To solve a problem, one must first diagnose its cause. This rings true in all walks of life. Yet this fundamental principle seems to be ignored when the problems of crime and poverty are considered. Parker says “crime and poverty” because they are without question associated with each other

For decades, certain areas of the City of St. Louis have been rife with pain and suffering due to violence. This is a modern American tragedy. The city’s murder rate has been ranked among the highest in the nation. Shootings, drug-dealing, carjacking, gang activity, and other categories of crime are at epidemic levels.

Almost the entire conversation about criminal activity and violence in the city, it ignores the real causes for this deeply entrenched problem. Far too often, many leaders and social justice warriors in the City of St. Louis have jump to the conclusion that increasing the power of government will reduce crime and poverty. They routinely call for government action, such as gun control and “affordable” housing mandates. What these well-intentioned leaders repeatedly fail to explain, however, is why the scourge of violence and poverty exists in these areas in the first place. Politicians have for decades been promising to the City of St. Louis, but these neighborhoods haven’t only failed to improve, they are worse off because of the unintended consequences associated with these and other gargantuan city government programs, and shootings in the City of St. Louis remain an everyday occurrence. The solution to the awful situation in the City of St. Louis becomes quite clear when the cause is properly diagnosed.

Parker believes we need to begin treating violence as a public health concern. He says, “We need to use campaigns and technology to reach every child and family in the St. Louis area. We need to develop those tools to make sure that everybody feels important and cared for through parenting interventions, family interventions, wellbeing campaigns, and early childhood education. 

As the son of a former police chief, policing and public safety is the top priority for Parker. He prefers a more moderate approach to law enforcement/police reform than some of the hardcore progressive leaders such as the current mayor, who advocate for “defunding the police.” Parker believes in stressing the need for more and better policing but not at the expense of the often inappropriately aggressive STLPD. Parker realizes that the history of law enforcement and policing in the St. Louis is less than stellar. Corruption, excessive force, embarrassing antics have put the St. Louis in the national spotlight, but he is unapologetic when he says he wants not only the people of St. Louis to know, but also the nation that if you are in the city of St. Louis, and you commit a crime, there will be a harsh punishment. He believes it has to be this way if you are going to reduce crime.

“I want a thousand more police officer on the street” states Parker. Statistics say that by adding a new police officer to a city, it prevents between 0.06 and 0.1 homicides, which means that the average city would need to hire between 10 and 17 new police officers to save one life a year. They estimate that costs taxpayers annually between $1.3 and $2.2 million. The federal government puts the value of a statistical life at around 10 million dollars. So, his campaign believes, from that perspective, investing in more police officers to save lives provides a pretty good bang for the buck. In addition, adding more police, also reduces other serious crimes, like robbery, rape, and aggravated assault.

Parker also believes larger police forces result in Black lives saved at about twice the rate of white lives saved (relative to their percentage of the population). When you consider African Americans are much more likely to live in dense, poverty-stricken areas with high homicide rates, leading to more opportunities for police officers to potentially prevent victimization, that may help explain this finding. But Parker also believes at looking at policing in the 21st century with a step back in time. He wants to entertain the idea of the “Beat Cop” again.”

Parker believes that the Beat Cop knew everyone in the neighborhood and had that connection, where much of today’s law enforcement officers are relegated to the vehicle. The beat cop is possibly the key to bring police and community together. For you who may not know what a beat cop is, it’s an officer who walks his patrol, interacts with merchants and the citizens on his beat. He becomes part of the community; he shares points of view with the people. He is there as a sounding board for their complaints, and he is also a receptor of their ideas to make their community better and safer.

He believes that the police patrol car that drives by is distant from the people. It appears as a symbol of authority and its only interaction with people comes when a crime is committed, arrest is made or responding to a motor vehicle accident. Of course, these are important functions of our law enforcement and is of a high priority.

He states, “that is all good, but without the community engaged with our police, the mistrust, fear and anger will still simmer in the community and with one spark, social unrest can flare into flames. It is time for the City of St. Louis to realize the importance of the beat cop and resurrect it from the museums and bring it back to the people and their communities.”

Parker understands that one broad, average statistic on one measure of policing outcomes says nothing about other potential problems with policing such as excessive use of force, racial profiling, or other issues that remain top of mind as story after story of Black people getting killed, beaten, or mistreated by the police circulates in the media. But, he says, “reducing the homicide rate and other serious crimes is certainly a benefit for everyone.”

Parker promises to create a smarter and more efficient city government with greater agency coordination and real-time performance monitoring with metrics visible to the public. It’s one of the many big-ticket items in his plan. He pledges to create a single data platform that could help create a more proactive government and save billions of dollars. He would also assign each agency a public performance score that is regularly updated. And the residents of the City of St. Louis would be able to apply for all city services and public benefits through a centralized portal called “MyCitySTL”, helping to streamline city bureaucracy.

Digital technology has provided society with hundreds of advances that make life easier and better for everyone. From the personal computer to the internet to the smartphone to the Internet of Things, we are increasingly living in a technologically driven world.

But what if those technologies were bound together and used to build a Smarter City of St. Louis? What would it take to make such a complex network feasible? And what would it look like to live in a such a city? Are these just the fevered imaginings of science fiction writers or could it be a real possibility? Let’s dig a little deeper.

Citizens of St. Louis could engage with smart city systems using smart phones and other mobile devices, including cars and homes. Think the Internet of Things except on a much, much bigger scale. A citywide scale. Being able to connect to a city’s physical infrastructure and services has the potential to cut costs and improve the city’s sustainability. St. Louis could improve energy dispersal, streamline city services, decrease traffic and reduce air pollution.

The development of smart cities starts with a digital foundation that allows better functionality, that’s more responsive to citizens, and ultimately creates a better urban environment.

Unlike St. Louis, many cities are quickly on the move to embrace smart city technology. Autonomous vehicles are already providing data that could create environments where traffic lights become obsolete. Cities can reduce the number of cars as different transportation modes work together and communicate in real time.

Wi-Fi hotspots on a larger scale can transform the way users access information. And as increased use of public transportation reduces the number of cars on the road, parking needs will decrease and enable cities to re-purpose land for housing.

Energy sources could be better integrated into cities, helping to make a cleaner environment for everyone. At the same time, embedded sensors to detect gunshots or explosions will alert emergency services workers much faster. These systems will also find water, electric and gas issues and assign workers to make repairs as soon as they are needed.

All this possible technological growth is predicated on the idea that technologies can help make people’s lives better in urban areas.

Sustainability is another perk of smart cities. The population in urban centers is expected to increase in the coming years. Recent studies show that 80% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas, while that number was just 60% fifty years ago. Smart technology can help cities sustain growth and create efficient systems for citizens.

In many cities the size of St. Louis, a smart cities innovation accelerator known as UI Labs has started developing tech to monitor storm drainage systems to stave off flooding from rivers.

Another project being developed around the country creates digital maps of underground utility systems. Previously, many cities had to rely on outdated and unfinished maps, slowing construction permitting and emergency services. Videos taken during underground construction are being turned into a digital map of the city undergrounds.

Many cities in the country have achieved a great deal in developing smart city tech and reaping the benefits. They have reduced congestion, lowered emissions, saved money on water and power, and improved economic development. Their commitment to creating smarter urban infrastructure will change the quality of life for all who work, live, and visit the city.

The improvements have already saved the city a significant amount of money and lowered the consumption of water and energy. There are estimated savings of $58 million on water, $50 million in increased parking revenues, and the creation of 47,000 new jobs. The city has also saved an additional $37 million each year in reduced lighting costs.

To maximize the efficiency of city parks, the City of St. Louis could implement technologies that remotely sense and control park irrigation. The sensors could also monitor rain and humidity, so maintenance workers could decide how much irrigation is necessary in each area. A system of electronic valves could be remotely activated to deliver needed water around the city. The program could help the city achieve a 25% increase in water conservation, saving nearly $555,000 per year.

As urban centers grow, the population places creates more environmental pressures. Smart City applications could help cut emissions by up to 15%. In many cities of the developing world, the most water is lost from leakage in pipes. Deploying sensors and using the data can cut such losses by up to 25%. Overall, cities could potentially save 25 to 80 liters of water per person per day.

Air-quality sensors can identify the sources of pollution and galvanize governments and corporations into action. St. Louis could closely track the sources of air pollution and the city could reduce deadly airborne pollutants by roughly 20% in less than a year. While data suggest that there are certainly obtainable benefits to smart city technologies, it can be expensive to build the infrastructure needed to implement the technologies. This has led to smart cities challenges in many cities.

It seems that smart cities are fast approaching. As society’s technologies become intertwined and upgraded, the option for deploying new systems is unlimited. And while there are certainly drawbacks in creating and maintaining a smart city, the City of St. Louis should be looking forward to the next step in technological evolution.

As a former member of St. Louis Development Corporation, John Parker is on top of the economic development of St. Louis. The last decade has provided many reasons for celebration and optimism in the City of St. Louis. Since 2010, St. Louis has grown its jobs base every year. According to the most recent complete annual data, city employment growth was faster than national growth for only the second time since the Great Recession.

In addition to these economic measures, there are other visible signs of success: Downtown has added 5,000 residents; NGA is building a new 100-acre campus in North City; Square, the San Francisco-based mobile payment platform developed by two St. Louis natives, is building offices in the former Post-Dispatch building and is expected to anchor the “North of Washington” innovation corridor; Cortex continues to add significant new physical developments, including a $115 million building at 4210 Duncan Ave.; the Arch Grounds received $380 million worth of enhancements; Union Station is now home to the St. Louis Aquarium and the Wheel, a 200-foot-tall Ferris wheel; the Brickline Greenway will link 17 neighborhoods across the city; and MLS has awarded St. Louis a franchise, which will begin play in a new stadium in Downtown West.

Despite this litany of accomplishments and seemingly bright outlook, other measures such as high job density but low job growth, and profound inequities in access to opportunity and prevalence of poverty among residents paint a bleaker picture. Yet, there is strong reason to believe that the battle to contend in a global economy and the fight for economic equity are not two separate struggles, but one.

Parker believes that addressing the single challenge of equitable urban economic growth requires the commitment and capacities of a broad set of public, private, philanthropic, university, and community stakeholders employing a range of tools to address foundational issues of place, prosperity, and people. Parker says, “We have to connect .com, .gov, .org and .edu if we are going to ensure the future of economic development in the City of St. Louis.”

He believes that all economic development for the City of St. Louis must be intended to link other related economic development plans around the area, thereby creating a unified approach to equitable economic growth in the entire St. Louis Metropolitan Area.

Parker states, “The purpose of all economic development is to position the City of St. Louis” on a path toward a resilient economy by casting the vision that the city and its public, private, and institutional partners can coalesce around and act upon to drive investment and growth in the city. All economic development must be designed to be actionable and to retain and build on the city’s assets and existing strengths, rather than starting anew. Its strategies must be structured to provide detail on specific tactics, including roles of specific organizations, timing of implementation, potential funding, goals, and evaluation metrics.”

Parker believes economic development must be designed to provide the city, and their partners with a playbook for implementing the strategies in each of the three strategic areas (opportunity to thrive, clusters, and place). Strategies in these areas should work in tandem to make the City of St. Louis more attractive to current and prospective residents, workers, entrepreneurs, businesses, and leaders.

“Ultimately, all economic development MUST position St. Louis to compete regionally and globally in its key economic clusters, catalyze the transformation and growth of St. Louis’ neighborhoods through a commitment to “quality of place” throughout the city, capitalize on core economic strengths to unlock the opportunity for all to thrive, and maintain a more sustainable tax base driven by commercial and residential investment and renewed population growth,” stated Parker.

Under the current administration of Mayor Jones, developer and investor morale has fallen sharply in the past year as some in this group shelve and cancel plans due to the belief that their projects will never get approved whether they seek incentives or not. The fear of certain aldermen and alderwomen demanding more than they should and the concern of overly powerful neighborhood groups are also scaring people away. These should be alarming, but they're not. It was all part of the plan for "development rooted in her economic justice plan". The attitude has shifted as well to where more and more people are demanding "affordable housing" but are not understanding that by shooting down project proposals that request incentives, current housing stock will only grow more expensive.

Parker is considered “top-tier” candidate with much corporate and private support, in what is anticipated to be a very crowded and diverse mayoral primary, which will take place 2025.