Kansas City Hipsters Hate The Loop

Today let's celebrate another Kansas City tradition for #TBT . . .

AMATEUR URBAN PLANNERS HATE KANSAS CITY HIGHWAYS!!!

There are all kinds of reason . . . Highways & freeways are supposedly racist. They're easy to blame for all manner of economic disparity AND they don't look pretty. 

Accordingly . . . Here's the premise of the ongoing debate which imagines that we'll all get around by trolley . . .

"Every city is shaped by its prevailing transportation technology, but freeways have affected Kansas City's development pattern in a completely different way than streetcars. Unlike a streetcar, which is an asset to the surrounding blocks and serves to connect the people and businesses in its immediate vicinity, a freeway damages the wealth of its surrounding blocks. It functions like a moat, dividing neighborhoods and depressing the value of the land right next to it (where people have to endure constant noise and exhaust) for the benefit of those driving at high speed from relatively far away."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

"Kansas City's Blitz": How Freeway-Building Blew Up Urban Wealth

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.

Businesses, residents weigh in on 50th anniversary of Kansas City downtown loop

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On the 50 th anniversary of Kansas City's downtown loop, residents and business owners have mixed reactions to the highway. The highway has brought people into the heart of Kansas City for decades. During the past several years, Spokes Cafe and Cyclery has served some of those people.

You decide . . .