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The main front-page story on Aug. 18 read “North County Suburbia In Crisis� with deck headlines that read “Housing prices: As rest of area rebounds, north St. Louis County market is still sinking� and “Long-term slide: Officials, residents look for answers as poverty creeps, schools decline.�

The coverage raised the public conscience. It also raised public ire among some North County residents, organizations and governmental bodies. A number of people called, wrote and posted online story comments that criticized the headline and story as exaggerated and overly negative.

The crux of the story was a map the Post-Dispatch created based on St. Louis County records that showed, in general, that North County had larger areas in which housing prices had declined. Post-Dispatch journalists mined data that otherwise would have remained buried from the public view.

The fact-based reporting about declining home prices was not disputed among our critics. But they ascribed reckless intentions to our effort to produce an in-depth look at an important issue.

Some elected officials and longtime residents of Ferguson and Florissant defended their communities, which they said were unfairly maligned and painted with too broad of a brush. North County Inc.’s Regional Development Association wrote a letter saying, “Frankly, we deserved better� and contended that the story contributes to the destabilization of a vast, diverse area of 350,000 people.

In response to the reader feedback, the Post-Dispatch published op-ed guest columns and letters to the editor in print and online along with many online story comments in which readers defended their hometowns while many also criticized the Post-Dispatch. We respect readers right to dissent and criticize news coverage in the Post-Dispatch.

Such critiques are valuable and considered in our newsroom. But assertions that the story aimed to inflict damage and perpetuate stereotypes is flat wrong.

Property tax revenue matters because it supports basic public services such as education, public safety and local infrastructure. Post-Dispatch editors view housing and home prices as critical indicators of the health and vitality of the region. It is a topic for ongoing coverage.

In fact, declining housing prices in some parts of North County are even more important because of its key assets such as job centers, established neighborhoods and educational institutions.

North County is home to major employers such as Boeing, Express Scripts and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. But this one story zeroed in on residential housing prices and possible long-term consequences if they were to continue to decline. It was not a definitive look at North County or its economic development.

Regionwide, housing prices are a key economic indicator. Housing prices in the St. Louis metro area grew on average 1.4 percent in July compared to the year before, according to one leading real-estate data service. This trails the national average of 6 percent. Those prices vary across the region and its cities, including in some parts of North County, as depicted in the front-page color map of the region.

Jim Gallagher, who started at the Post-Dispatch in 1989, is a veteran business reporter and columnist who is well acquainted with area cities, including North County, from its bigger cities with major employers to the poorer, small municipalities that struggle economically.

Gallagher’s story on North County included these passages: “Ferguson is a picture of pleasant suburbia, a town of tree-lined streets and well-kept homes, much of them built for the middle class at mid-century� and “North County is a big place, and it can’t be painted with one brush. Much of Hazelwood, Florissant, Overland, Ferguson and other towns are solidly middle class. Some neighborhoods are monuments to stability.�

St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman was quoted, “We see a continuing decline in home prices in North County, and it’s been steeper than in the rest of the county.�

The business editor who oversaw the package has lived in Ferguson. The page designer lives in Ferguson. A reporter who helped to gather the real estate records lives in North County.

The housing prices story was not written in a news vacuum. The Post-Dispatch published front-page stories on Christian Hospital operating the busiest emergency room in the area (Aug. 4); Express Scripts announcing plans to add 1,500 jobs (June 20); and a Business section cover story on a proposal to redevelop two miles of South Florissant Road datelined out of Ferguson (Feb. 22).

On the front page last Sunday, the housing focus shifted to north St. Louis.

Business reporter Tim Logan brought to light how Urban Assets LLC bought more than 200 properties in north St. Louis, left them abandoned and failed to pay property taxes. The impact on those neighborhoods and the city coffers that provide basic services for these areas is deeper and more intractable than housing prices in St. Louis County.

The newspaper did not receive an outpouring of calls and letters from residents in those city neighborhoods such as the Greater Ville nor from elected officials or city economic development agencies. In fact, housing advocates lamented the empty properties left to rot. The story included a front-page map detailing each abandoned property clustered together.

The housing stories on back-to-back Sunday front pages differ and affect different areas. But our motivation with both was to shed light on an important housing situation in our neighborhoods.

Housing is a vital public policy issue that needs the attention of local, county, state and federal elected officials. Tax revenue generated through local property taxes is a key driver of the quality of life within our neighborhoods.

The Post-Dispatch is committed to original, fact-based local reporting that raises critical issues to taxpayers and those who influence public policy.

And Post-Dispatch editors hope that the long-lasting impact will be a community dialogue that focuses on complex issues that do not solve themselves or disappear if ignored.