The Kansas City Star

With much fanfare, Kansas City was selected in 2011 as the launching site for Google's experimental fast fiber-optic network. Now, a dispute about how and where to run fiber optic lines on poles in the city is causing significant delays.

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.

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.

Steven Huff, who is chairman of a concrete company, is building a 13 bedroom, 14 bath home in Highlandville, Missouri out of his company's energy-efficient concrete. When built, it will be one of the largest homes in the U.S.

A recipient of AICP National Planning Landmark Award, Country Club Plaza is part of Kansas City's historic shopping district. A developer is proposing to replace two historic buildings on the Plaza with contemporary designs.

To help pay for transportation needs, a Kansas City suburb approved a "driveway" tax based on the amount of traffic a property is expected to generate.

University of Missouri-Kansas City researchers are making headway on "self-synchronizing moving objects" -- that is, getting cars to communicate with each other on highways so they can travel at faster speeds without accidents.

Urban Land Institute president Patrick L. Phillips says his hometown of Kansas City needs to mend its car-centric infrastructure and encourage denser growth in the suburbs.

A sales tax plan to fund light rail in Kansas City has failed.

In metropolitan Kansas City, two sales tax initiatives on the ballot in efforts to raise money for the region's long-planned light rail system.

Elvira's Cakes is a home business that outgrew the kitchen and settled into Kansas City's ailing downtown. The city is looking to small business people like Elvira to breathe new life into Kansas City's struggling districts.

With few local job opportunities, residents in small towns have grown accustomed to long commutes to cities. But with high gas prices making those commutes unaffordable, some economists wonder how much longer small towns can retain their populations.

Streetcars and rail in place of bus rapid transit said to jeopardize federal funding.

Columnist E. Thomas McClanahan reviews a new public space in Kansas City, and finds a lot to like in the urban design.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser's new proposal calls for a regional transit system spanning 119 miles, though it relies on much less light rail than some transit advocates had hoped for.

This editorial argues that Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser's plans for a regional light rail system are ambitious and not likely to succeed, but they are a powerful example of the froward-thinking mindset more cities need.

This editorial from The Kansas City Star argues that Mayor Mark Funkhouser's plan to create a regional light rail system may be too ambitious, and efforts should be focused on building a smaller system.

Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser has introduces a plan for a regional light rail transit system. Now he just needs his neighbors get on board.

Libertarian groups Cato Institute and Show-Me Institute are scrambling to convince Kansas City to end talks to consider building a light rail system in the city.

The long-awaited report by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission has finally been released and it's sure to create a stir as it calls for annual increases in the gas tax of 5 to 8 cents for 5 years, and then some.