Kansas City Star Editorial Board Laments 'Denverization'

The Kansas City Editorial Board is raising the alarm about the changes occurring in the Missouri city, with concerns about an affordable housing crisis exacerbated by ongoing gentrification around the city.

The editorial follows shortly after a feature story written by Bill Turque, which digs deep into ground zero of the changes occurring in Kansas City, the Troost Avenue corridor. Turque writes:

The once-vibrant shopping district at 31st Street is headed for renewal. Home rehabilitation and infill construction that started in Beacon Hill is surging south through the Center City, Squier Park and Manheim Park neighborhoods.

But with its transformation, Troost risks becoming shorthand for another kind of historic failure: The absence of city policies to ensure affordable housing and protect long-time residents from displacement.

With that context, the editorial suggests the city should implement inclusionary zoning, without calling the policy by name. Also suggested: making the upconing mayoral campaign a referendum on the city's housing policies.

"Every candidate must explain in detail how he or she plans to stop the Denverization that’s already happening," according to the editorial. "Otherwise, we’ll have more and more mountain-view prices, Rockies not included."