. I personally attribute some of the revitalization to the mass transit system. Designed to bring people into the city without worrying where to park their car, the system alleviates some of the parking issues that most people complain about when they talk about why they don't like to shop in cities. Oh no, I might have to parallel park 1/2 a block from the store! Suburban dwellers, have you ever thought about all the gas you use and the time you waste sitting at traffic lights waiting to turn left into some ginormous strip mall? Or driving from one end to the other because you'd probably get killed (by a car that is, not by a gang member) if you tried to walk? Of course, I enjoy some suburban shopping as well, but I definitely don't miss the traffic in North Raleigh (or Cary Crossroads, for that matter). And of course, we spend a lot of time sitting in traffic, but H&M is just a train ride away.