HISTORY OF NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESSES

Urban Communities through the years

Decades ago, most urban communities were virtually cities within cities. Residents of these neighborhoods largely lived, worked, prayed and played within their communities. Major street corners and town centers were alive and bustling with a wide array of service and retail businesses, cafes and restaurants. The youth within these communities were able to find work at these businesses and learned valuable life lessons from their caring owners who doubled as role models, providing a stabilizing influence within the community.

1960’s
&
1970’s

1980’s

2000’s
to
Present

Suburban Migration

Early in the 1960’s, migration to the suburbs began to accelerate. With that, much of the commerce supporting the population followed leaving the remaining residents fewer shopping and business services available to those who remained in those neighborhoods. The result of the out-migration left a void of economic investment resulting in fewer jobs, neighborhood role models and a decline in essential tax revenues. Each business that left or closed made the situation worse.

An Idea Sparked

During the 1980’s, Habitat for Neighborhood Business founder, Douglas Brown, was traveling the country in his leadership role at Enterprise Rent-A-Car®. As he was visiting cities throughout the country leading Enterprise’s North American expansion, Doug observed the near absence of businesses in these economically challenged neighborhoods. As Doug went from city to city, he observed this consistent absence. It was this experience that led him, along with a number of his friends and St. Louis University alumni, to the determination that these neighborhoods, and the residents within them, were deserving of the essential support required to drive urban renewal.

HNB Supports Small Businesses

This experience and foresight led to the formation of Habitat for Neighborhood Business. Today, there are many civic, charitable, and religious organizations working with residents and government agencies to restore the vitality to these neighborhoods. Habitat for Neighborhood Business believes that retail and service businesses are critical missing elements that must return and become more robust in order to play an increasingly positive role to the benefit of each neighborhood.

These neighborhoods, their residents and the children are vital for our future.