Kansas City

Kansas City Puts Down Payment on Clearing Blight

Joining a host of other Midwestern cities establishing land banks to help corral, clear, and repurpose their vacant properties, Kansas City will begin transferring 3,500 vacant properties it recently acquired into a city-owned land bank.

October 29, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

If Congestion is a Sign of Vitality, Kansas City Must Be Suffering

Chuck Marohn opines on the oddly empty, and unnecessarily wide, streets of Kansas City, Missouri. With no traffic to speak of, Marohn argues that by building roads simply to move cars quickly, "We're fighting a beast that does not exist."

September 14, 2012 - Strong Towns

Will Digital Divide in Kansas City Exacerbate its Historic Racial Divide?

The competition to determine which communities in Kansas City will qualify to receive Google Fiber, the nation's fastest internet service, has stoked fears of increasing the city's historic patterns of segregation, reports John Eligon.

September 11, 2012 - The New York Times

Desire for Streetcars Spreads Across America

From Atlanta to Kansas City to Los Angeles, cities across the country are welcoming a return of streetcars to their downtowns in the hopes of boosting economic growth and improving circulation. Some see the cars as just the latest urban planning fad.

August 15, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

318 Votes Enough to Pass Kansas City Streetcar Measure

Of a whopping 555 eligible voters, 318 voted this week to approve a special taxing district to help pay for a downtown Kansas City streetcar, reports David Twiddy.

August 4, 2012 - Kansas City Business Journal

Highly Anticipated Google Fiber Plan for Kansas City Unveiled

Calling it the "next phase of the Internet", Google announced the details of the roll out of its ultrahigh-speed Internet network this week, which will offer speeds 100 times faster than typical broadband connections to residents of Kansas City.

July 27, 2012 - The New York Times

Shining a Light on an Architectural Innovator

Following up on his insightful essay on the politics of architectural reputation seen through the career of Louis Curtiss, Keith Eggener examines the architect's innovations with glass curtain walls.

May 19, 2012 - Places

Did Kansas City Place A Losing Bet on its Downtown?

Eliot Brown explores how lower than expected tax revenues from the Power & Light District redevelopment project are forcing Kansas City to cut core services.

April 25, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Examining Our Now-Fading Mania For Malls

On the sixty-year anniversary of the genesis of the country's first enclosed mall, Mark Hinshaw looks at America's foolish detour into shopping malls.

April 19, 2012 - Crosscut

Branding Kansas City through Graphic Design

Sharon Gochenour explores the ways in which the evolution of graphic communications – from building signage to official logos – represent various aspects of Kansas City's identity.

March 18, 2012 - This Big City

Do You Know How Big Your City Is?

Samuel Arbesman pens a fascinating piece in The Atlantic Cities analyzing our subjective concepts of scale and context in relation to our ideas about the importance and size of cities.

March 10, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Reconciling Redevelopment With a Salacious Past

In Kansas City, the historic home of jazz and Prohibition-era excess struggles with a redevelopment effort that attempts to build on that era's history while leaving behind some of its essential characteristics, writes Brandon R. Reynolds.

February 22, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

How and Why Does an Architect Become Famous?

In a fascinating essay in the journal Places, Keith Eggener examines the politics of architectural reputation through the lens of architect Louis Curtiss's life and career.

February 12, 2012 - Places

Liveblog: ULI Rose Center Kansas City Study Visit

I'm writing from the audience of a presentation this morning in the Hotel Phillips in Kansas City. The presentation will cover the initial observations and recommendations of a national team of experts who've been invited here by Mayor Sly James and his team of Daniel Rose Fellows. The Kansas City Daniel Rose Fellows:

January 13, 2012 - Jess Zimbabwe

Architects Partner Up with Habitat for Humanity

Public Architecture, a San Francisco-based organization, and Habitat for Humanity have tapped a Kansas City Architecture firm to pilot green design concepts for the new houses. This project is just one of five nationwide.

November 25, 2011 - The Kansas City Star

'Burbs Don't "Support the Vision" for Tech Company

Lured by state and potentially city incentives, one high-tech headquarters is ditching its current suburban location for a spot in downtown Kansas City. Is a resurgence afoot? Kevin Collison reports.

November 17, 2011 - The Kansas City Star

Kansas City Businesses Invest in the Arts, Hoping to Stir Success

With little taxpayer investment, a dynamic Moshe Safdie-designed Center for the Performing Arts has arisen in Kansas City. Hampton Stevens says that the companies are betting on the power of the arts to attract investment and attention.

November 1, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

Google to Transform Kansas City into Broadband Wonderland

Google announced that it had chosen Kansas City, Kansas as the launching site for an experimental fiber-optic network with speeds of up to 1 Gb per second.

March 30, 2011 - TechCrunch

Kansas City Rejects Plaza Project

Kansas City's Plan Commission has denied a 55-acre redevelopment centered around a downtown plaza - a project that had the approval of the Planning Dept. and the local AIA Chapter, but evidently not the community.

March 16, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

Where To Rent, Where to Buy

A real estate report found that there are only four cities in the U.S. where it makes more sense for residents to rent rather than buy. The foreclosure crisis has made it more practical to buy rather than rent in 72% of America's 50 largest cities.

January 31, 2011 - San Francisco Examiner

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