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I would say Baltimore, simply because of the footage of the recent riots that can be readily viewed and aired on national and global TV for about a week. You "hear" about problems in both cities, but the fact that there is recent footage of the chaotic riots in Baltimore, gives it more palpable "baggage." Plus, the string of recent corruption over the last decade involving multiple mayors and city officials gives Baltimore more baggage. In addition to squeegee kids incidents and many media stories of incidents involving tourists getting beat up/ assaulted over the last decade (including the tourist who was stripped of his pants after being assaulted- on YouTube). Baltimore definitely takes the cake for negative, publicized incidents despite them both having the "perception" of having baggage.
Both cities, as do many others old industrial cities, Cleveland included, have their share of urban problems. But I voted St. Louis, which I had the pleasure of visiting for the first time 2 hot summers ago-- and really enjoyed it. Despite its problems, St. Louis has a lot going for it: an attractive though a bit lifeless downtown (Gateway Arch really helps, though), cool, historic walkable neighborhoods, like CWE, Soulard, Tower Grove, etc.
Baltimore has a much sturdier downtown urban core, with vibrant, adjacent to downtown neighborhoods such as Federal Hill, Mt. Vernon, Little Italy/East Harbor, Fells Point and Canton -- most of which are attractive/historic old rowhouse, walkable areas. St. Louis, as a Midwestern City, more mirrors Cleveland, with a gulf of worn out industrial and/or blighted neighborhoods adjacent to downtown (for Cleveland, this is more on its East than West Sides where as St. Louis kind of has a ring around all sides of downtown).
Also, Baltimore Harbor, itself, offers an active waterfront district with river taxis, local cruises and waterfront restaurants... By contrast, St. Louis' Mississippi River location offers none of this, aside from a paddleboat cruise now and again. But the Mississippi is very wide and largely industrial and St. Louis, recreationally and entertainment-wise, has almost no interaction, aside from visitors to the Arch overlooking it.
As for mass transit, both cities, while having imperfect rail systems, get points for having rail rapid transit, at all, while most American middle/large cities do not. St. Louis' LRT MetroLink is cool. Baltimore has heave and light rail systems, but they are disjointed with LRT having a horribly slow street running section along a badly blighted street (Howard) into downtown. But Baltimore benefits from its East Coast location near DC and Philly, and is served by 2 MARC commuter rail lines as well as, of course, Amtrak's electrified Northeast Corridor rail line featuring Acela, the closest thing America has to a bullet-type, high-speed network.
Both cities are benefited by hosting 2 top universities -- Hopkins and Wash U, and have strong medical centers as well as cultural bases.
Both cities have been plagued by race-related riots in recent years which have hurt their national reputations (and, I'm sure, why they were picked for this thread). However, St. Louis' racial problems seem deeper and more ingrained than B'More's, by a long shot. Despite the horrible Freddie Gray death and some issues white visitors are having with African American youth around the Inner Harbor these days, there seems to be more harmony and cooperation among the races in Baltimore as opposed to St. Louis. -- just my impression.
Both cities have way too much blight as do all American cities highlighting our laissez faire have/have not society. To me, this universal American urban problem is a national embarrassment.
Bmore. Despite an elite location, harbor, and proximity to the beltway, it still has issues.
St. Louis is Mizzurra. Which is perceived as backwards, isolated, and not much going for it. St Lewie logistically speaking, has a lot less going for it.
Both cities have been plagued by race-related riots in recent years which have hurt their national reputations (and, I'm sure, why they were picked for this thread). However, St. Louis' racial problems seem deeper and more ingrained than B'More's, by a long shot. Despite the horrible Freddie Gray death and some issues white visitors are having with African American youth around the Inner Harbor these days, there seems to be more harmony and cooperation among the races in Baltimore as opposed to St. Louis. -- just my impression.
Very interested in your take on race relations in St. Louis and Baltimore.
Growing up in St. Louis, I would alway hear and read about how behind race relations where in St. Louis. When I moved away to North Carolina, Tennessee and Illinois, I found there wasn't any less racism but it always revealed itself according to the local culture. An example is a friend of mine worked in NYC for a few months and was harrassed quite often on her journey to and from work. NYC has a lot of culture and diversity but has a lot of racial problems. Her story could be written about any American city. It isn't the same in St. Louis but she has other racially motivated incidents to talk about in St. Louis.
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