i think there's a legitimate question as to whether the viability of the urban core impacts the metro area in general, but in the case of st louis, it appears they have mostly just substituted the areas to the west for downtown.
Chicago is experiencing a slump that I fully expect it’ll recover or reimagine itself through.
IMO St Louis is more akin to Detroit or Baltimore than it is to Chicago. Hasn’t it lost something like 50-60% of its population since its high water mark?
You can buy lots and lots of property that people have just walked away from for the tax receipts. That’s not Chicago to my knowledge.
Traffic on the street doesn't necessarily mean healthy business real estate.
31