Kansas City: 'Silicon Prairie?'

The city's growth and the arrival of tech giants like Meta could signal a tech-based renaissance.

2 minute read

March 30, 2022, 12:00 PM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Downtown Kansas City Missouri

Stuseeger / Flickr

"Some 50 years after the opening of its airport, as well as a sparkling football stadium-baseball park sports complex named after native son and former President Harry S. Truman, the city is ready for a long overdue makeover," writes Jon Swartz about Kansas City. Now, the city plans to open a $1.5 billion international airport next year, among other major projects that boosters hope will encourage tech companies and other employers to move to the city.

On Thursday, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. FB, +2.92% announced plans for an $800 million data center at Golden Plains Technology Park, a 1 million-square-foot facility near the airport. A $351 million extension of the city’s street car line should be complete by 2025. An 11,000-seat, soccer-only stadium for the KC Current – the first in North America for a professional women’s team – is scheduled to open in 2024 for $70 million.

"'I prefer to think of this area as Silicon Prairie,' Tom Herzog, chief operating officer of Netsmart Technologies Inc., which develops and sells health-information technology such as electronic health records. 'The health tech ecosystem sits in the middle of the heartland.'"

As Swartz writes, "Cybersecurity, architecture and engineering tech and animal agricultural tech also highlight a region of 2.65 million people that LinkedIn ranks as No. 8 in net in-migration since the pandemic, as well as among the top-15 metropolitan areas for tech jobs per capita."

Saturday, March 26, 2022 in Market Watch

babyt Boomer Homeowners

The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?

In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.

March 12, 2023 - PlaceShakers and NewsMakers

Aerial view of snowy single-family homes in suburban Long Island, New York

New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition

Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.

March 20, 2023 - Mark H. McNulty

Yellow on black "Expect Delays" traffic sign

A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts

Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.

March 14, 2023 - Todd Litman

New York City Zoning Map

Ranking Exclusionary Zoning: D.C., New York Metro Areas Top the List

A new database measures the restrictiveness of exclusionary zoning practices around the country. Exclusionary zoning, it turns out, is much more prevalent than commonly acknowledged.

27 minutes ago - The Eviction Lab

Pedestrian stoplight with green 'walk' silhouette lit up and blurry city buildings in background

Historically Redlined Neighborhoods Have Higher Rates of Pedestrian Deaths, Study Says

The consequences of historic redlining continue to have consequences in the present day United States. Add another example to the list.

1 hour ago - Streetsblog USA

A toll payment facility in Florida.

Tolling All Lanes

Bay Area transportation planners are studying a radical idea to reduce traffic congestion and fund driving alternatives: tolling all lanes on a freeway. Even more radical, the plan considers tolling parallel roads.

March 21 - San Francisco Chronicle

Planner II

City of Greenville

Planner I

City of Greenville

Rural Projects Coordinator (RARE AmeriCorps Member)

Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.