“Police can’t do it themselves, nor are they the right tool to transform neighborhoods,” French said.

City Treasurer Tishaura Jones said City Hall needed to develop a citywide plan with community input.

“Because the people in those neighborhoods know where our bank and food and retail deserts are,” Jones said. “Let’s plot it all out as if money is no object and figure out what we want to see. From there, we can identify what resources we have and then find money to do the things we want to do.”

Any plan developed under her administration would require a certain percentage of new developments to be set aside for affordable housing. It also would keep a keen eye toward not “gentrifying” communities, she said.

Former Alderman Jimmie Matthews said part of North St. Louis “needs a Marshall Plan.” He wants to give St. Louis residents and companies priority on city construction projects to help boost employment. But locals, he said, should decide what investment comes to their neighborhood.

“The people who live on that block and in that neighborhood should determine what happens in that neighborhood,” Matthews said.