Thoughts on the events in Ferguson (St. Louis: 2015, crime, neighborhood)

[D-Towner]

Do you think many people will be moving out of Ferguson after the events that took place in 2014? How did those of you who live in nearby suburbs feel about the safety of you and your family when the riots and looting happened after the shooting and the verdict?

[MacInTx]

I think the people moving out should be the police officers (yeah, I know most likely do not live there). I recommend they move into another police force. Leave the hoodlums to themselves. Let the justice department sort it out.

[aliasfinn]

I expect a lot of people would like to get the hell out of there if they could. I'm not too far from Ferguson, I'm in another one of those rapidly becoming infamous North County towns and I didn't feel any less safe than I normally do.

[Floorist]

I would assume that any of the white people who can move will move. If it becomes an all black city, I hope it doesn't become another Gary, Ind, or Detroit.

[Dawn10am]

The middle class (especially whites) is going to stampede out and it's going to be North East St. Louis within a decade.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by Dawn10am

The middle class (especially whites) is going to stampede out and it's going to be North East St. Louis within a decade.

Seems likely, especially since it was already happening BEFORE the Michael Brown/Darren Wilson incident happened.

[Hector2]

The city of Ferguson is facing some real financial problems and they are only going to increase. It already had a deficit in 2014 and had to deplete a reserve fund to pay its bills. In 2015, it is planning to tap into its last reserve fund. It had also planned to increase revenue and make up the deficit in 2015 by, get this, increasing the amount of tickets its police write. Well, with the Justice Dept. report, that plan is rightfully out the window. The city is also going to get hit with all sorts of lawsuits. City services will be effected which will be another reason for people to leave if they can.

[FrankMiller]

I think the people worried about the so-called declining quality of the neighborhood mostly moved out a decade or two ago. So I'm not sure I see much additional migration.

[MOKAN]

I'm guessing a lot of the white people that remain in Ferguson are older, without kids, and dying off - those who bought into the area when it was new or newer. I'm guessing there's a lack of young white people there, including in the age range that people tend to commit more crimes, and that this is part of the reason why blacks are 'overrepresented' in the crime stats. That said, I'm sure a lot of the black people who have moved there have done so for a better life, and I would imagine some of them wish to move elsewhere as well.

[mjtinmemphis]

I would like to remain optimistic about Ferguson's future but I wasn't so optimistic before last August.

Maybe. Just maybe the recent events in Ferguson will make some of the changes that need to happen for the city to be livable.

I don't think the city will die. Many residents do care about their community and want to see it happen again. Many responding don't care for Ferguson and have nothing to do with the area. I will hope for the best.

It's obvious that many officers shouldn't have had jobs in Ferguson. We can't expect residents to want a business as usual department.