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

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

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

New York MTA Says No More Borrowing, Will Cut Costs Instead
The agency says it won’t take out any new loans to finance its planned improvements and is finding other ways to cut costs.

Research: More Complex Streets Are Safer
Streets that offer more perceived obstacles and distractions can force drivers to slow down and drive more carefully.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions