St. Louis County has 90 municipalities.

It’s a fact we’ve heard casually thrown into news stories over the past few months, with little explanation as to how St. Louis County came to be a hodge-podge of towns. In this episode of We Live Here, we talk to Esley Hamilton, a preservationist for St. Louis County Parks, who explains why there are so many municipalities in the region.

Within this system of municipalities, people are largely divided — white, black, rich and poor. They rarely live next to each other.

So, for this podcast, we also wanted to get a sense of how people living in different parts of this jigsaw puzzle think about race and money ... what their hopes are for the future ... and maybe their fears.

With this in mind, we took a long drive up Lindbergh Boulevard. With the help of our pals in the St. Louis Public Radio newsroom, we made six stops along Lindbergh. In this podcast you’ll meet …

James Sinclair, who works in Mehlville.

Marie Kelly of Kirkwood.

Chris Kehr of Frontenac.

Sister Rose Ann Ficker of St. Ann.

Mallori Barnes in Florissant (or just outside).

Benjamin T. Allen Sr. of Black Jack.

Our theme music is composed by Cassie Morgan.

Other music in this podcast comes from Syna So Pro and Middle Class Fashion.

