To have enduring prosperity, a community cannot squander its land; it must develop in ways that are financially productive.
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The test used to evaluate tax incentives is full of holes. Not surprisingly, this has led to problems, and not just in Kansas City. Here’s how to know whether tax incentives will be generating new economic activity…or just moving money around.
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Decades of disinvestment have trapped neighborhoods in poverty. Cities can do something about it—with tools they already have—and build lasting prosperity that benefits everyone.
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Tax incentives are a powerful weapon to attack urban problems. But Kansas City—like many cities—has a history of using them recklessly and ineffectively: more “Ready, Fire, Aim” than “Ready, Aim, Fire.”
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There is nothing stopping local leaders from addressing their community’s legacy of racial injustice. Here is a credible plan for getting started.
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Parking is so ubiquitous that it’s hard to see just how much we have of it. But the data shows us. The data also reveals what a waste of precious resources all that parking is.
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We’ve never been able to afford the Suburban Experiment. But now that our 20th-century infrastructure needs to be repaired or replaced, the bills are coming due in an obvious way.
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Kansas City has spent decades buying into the “Growth Ponzi Scheme,” forever pursuing new growth to pay off old debts. Now the bills are coming due.
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The choice to carve up Kansas City with freeways ranks among the worst planning mistakes in the region's history. Many decades later, the city is still is suffering the consequences.
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Before the age of the freeway, Kansas City was famously a streetcar city. The pattern of development that streetcars fostered was a highly productive one that has stood the test of time. In fact, it still generates an outsized share of the city’s wealth today.
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A home that’s been flexible in meeting the family’s needs for generations finds new use during the COVID-19 crisis.
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Kansas City was once described as the “Paris of the Plains.” Today it is the freeway capital of America. A look at the city’s history of gobbling up land on its outskirts shows why Kansas City could be considered a poster child for America’s radical experiment in suburbanization.
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Kansas City, Missouri has a serious infrastructure problem. But an emerging conversation there is charting a path toward greater strength and financial resilience.
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Kansas City, Missouri recently announced plans to offer free bus service across its system. How will the city pay for it and what role, if any, does free transit play in building a strong town?
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Our own Chuck Marohn and Urban3’s Joe Minicozzi got together to deliver some tough truths about building a stronger Kansas City, Missouri. Lesson number one: Simply tweaking how you collect taxes is not going to solve your revenue problems.
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Kansas City has more freeway lane miles per capita than any other city in the country…and possibly the world. Can a city so devoted to edge development for the last 60 years pursue a more fiscally responsible approach to development? There are reasons to be hopeful.
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Giving valuable space in cities over to cars isn’t great for building walkable or productive places. But for now at least, our urban neighborhoods need some parking. This an area where thoughtful design can help us solve multiple problems at once.
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