The greatest natural resource that the St. Louis region possesses is its citizens. Addressing changing demographics, meeting a diverse set of needs, and encouraging entrepreneurship are keys to ensuring that all citizens have the opportunity to participate in current and future regional success.
The St. Louis region's governmental leaders can actively work to ensure that its housing stock and social services, transportation system, educational system, and cultural and recreational amenities respond to and meet the needs of the people of the region. Acknowledging that St. Louis is currently a slow-growth region, local government and business can work to attract new and retain existing businesses and workers.Regional Housing Values
The region possesses a number of nationally- and internationally recognized universities, research centers, and medical schools. These institutions attract students and professionals from around the world. In order to maintain a competitive, world-class talent pool, the region’s communities should create attractive vibrant communities in which the best and brightest want to work and live. Similarly, the region can enhance its vitality by actively working to attract immigrants. While St. Louis possesses some key immigrant populations, the percentage of citizens that are immigrants is less than 20 percent of its peer regions. In the St. Louis region, immigrants are 60 percent more likely to own small businesses than native born citizens. As a result, immigrants represent a key entrepreneurial demographic that bolsters the region's population, economy, and vibrancy.
The region’s housing is generally affordable, with nearly 85 percent of housing classified as affordable to families earning the median income. This is critical to low-income citizens and the expanding, fixed-income senior population. Unfortunately, both housing type and affordability tend to be geographically segregated, characterized by single family detached homes, and only served by highways. This all but necessitates car ownership, resulting in high transportation costs that partially offset housing affordability. 
Voting in the 2012 Presidential election.To best serve a diverse and aging population, the region needs to embrace a greater diversity of housing types and affordability throughout the entire region.
While many issues of social capital are localized to individual municipalities, these local issues can be most effectively addressed through regional collaboration. Healthy communities also need high quality schools. Housing diversity can maintain and improve property values by responding to market demand, and increased property values benefit public education. The map on page 36 shows the relationship of regional geography to housing values. Low-value housing is concentrated in North St. Louis City, North St. Louis County, and the Metro East, while high-value housing is concentrated in the central corridor and West St. Louis County. Helping to ensure equitable access to schools throughout the region is a major factor in attracting and serving an educated, upwardly-mobile population.
OneSTL goals to enhance social capital are outlined in the sidebar to the right. Along with associated objectives and strategies, they are presented in detail in Chapter 4 of this document. OneSTL Network Members recognize that investing in our region’s citizens is necessary to creating a vibrant, prosperous, and competitive St. Louis. While many issues of social capital are localized to individual municipalities, these local issues can be most effectively addressed through regional collaboration. OneSTL can facilitate cooperation between many local and regional interest groups working toward creating an open, equitable, and regional society for greater St. Louis.
