Most of us are fortunate to experience the world around us visually. There is an amazing and unfathomable amount of pictorial information bombarding us from all directions every moment of our waking lives. If we were to only sit and process everything we see we would do little else with our lives. We have become extremely good at blocking out the majority of what we see so that we can get on with our busy little lives- so much so in fact that when asked to consider the elements of a city Elements such as sidewalks, bus stops, benches, streetlights and signs are all tangible elements that we encounter daily but when it comes down to it, it is hard to immediately recall details about them. They are common but that is not to say that they are simple. These elements of our urban life are the complex and intricate fabric in which we stich in the experiences of our lives.

Another element of this public fabric and by far the largest of them, are views. A view is not a single entity that stands alone like a street lamp, but a view incorporates a wide range of other elements including something like a street lamp. Views are made up of many physical parts but are themselves intangible. Unlike a sidewalk, a bench or a bus stop, views don’t have a physical use. You cannot lean against one or ride your bike on one- its function in daily society is considerably more abstract but I would argue, no less important in the design, function and use of a city.

The Parks and Boulevards system of Kansas City is organized around the existing views of the city and is orchestrated to create additional views along its paths. These views serve many different purposes within the system and fall into two basic categories: moving views and staying views. Moving views are deliberately designed to transition you through a space and into another or are orchestrated to be viewed while moving through the boulevards. Staying views are what you find at your destination. Both of these categories house several different types under their roofs and I have probably only begun to touch on what they are but as I observed in the Parks and Boulevards system these are most common.

Transitional Perspective Views: These are designed to draw you along a path towards a destination. As in the first image in the series below on Troost, we don’t see where we are going exactly but we are compelled to go and see what is around the corner anyway. These invite you to follow along but to also enjoy the ride. The second image and diagram represent a more direct path to a destination, you can just barely see the Kennedy memorial at the end of the street but you can’t quite make it out. The entire length of Benton Boulevard heading north after Independence Boulevard leads up to this destination.

Memorial or Termination View: The third diagram and example above are of the Kennedy Memorial at eh end of Benton Boulevard heading north. This type of view is also a perspective view but it has the grandiosity of a memorial or a significant structure or view that is clearly observable as you approach it. You know without a doubt that you have arrived at the intended destination and that it is important in some way.

Processional View: A series of memorials or structures that are interesting in themselves but that also serve to lead you on to your final destination as is seen in the 4^th diagram and example of the memorials and water features that lead to the gates of Swope Park.

Iconic View: It is that skyline view that you see printed on the Kansas City version of the Starbucks mug. You know it. It is your city in icon form. These are the views that are representative of where you live, generally having to do with a skyline. I have put these under moving views because this is how they are presented most often but they are also an extremely common element of the staying views as well.

Framed View: An obviously manmade structure designed to direct the viewer to see a particular view. Generally seen if the viewer is standing in one particular location.

Naturally Framed View: Like the Framed View it is designed to direct the viewer to see a particular view but it is done so with natural elements.

Park or Wilderness View: This is a view that appears to have very little interference from manmade elements.

All of these types of views include elements themselves that make them views. A view is not the perception of a single entity but many harmonizing elements that come together in a particular place. The most crucial of these elements are natural elements like rivers and valleys always poised and contrasting against the horizon. If these are mixed with manmade structures you suddenly have an urban view and landscape. You would never consider a single rock a “view” but add to that rock plant life, set it near a stream, a backdrop of a mountain or a city scape breaking out of the horizon at sunset and bobs your uncle, you have a VIEW!

By manipulating these physical elements a view can be changed, ruined or improved. With this in mind I selected a section of the Parks and Boulevards system that could benefit from intervention of this type- A small section of the system where Benton Boulevard crosses Independence Boulevard. The P & B (Parks and Boulevards) system was originally designed around the idea of leisure drives through the city. This was conceived of during a time when cars were all the rage, back before society decided they were necessary, and people enjoyed driving and did it for fun. P & B was designed with luxury in mind so as you drifted through the slow river like boulevards at a whopping 20 mph you would be able to take in the sites of memorials, lakes, parks and natural and iconic views of Kansas City. At my intervention site where Benton Boulevard crosses Independence Boulevard it is clear that something has been lost over time. The continuity of the boulevard system temporarily breaks down in this place.   On Benton heading either direction you experience big old trees, nice houses and lawns that make you forget you are in a city driving along a road that gently pulls you along through the corridor… and then you hit Independence Boulevard and suddenly you are in a city again- and not a very pleasant part of one either. Buildings are in disarray and many have been torn down and spaces left vacant or turned into a sea of parking lots. This can easily be changed and corrected by adding in a few simple elements of view.

My vision for this section of the system is to add a monumental pocket park at the intersection of independence boulevard and Benton that would be viewed as you approached Independence heading south on Benton.

The addition of more trees, preferably older trees, would immediately begin to stitch the broken seams of this intersection back together. With the Kennedy memorial at the north end of Benton and a new memorial park at the south end, that particular stretch of boulevard would be nicely book ended and would add to the value and theme of the overall system. Planting older trees along Independence Boulevard in between the two Benton’s would bridge the gap there and help with the overall feel of connectedness of the boulevards and continue the slow easy river feel of the boulevards through the city.