Lane Forman

Member since September 23, 2025

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Lane Forman9 months ago I propose a citywide Clean City Compact that pairs an immediate, visible cleanup blitz with sustained neighborhood empowerment and a city-sponsored social outreach program. Our goal is simple: if St. Louis truly wants to attract businesses, tourists, and residents—and become more prosperous instead of declining—we must make urban cleanliness a core city service powered by community pride, community buy-in and participation and smart active and consistent city-wide policy.Here’s how we do it. Launch a 90-day Clean Sweep to reset the baseline and restore confidence. Philadelphia’s “One Philly, United City” showed what coordinated municipal action can achieve: a unified command structure aligning sanitation, parks, police (for illegal dumping), water, and transportation delivered 61,000+ quality-of-life services in just 13 weeks. We should replicate that cadence, focused weeks of cross-department action in every ward, and then institutionalize a twice-yearly citywide sweep, with district-level daily maintenance. Empower neighborhoods with micro-grants and tools, modeled on “Love Your Block” in Columbia, Missouri. Small resident-led grants (a few hundred to a few thousand dollars) have produced outsized results across U.S. cities: hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash removed, over a thousand acres improved, and new gardens, artworks, and small parks at a fraction of traditional costs. We can set up a rapid mini-grant program administered with trusted community partners, pairing grants with city-provided equipment, dumpsters, and pickups. Mobilize volunteers at scale through civic partners and a standing calendar. “Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup” mobilizes hundreds of thousands of volunteers annually. We can anchor monthly volunteer dates, rotate hotspots, and use adopt-a-block and adopt-a-creek programs to create ongoing ownership. Much of this work is free, powered by residents, neighborhood organization and faith leaders and even more is possible with sponsors who can fund supplies, refreshments, and recognition. Create a City-sponsored Social Outreach Program that makes cleanliness a shared identity. Behavior change is the engine. Tanzania’s national campaign nearly doubled sanitation coverage by appealing to aspiration, identity, inclusion, pride, and health messaging. We can invest in localized creative, youth-led content, and neighborhood-branded challenges that make stewardship visible and fun. Pair that with positive, identity-affirming messages (not guilt) and friendly, but credible, enforcement for chronic dumping. Align incentives and policies to sustain the gains. Consider phased pilots of Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) to reduce trash tonnage and fund diversion. Middletown, CT achieved 62% diversion. Expand smart litter bins in busy corridors and standardize alley/lot responsibilities to end “no one’s job” gaps. Publish a simple public dashboard with litter indices, 311 response SLAs (service level agreements), diversion rates, and volunteer participation so progress is visible and energetic and so trust grows between residents and all city-wide partners. Funding and leverage. The compact is designed to scale with resources: Free: volunteer cleanups, adopt-a-block, youth/service/organization projects, coordinated agency action. With civic partners: tool banks, supplies, dumpsters, murals, pocket parks, recognition programs, and data collection, funded by sponsors, foundations, business districts, faith organizations and universities. With City sponsorship: a constant and consistent professional social outreach program, sustained mini-grants, smart bins on priority corridors, and targeted enforcement technology where dumping is chronic. Why this will work in St. Louis. Philadelphia proves the municipal side: when departments move-as-one and leadership is visible, residents feel the difference and reciprocate. Columbia, Missouri’s Love Your Block experience proves that modest investments can unlock large civic returns through local private/public ownership. San Diego and other U.S. cities demonstrate that volunteerism plus diversion infrastructure lowers long-term costs while improving service quality. The lesson is consistent: align city capacity with community energy, gamify the expected result, show results fast, and make the new standard stick through cadence and a cultural and behavioral shift.A pragmatic 12-month plan: Months 0-1: Set up the cross-sector task force; map hotspots and service gaps; finalize metrics and dashboard. Months 1-3: Run the 90-day Clean Sweep with before/after documentation in every ward; publish weekly progress. Months 2-6: Open the rolling mini-grant portal; seed 100+ block projects with tools, dumpsters, and weekend pickups. Months 3-9: Launch the Social Outreach Program: school challenges, neighborhood pride campaigns, business window decals, and weekly or monthly volunteer days. Months 6-12: Institutionalize. set twice-yearly sweeps, district maintenance schedules, PAYT pilot, and smart bins in top corridors; expand mini-grants tied to measurable outcomes. Publicly highlight the wins of each and every phase above. Publicly, consistently and respectfully request everyone’s participation to ensure systemic city-wide duration. Metrics that matter (to justify continued funding): Environmental: litter index reduction, illegal dumping reports, 311 SLAs, waste diversion/recycling rates. Social: resident satisfaction and civic pride measures; volunteer numbers; number of community-led projects. Economic: corridor foot traffic, storefront occupancy, visitor satisfaction, and property value trends in pilot zones. Return on investment. Clean, well-maintained public spaces draw foot traffic, encourage retail spend, signal municipal competence to investors, and improve workforce attraction and retention. This is not just about tidier streets; it’s about restoring confidence, it’s about drawing the community together for a common goal with benefits to all, it’s about accelerating neighborhood revitalization, and it’s about widening the city’s tax base through growth instead of rate increases.What’s needed from the City: Seed funding for the Social Outreach Program (creative development, media buys, youth micro-influencers, faith and other organizational micro-influencers, and multilingual materials). A mini-grant pool administered with community partners, plus logistics (tool banks, dumpsters, scheduled pickups). A unified operations cadence: twice-yearly sweeps, aligned departmental schedules and cooperation, and clear escalation for chronic dumping. A commitment to publish the dashboard monthly or preferably initiate a live-dashboard so that everyone can see and feel real-time active progress and can also plan for areas that may have been overlooked. Adjust tactics based on results. We can see visible wins in 30-90 days, reach citywide milestones in 6-12 months, and lock in a culture shift over 12-24 months. If we want more businesses, tourists, and residents, a clean city is the most immediate, credible proof that St. Louis is serious about prosperity. Let’s make cleanliness our shared civic brand, and our competitive edge.Helpful LinksFederal and National Resources U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): https://www.epa.gov/ - Federal environmental regulations, cleanup programs, and community resources for municipal cleanliness initiatives EPA Cleanup and Reuse Success Stories: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/cleanup-and-reuse-success-stories - Comprehensive case studies of successful environmental cleanup projects nationwide EPA Environmental Justice Grants: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-grants - Federal funding opportunities for community environmental projects National League of Cities: https://www.nlc.org/ - Municipal governance resources and best practices for city officials implementing cleanliness programs Keep America Beautiful: https://kab.org/ - National nonprofit focused on community improvement and anti-litter programs with proven implementation strategies Great American Cleanup: https://kab.org/our-signature-programs/great-american-cleanup/ - Annual nationwide cleanup program with resources for local implementation Research and Data Sources Columbia University Climate Health Evidence: https://climatehealthevidence.org/ - Research on health impacts of environmental programs and cleanliness initiatives International City/County Management Association (ICMA): https://icma.org/ - Professional resources for municipal management and sustainability programs Urban Institute Community Development: https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/metropolitan-housing-and-communities-policy-center - Research on community-level initiatives and their impacts Lessons from Tanzania’s Nyumba ni Choo Program: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10563015/ - Detailed analysis of successful behavioral change strategies Citywide Inclusive Sanitation Research: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2020.585418/full - Academic research on comprehensive urban sanitation approaches Successful Program Examples Philadelphia One Philly United City: https://www.phila.gov/2024-09-06-city-officials-celebrate-the-success-of-the-historic-one-philly-united-city-citywide-cleaning-program/ - Comprehensive documentation of successful municipal coordination I Love A Clean San Diego: https://www.cleansd.org/ - Volunteer programs, educational resources, and community cleanup strategies NYC Department of Sanitation: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dsny/ - Municipal waste management and cleanliness initiatives from America’s largest city Sanitation Foundation: https://www.sanitationfoundation.org/ - NYC anti-litter campaigns and research studies on behavioral change Zero Waste Scotland: https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/some-best-litter-prevention-campaigns-around-world - International best practices in litter prevention campaigns International Best Practices UN-Habitat Clean Cities Programme: https://unhabitat.org/ - Global urban development and environmental sustainability initiatives C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group: https://www.c40.org/ - Climate action and urban sustainability best practices from global cities ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability: https://iclei.org/ - International municipal cooperation on environmental issues and cleanliness programs World Bank Urban Development: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment - Global urban development research and funding programs Community Engagement Resources Community Tool Box - Neighborhood Cleanup Programs: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/implement/physical-social-environment/neighborhood-cleanup-programs/main - Comprehensive guide to organizing neighborhood cleanup programs Love Your Block Program Resources: https://www.como.gov/volunteer/volunteer-programs/love-your-block/ Columbia MO has implemented versions with documented best practices and implementation guides K-State Research Extension - Community Clean-Up Campaigns: (download) https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/conducting-a-community-clean-up-fix-up-campaign_MF931.pdf - Practical guide for conducting community clean-up campaigns Funding and Grant Opportunities USDA Rural Development Environmental Programs: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/environmental-programs - Federal rural environmental infrastructure funding Foundation Directory Online: https://fdo.foundationcenter.org/ - Database of foundation grants for environmental and community projects Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/ - Federal government grant opportunities database with environmental and community development categories Missouri and St. Louis Regional Resources Missouri Department of Natural Resources: https://dnr.mo.gov/ - State environmental regulations and cleanup programs with local implementation support Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District: https://www.stlmsd.com/ - Regional waste management and water quality programs serving the St. Louis metropolitan area Missouri Coalition for the Environment (MCE): https://moenvironment.org/ - Regional environmental advocacy and community programs focused on St. Louis area sustainability Missouri Municipal League: https://www.mocities.com/ - Resources for Missouri city officials implementing municipal programs East-West Gateway Council of Governments: https://www.ewgateway.org/ - Regional planning organization with environmental and community development resources