Good Urban Deeds (KC) – ideas, ramblings, and coverage of kc urban development

Jim and I like to think we’re idealists.  We love cities, and we love Kansas City, and we think this great city could be much greater if only … “If only” is where we get in trouble sometimes, for two reasons. REASON 1: our frequent undecided voter moments. By “undecided voter moments” we mean moments in which we, with great confidence and ignorance, propose unoriginal solutions to the world’s problems. Here we

I’ve often said that adventuring down the Troost Corridor (particularly the northern part) reminds me of some kind of post-apocalyptic movie scene. This has largely been the case because of a non-existent population, and windowless industrial buildings set far away from the street, surrounded by barbed wire fences. More recently we saw another section of Troost that isn’t plagued by far-flung buildings (t

Dear MAX, When I first moved to Kansas City about two years ago, every morning I drove six minutes to work along your route on Main Street. I was proud of my choice to live in the urban core and proud of a commute time much shorter than the Kansas City average of 20 minutes. But every time I saw you at the stop right around the corner from my apartment, and every time I saw you dropping off passengers a couple of blo

It’s not a secret – I moved from the heart of downtown, to the edge of the Universe (Waldo) back in October. Since then, I’ve had to come into direct contact with a lot of Urban (read: suburban) issues that drive me crazy. I find myself sitting in traffic more and more – so much so that even when things like Trader Joe’s are now incredibly close, I find myself dreading the “dance&#