TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! Gentrification on the Westside of Kansas City is Dangerous!!!
The corner of 17th and Summit is an intersection dividing different worlds. On one side there is the pricey Blue Bird cafe and a very expensive bakery catering to yuppies throughout downtown, on the other side there is Los Alamos -- One of the many bodegas in the Latino neighborhoods of Kansas City. The Southeast side contains a hip-hop recording studio and facing that across from that is an urban garden and a parking lot.
This last story of the day is just a bit of neighborhood news that has greater implications for all of Kansas City and maybe even the nation. This story is currently spreading all around The Westside like wildfire.
Recently, one of the many urban professionals -- a new arrival to the neighborhood -- along with one of his friends were brutally beaten and robbed in front of Los Alamos market by two men who were most likely illegal immigrants . . . Right or wrong, the term used around this part of town is "mojados" -- At the very least I want TKC readers to know just a little bit about the wonderfully descriptive language of The Westside.
From what I hear the robbery was rather intense. One of the victims is now in the hospital under intensive care.
Now, this story might not shine a flattering light on The Westside, my neighborhood, but it's important to acknowledge reality. The reality of the situation is that rampant real estate speculation in this part of town is creating real tension among everyone in this neighborhood. The Great Recession has killed the hopes of so many interlopers hoping to cash in on a relatively safe neighborhood meanwhile longtime neighbors are feeling infringed upon by obtrusive and towering new structures that scream arrogance and a desire to sculpt, transform and recreate a community that was doing fine long before slimy real estate speculators. In all this, crooks and thugs are always looking for opportunity.
I'm very familiar with this community and recently I've seen things that just don't belong . . . A few white people walking their dogs at night, women joggers in the early evening and drunken hipster party-goers relaxing . . . These are all nice things . . . But Downtown Kansas City, The Westside and so many parts of the urban core aren't exactly ready for the middle-class to create Disney land at the center of this violent city.
It's sad but it's a fact . . . Yuppies and Hipsters walking around with their head in the air in the urban core are putting themselves in danger.
What keeps people safe is situational awareness, an understanding of their surroundings and just a little bit of caution . . . These traits are not prized by the arrogant American middle-class and therein lies the problem.
So . . . Once again TKC is trying to help by bringing a bit of real talk. Illogically priced houses that have stayed for sale for years can't deliver the message loudly enough, some folks aren't taking their cues from the real estate collapse and lingering recession . . . And in the meantime yuppies keep making themselves easy targets in a neighborhood that is sometimes more dangerous than people think.
Change is always difficult, what's even harder is when things stay the same -- which is usually the case in Kansas City.
posted by Tony Permalink
