Harvard students look to improve MLK Drive in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS (AP) - A local nonprofit is working with a group of Harvard University graduate students to turn St. Louis into a national template for revitalizing streets honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Melvin White launched Beloved Streets of America to find ways to redevelop deteriorating Martin Luther King Drives across the country, beginning with St. Louis. He tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that many roadways dedicated to the civil rights champion are run-down and in conditions that are "kind of a slap in the face" to King.
The grad students arrived in St. Louis Saturday to interview residents and gather input on redevelopment ideas. They will present their ideas to White at the end of a 15-week course.