> Most of those cities didn't lose people; they just moved them out of their urban core. St. Louis, as a region, for example, has grown slightly over the last 40 years.
You seem to be confused. St. Louis is a city, and has lost people, just like major cities across the country did. This is part of what led to urban blight. It's the St. Louis metro area that has remained stable/growing.
As a St. Louisan, I'm not impressed by descriptions of the region that emphasize myopically-drawn political borders from 1876. My point, clearly, was that St. Louis didn't lose people to other cities. It lost people to other parts of its own region.
Further, I assure you that people from outside the region make no such distinction when they talk about "St. Louis."
You seem to be confused. St. Louis is a city, and has lost people, just like major cities across the country did. This is part of what led to urban blight. It's the St. Louis metro area that has remained stable/growing.