The Valentine neighborhood is a neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Midtown area of Kansas City, Missouri. it is bound by 31st Street to 40th Street- north to south- and Broadway Boulevard to Southwest Trafficway- east to west. Except for 40th Street, the boundary roads are all high traffic streets, with Southwest Trafficway having one of the highest annual traffic counts across the entire city. Historic homes, mature tree coverage, comparatively narrow streets on the interior, and proximity to many amenities all make this neighborhood quite attractive and desirable. While seemingly picturesque, this neighborhood has faced and continues to face unique challenges.

Prior to this assignment, I had become superficially acquainted with the Valentine neighborhood and the surrounding area. I’ve lived in the nearby Hyde Park neighborhood for nearly two years and my main route to reach the grocery store, as well as my commute on the Main MAX bus route, has taken me to the neighborhood quite often. Additionally, before transferring to UMKC, I attended and graduated from the MCC – Penn Valley campus on the northernmost portion of the neighborhood. That said, most times before now has had me traveling through the neighborhood rather than to it.

Against my better judgement, for my first site visit, I took a rather unpleasant walk along Southwest Trafficway and fully experienced the historic “highway” as a pedestrian. The now over 70 year old highway truly highlights the stark differences and changes seen in roadway design standards over the years. Originally built with narrow lanes that have persisted to today in addition to the high speed limit of 45 miles per hour all make driving very uncomfortable (though that doesn’t deter drivers from driving above the speed limit). However, for pedestrians, it isn’t just uncomfortable; It is outright unsafe. The narrow sidewalk built right up to the curb (shown in the photo below) puts pedestrians even closer to peril . On a day such as this one, the remaining snow on the sidewalk only made the situation worse; One patch of ice unnoticed could have been my end.

The walk from 31st Street to 38th Street also highlights the main struggle this neighborhood has seen for at least the last 70 years; The demolition of homes or, more broadly, land vacancy.

A large portion of the lots facing Southwest Trafficway, as well as many going into the interior of the neighborhood, once saw homes but now sit empty waiting for eventual redevelopment. Most of these lots are owned by the Kansas City Life Insurance Company that also calls the neighborhood home (Located at the intersection of 35th and Broadway.)

There is a deep history to Valentine and its residents have taken a strong interest and ownership in the neighborhood and how determinations are made. Working in this neighborhood will certainly be learning experience.