Sprawl In Kansas

Same story as before. People leaving inner ring. Building a new outring which is more costly then the inner ring per person. The Inner ring becomes the new ghetto.

Meanwhile, vacant houses are increasing in Kansas City, streets are crumbling in Kansas City, Kan., stores are closing in Independence, and Raytown’s aging neighborhoods are losing residents.

The upshot: Taxpayers are building a lot more public infrastructure in the outer-ring suburbs, which will require much more money to maintain in the future. Meanwhile, people are abandoning inner-ring neighborhoods with plenty of useful life left in them.

Statistics clearly show that residents old and new to this region want to “escape” the older housing, crime, poor minorities and all the real and perceived problems of living, say, anywhere within 10 miles or so of downtown.

You can write a letter to the editor here:

The Kansas City Star
1729 Grand Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64108

or email here letters@kcstar.com