ormation of many industrial
companies, providing employment to new generations of immigrants. It reached
its peak population of 856,796 at the 1950 census. Suburbanization from the
1950s through the 1990s dramatically reduced the city's population, and this
was exacerbated by the relatively small geographical size of St. Louis due to
its earlier decision to become an independent city. During the 19th and 20th
century, most major cities aggressively annexed surrounding areas as they grew
out away from the central city; however St. Louis was unable to do so. The city
of St. Louis contains only 11% of its total metropolitan population, while the
central city averages 24% of total metropolitan area population among the top
20 metro areas in the United States. Although small increases in population
were seen in St. Louis' population during the early 2000s, the city of St.
Louis lost population from 2000 to 2010. Immigration has continued, with the
city attracting Vietnamese, Latinos from Mexico and Central America, and
Bosnians, the latter forming the largest Bosnian community outside their
homeland.
Several urban renewal projects were built
in the 1950s, as the city struggled to improve old and substandard housing.
Some of these were poorly designed and resulted in problems, of which
Pruitt-Igoe became a symbol of failure and was torn down.
Since the 1980s, revitalization efforts
have focused on downtown St. Louis, and gentrification has taken place in the
Washington Avenue Historic District. Because of its strategic efforts and the
upturn in urban revitalization, St. Louis received the World Leadership Award
for urban renewal in 2006
