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.
Fifteen years after its commencement, Reynolds discusses the incomplete redevelopment of the Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District into a newly thriving cultural mecca. While the area was once the heart of African-American life and culture in Kansas City, it's now an odd mix of cultural anchors and the simulacra of a bygone era.
Reynolds, in speaking with KC jazz ambassador David Basse, finds that what might be missing from efforts to resuscitate the area as a living, breathing center of culture once again are those elements that formed the foundation of its artistic flourishing: the late-night pleasures of gambling, drinking, and sex.
According to Reynolds, "Basse thinks that Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans, and New York draw people because they not only accept their wayward pasts, they celebrate them, and the things they produced. Kansas City, on the other hand, is more reticent to remind locals and tourists about that whole corruption/prostitution/gambling thing. 'All of that stuff is not something that is easy for a city or a convention and visitors' bureau or a Junior League to put out and say, ‘Come on out and experience this.'"
"Put another way: To not have the excess is to not have jazz. He quotes a musician friend: 'If you're not willing to stay up and party all night, you'll never have jazz in Kansas City, because that's what it's all about.'"
FULL STORY: The Jazz District Authenticity Problem

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico
An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes
Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels
Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions