Design and Development in the Bi-State Reinvestment Corridor of Kansas City
This semester UP+D Studio 312 will be examining the Bi-State Sustainable Reinvestment Corridor of Kansas City, This corridor will combine net-zero electric transit with strategic investments to address environmental justice and economic development.
Improving the corridor requires thinking about some major urban issues of the present time. First, How did the big issues of urban change such as redlining, urban renewal, deindustrialization, and highway construction impact the corridor? Then, what are the existing plans for the corridor? How will we address the issue of housing affordability? Housing costs have been rising 3X faster then income in greater Kansas City. What assets do neighborhoods bring to the bi-state corridor plan? What are the present environmental conditions on the corridor and are their environmental justice hotspots? UMKC might best thought of as a “school zone” and a reduced speed on at least Rockhill and Oak Street might greatly improve safety. How will bicycle facilities and trails cross the corridor and connect to improved transit?
We will conduct this study in four parts – We will start with an Existing Conditions Analysis examining economic, transport, social and demographic trends impacting the neighborhoods and areas around corridor; then conduct a detailed analysis of site conditions and on-the-ground impressions of the corridor, identify strategic nodes for student intervention proposals, followed by the development of final design proposal for catalytic “transit-oriented development” that will advance Independence, and both Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas.
For elements of the public realm I was assigned to focus on street furniture and figure out what makes good street furniture? Is it more than just a place to sit or can we make it an interactive public feature to all. I did my research by going to places in my section of the bi-state corridor and really looked for these places that are more than just a place to sit.
Above are the six images of the Places where I found examples of street furniture. This ranges from actual street benches on street car stop and at the river market to different furnishings such as a statue in the median and even a fountain that can offer seating. These elements are great in focusing of where our ideas and design can move towards making great street furniture.
Above are my first to boards of my presentation. If you can notice I tried to make these boards with as much detail as possible, even adding small hints of street furniture at the top of the boards with a bench and a street light and even some recycling bins these are things that I’ve tried to add as street furniture is about the details and how they are minimal but when you focus on them you realize they matter. I believe that makes good street furniture, not the intricate design that may be outlandish, while it is nice to have great designing and unique street furniture, functionality is an important part of it. In the public realm having street furniture such as a bench to sit or rest is important as well as a bin to dispose of trash and/or recycling and some shade from the sun or rain are basic elements of street furniture that should always be kept in mind when designing a place for the public to sit. An example of how we can improve an area with street furniture are our street car stops, they don’t have enough room to sit there’s only one bench on the stop and any attempt to sit on the concrete would be physically uncomfortable for most people to squat down and sit. Just by adding a bigger sitting area and standing room people would be able to not have an uncomfortable time waiting for the street car. This would also include additional trash and recycling bins to make sure riders keep it as clean as possible.
Street furniture is everywhere and I believe after this project i can say that I have grown an even better understanding and appreciation of street furniture and howe it is an important part of urban design that should not be undervalued or overlooked.
For my section of the corridor I was able to ride around and explore the river market neighborhood. In this neighborhood I was able to understand the role that public transportation plays. I was also able to pick out how the street car is a great resource for the residents in the neighborhood. It allows for people to commute across the downtown area and soon into the plaza. In relation to the corridor it is a great example of how expanding our transit system to neighborhoods like the river market.
In these pictures above you can see that the different materials that go into the street and its surrounding area, going from brick to pavement to asphalt. This bring is it together to allow for public transit to work while also still allowing for vehicular traffic to occur.
My selected mobility hub is at the intersection of Sterling and Hwy 24 (Independence Ave.). The area is suburban in character and is in an awkward spot between the older, historic Independence and the Blue River Valley.
The area has a low, non-diverse population. The area is affordable with low rents allowing people with tighter budgets to live here. This aspect of affordability is important to the development of the area. The area also doesn’t have many jobs, there are 10,000 people within one-mile and only 2,700 jobs. The only change in the data between one-mile and a half-mile is that there are more people of Hispanic and Latino descent within one-mile.
The areas in green a vacant lots that are prepared for development and the yellow are lots that are underutilized and could be redeveloped with ease. There is a lot of opportunity for redevelopment within the half-mile area.
City of Independence, City of Sugar Creek. (2006). Sample Concept for U.S. Highway 24 and Sterling. City of Independence. Retrieved 2024, from https://issuu.com/cityofindepmo/docs/us_24_highway_corridor_strategic_plan.
The above image is at the intersection of Hwy 24 and Sterling, my mobility hub. The area, since 2006, has been reimagined as a mixed use area that can support density. This also explains why the Four Trails Neighborhood was demolished between 2007 and 2009.
MARC, MODOT, City of Independence. (2006). Fairmount District Plan. MARC. Retrieved 2024, from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.marc.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/PSP_Projects_2017_Independence_Fairmount_District.pdf
The MARC 2017 plan also designates this area as mixed-use and in the image above demonstrates the improvements to the intersection to facilitate the type of development they want to see. Neither the 2017 or 2006 plans have come to fruition until recent intersection improvements.
City of Sugar Creek. (2014). Four Trails Landing Replat.Jackson County Public Records. Retrieved 2024, from https://aumentumweb.jacksongov.org/RealEstate/SearchResults.aspx?pg=2
The above plan is what was mapped out in the previous MARC plan, illustrating that planning efforts have had a more significant impact in recent years. There might be energy for further development of the area.
The figure ground above illustrates the amount of opportunity for the area as there is a lot of vacant land, and according to recent research, is usable and safe to develop on. Safe, developable land is less common in Sugar Creek than other jurisdictions. The plans from previous years show that the area is ready for development and that there is political will to reimagine the area completely, giving infinite leeway for how this area can be reimagined.
The Elements of the Public Realm project was an urban theory project I completed in the second semester of my junior year at UMKC’s Urban Planning program. For this project, our studio split up and all took different public elements, such as street furniture, transit stops, bike infrastructure, and mine: trees. The goal of the project was to find examples within Kansas City, and use those examples to create a theory of that element. So for my project, I defined the theory of urban trees with the boards below.
I valued this project because it allowed me to advance my skills with image manipulation. As this project was on a particularly short deadline, advanced my skill with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to produce these image at high quality. This project additionally allowed me to advance my skill with Illustrator by compelling me to create sections and elevation using the program. My favorite part of the project, though, was presenting this project to explain the theory of it. For most projects I have completed, the goal is to create something presentable and consumable for the public. Alternatively, this project required us to think more like academics and less like public servants, which was a welcome change. Focusing on planning from the point of view of theorists advanced my understanding.
Through this project, I found several different uses that trees tend to follow within the public realm. These uses, as pictured below, include Placemaking, Urban Relief, Framing, Amenities, Nature in an Urban Setting, and Boundary.
My first impressions of the region were that this are has a lot of good development to work from. This neighborhood has a lot of character and sense of “place” which is an important thing that planners can’t really create with the snap of their fingers. I think my development strategy will basically be infill with very little demolition.
The elements of the public realm project was intended for us to analyze the built environment by focusing on the smaller details that make up the built environment. Of course, you can’t focus on everything, so we were all given one small aspect and we analyzed that aspect.
The first board illustrates perspectives of different bus stops from around Kansas City. The perspectives demonstrate the built environment and what makes a good bus stop. The stops go from the worst bus stops, to the best bus stops. The first image is a bus stop around the south loop in downtown Kansas City and the bus stop sign is hidden behind a no parking sign, is adjacent to a highway, and has the picture perfect example of a collapsing sidewalk. The second image is a better bus stop with a bench, that is also in the shade. The bus stop sign is also visible to both pedestrians and bus drivers. The one noticeable issue, and this is the main problem with bus stops, is that they are developed as an after thought when designing the streetscape. The bus stop is behind a protected bike lane. The third image is a bus stop that is completely covered, has some planters, a trash can, and is adjacent to a new mixed-use development. The fourth image is the bus stop next to the federal building. The bus stop is larger than the previous and is better covered and has more seating. The stop also has a trash can and has the metal tower to signal where the bus stop is. The bus stop arrival clock on the tower has been removed however. The fifth image is the first bus stop that was kept in mind when designing the street. The bike lanes go behind it, it is around stuff, and the bus stop is covered and has seating. The infrastructure of the built environment support these bus stops. The sixth and seventh images are of bus stops around the East Village Transit Center and they are examples of great bus stops. They are at grade, have trash cans, supporting active transportation infrastructure, planters, time, bathrooms, railings, and other types of supporting infrastructure. There is one flaw however, that will be touched in the next board.
Board two gives context for the location of the bus stops. The East Village Stops, or numbers 6&7 were the examples of fantastic bus stops in the previous board, but there weakness is illustrated here as there is quite literally nothing around them except a drive-through bank, highways, and parking lots. It was stuffed over there away from everything and it serves more bus lines than anywhere else in Kansas City. The site plans show the infrastructure and whether the bus stops are adjacent to stuff well. The black buildings contrast the other sites to the East Village site, which builds into the last board.
Board three has a section and detailed plan view that illustrates better why bus stop seven is a quality piece of infrastructure. Using the previous information that site from the last two boards and how the only problem that it has is that it’s isolated to create an argument for the intervention. The intervention for this project was to move the East Village Transit Center in front of Union Station. The large site plan gives a few aspects of what makes a good bus stop. The plan is to remove the parking lot in front of Union Station, as there are a lot of parking garages in the surrounding area already, and to add several other bus stops on the surrounding streets. This plan will put bus users front and center in Kansas City. The area around Union Station is a touristy area and is the cultural heart of the city. Moving the transit center signals perfectly a change in direction of Kansas City.
When we started this project, we picked our own proposed locations of mobility hubs within the bi-state corridor. My Area turned out to be at the intersction of Parallel Park Way and North 90th street. I started my study by analyzing the area and making a research on Demographics, housing, ways of commuting to work, and some economic analysis.Then i visited the site and took multiple photos which i will demonstrate later.
Figure 1 a morphology map of my area within half a mile radius.
Figure 2 ( to the left,Current zoning of the area ) (to the right, morphology map with vacant parcels)
Figure 3 Data analysis for the area within half a mile radius compared with the bi-state corridor and KCMSA.
Figure 4 Data analysis for the area within half a mile radius compared with the bi-state corridor and KCMSA.
Figure 3 & 4 show how different my area is from the rest of the corridor. My area which is at the intersection of Parallel Pkwy & N90th St. in Kansas state is demographically have high numbers of white people than any other race comes in second place are the black or African American people while the rest of the corridor is much more diversified especially around KCK downtown and KCMO Area or compared to the metro area.My area has also higher number of Gross Rent compared to the Corridor or KCMSA and higher housing value.Median Income is also higher in the area than the corridor’s median income and almost close to the Metro’s median income. Housing structure there is more owner occupied than renter occupied and good amount of vacant lots compared to other dense ares in the metro or within the corridor like Downtown KCMO and Downtown Independence. The more we go West, the less density it gets how much residents there are per square mile.
Figure 5 Housing Structure within 0.5 a mile and 1 mile.
according to figure 5 types of housing in my area whether we are looking within half a mile radius or within a mile, the most dominant type of housing structure is single-family units with single- family units detached having higher numbers than single units of attached. a few scattered duplexes and a very few mobile homes .
Figure 6 Analysis of commuting to work within 0.5 a mile and 1 mile.
The most common way to go to work around the specified area in KS state is by car, truck or van, so having your own vehicle. smaller number carpooled or worked from home and even very smaller number walked to work.
Figure 7 Inflow- outflow analysis
In figure 7, it shows that the number of people that worked and resided in the area are only ten with 1,433 coming from other areas and 692 of the residents of the specific area, work at other employment centers outside the studied area.
Figure 8 Job counts analysis for workers living in the assigned area
Figure 8 shows where workers who live in the specified area, where they commute to work according to zip codes.showing the highest numbers of jobs around Downtown KCK and Edwardsville.
Figure 9 Job count analysis for workers working in the assigned area
Figure 9 shows where workers working in the specified area, where they live according to zip codes.showing the highest numbers of residential groups just north of the specified area at Leavenworth, Lansing, Basehor and Bethel.
Figure 10 photos of the site.
Figure 10 is multiple photos of the site around the intersection of Parallel Pkwy and N 90th St. along with some views of both sides of 90th st.
Figure 11 photos of the site.
Figure 12 photos of the site
Conditions of the sidewalk around the Providence Medical Center.
Figure 13 photos of the site
more photos south of the Hospital and adjacent to the clinics in the south and then on the other side the Compass Minerals Fields.
The next steps after analyzing the area, would be to think and work on multiple ideas for development and redevelopment of the assigned areas.
For this project, we were asked to take photos within our assigned area or outside the assigned area but still with The bi-State Corridor boundaries.I went ahead and took multiple photos, most of them within my area which is the far West side of the corridor and multiple others i thought were important and critical in illustrating my points. First we need to identify what a Public Realm is? A public Realm is for every one, it consists of starts, parks, green spaces and other outdoor spaces that are available without charge with everyone having access to. Public Realm is not isolated but it is within the context of it’s surrounding buildings whether private or public.Three key factors influence the public realm, which are, the buildings that define the space, the space itself, and the residents who live in those places.My assigned element of the public realm is signage. Signs are visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience.It is the Design or use of signs and symbols that convey the message.The term signage is documented to been popularized between 1975 and 1980.Then, it came to use in the 20th century to describe a class of signs typically for advertising and promotional signs.
Figure 1 First board ( 8 photos captured within Corridor boundary)
The first board (Figure 1) shows multiple photos i took within the corridor boundary, with most of them in and around village West-located at the far west of the corridor- some at KCK Downton and some around The Kansas City museum in the state of Missouri, with an adjacent context map to show the locations of my photos. I rendered my photos using photoshop to give some certain effects to my locations and emphasizing on certain points of the signs that will later on develop my theory on the signs and my findings.photos number one and two are chosen in the Legends outlet in KS, one shows how signs can reflect prominent figures of the area, two is just the closest basic example i could found in the area for navigational signs. Number three is great example to show hierarchy of the design with a white background and a QR code and it is taken in Great Wolf Lodge, KS .Number four and five are taken close to the Wyandotte City Hall, KS on Ann Ave, that area is more diversified than Village West where the legends outlet is, so we have multiple languages spoken there and that is reflected on my two signs.Number six is in the Village West area and it is a good example of identifying the place, aesthetically beautiful with the ability to add some features to it in the future like Music and Wireless internet access.Number seven is in the Legends Outlet, and it is a good example of defining public space with advertising simultaneously with the names of stores being displayed on, plus the proportionality and emphasis ( 7 principles of design). Last Photo was taken at the parking lot of Nebraska Furniture Mart, great way of defining and dividing the parking lot with definitely unique way of looking at it and some possible features to add as well in the future.
Figure 2 ( My Design Theory and what i’ve developed)
The second board (figure 2) shows the types of signs that i’ve discovered and put together, either with traditional ones that we all are familiar with or with new type of signages that are getting popular. Signs has seven types, they could be Informational, directional, identifying, persuasion, Navigational(interactive screen), Memorial and safety and regulatory. Identifying is to indicate services and facilities at the area such as room names and numbers. Informational, conveying information for services and facilities such as maps.Directional, showing the location of facilities, services and key areas such as directional arrows. Persuasion, promotional signage to persuade users of the merits of a company like highway signs and billboards.Navigational, maybe interior or exterior with interactive screens, most likely found in tourist attractions sites and museums with other ways of dynamic “wayfinding”.Safety and regulatory, signs giving warning or safety instructions such as warning signs, traffic signs and exit signs.Memorable and Honorary signs, those are dedicated to remember the service of a certain group of people or honoring beloved family members. There are different shapes of signs as well, they could be circular ( instructions), Triangular(Warning signs) and Rectangular (General information). Positionally of the signs affects a lot as well. Signs could be positioned very high like billboards and highway boards, Mid-Rise like identification boards, low-rise like informational boards or on the ground like identifications sign.
Figure 3 ( sections and my design intervention along with a perspective)
In figure 3 i had two sections illustrating the relationship between a human’s scale in relation with boards scale and specifically their height. First section is the scale relation ship between human and highway boards. Second section is the relationship between human and mid- high and low boards. My boards also contains to the up far right, traditional dimensions of well know boards. A perspective to the far left side.Then my design theory was about adding features to signs that are related to the Bi-State Corridor Goals and Marc’s goals. One of the goals is Broadband access, and with that i’ve added some new features to my navigational sign like wireless internet access. Other features could be added like light features and music. Another goal with the Bi- State corridor is security enhancement. With that i’ve added some features to my navigational sign like facial recognition cameras and connection with the police. License Plate readers could be added to signs or light poles that are adjacent to signs. Pedestrian crossings could be enhanced a lot as well by adding those new features to pedestrian crossing signs , light, connection with police centers and license plate readers.
Signs are always improving and they’re could be new ways of showing them in the future with new functions and far more features than they incorporate now.
For our last project we were assigned an element of the public realm such as sidewalks, trees, or bus stops and were then tasked with creating several boards diagraming these elements and explaining how they either enhanced or ruined public space. My assigned elements were walls fences and bollards of which I decided to explore the nuance of what makes a good bollard.
My First board focused on my renderings of examples I found of my assigned element. These examples were supposed to be located within the Bi-State Sustainable Reinvestment Corridor, an area defined by MARC, the local MPO, as a place of strategic investment for the region. These renderings were completed in Photoshop and highlight the specific element at work in the public realm. Most of my examples were found within the Northeast but several are from downtown KCK and one is just north of Parade Park.
My second board includes additional diagrams of several elements of note. First in the top left I have a site plan of the Wyandotte County Courthouse and Juvenile Services Center to show how bollards are being used to protect entrances to each building. To the right I have elevations showing these entrances and the bollards and walls protecting them. Moving right I have a site plan of the Kansas City Museum and the fence which surrounds its perimeter showing how the fence does not serve to keep people out of the museum but instead guides them to the correct entrance. Below this is a site plan of a bike lane bollard and the entrance to Cliff Drive showing what measures have been taken to close Cliff Drive off to cars and keep cyclists safe from vehicular traffic.
My next board goes into detail about the design standards for specific types of bollards and what they add to the built environment. At the top of the board, I show the Bike Bollard on the sidewalk next to the Cliff Drive entrance. This is a bad use of these type of bollards as they serve as protectors of cyclists in high traffic areas. However, since the Cliff Drive entrance limits vehicular traffic there are not many vehicles coming into contact with the bollard. The sidewalk is also not wide enough for the bollard and cyclists may run into it given how hard to see it is. I have brought in standards from the Great Rivers Greenway a trail network in the St. Louis metro area to show how the bollard is lacking in these ways. Below this is the Wyandotte County Juvenile Services Center entrance which is protected by bollards, walls, and stairs. To show how these protection agents serve their purpose I have brought in FEMA guidelines for Border Security Planning outlining several goals to secure a facility. Balance Security and Vitality is met by the development itself as five years ago this lot was just a parking lot and the bollards, steps, and walls add to the built environment providing vitality to downtown KCK. This leads into the second goal Streetscape Enhancement as the steps provide public seating in a place where people are walking around, and the plantings provide a pleasant atmosphere when walking down Ann Ave. Diversity of Barrier Systems is met by having walls, bollards, and steps to provide protection to the entrance to the facility. This diversity of protection is executed in a cool way by incorporating the natural slope of the street to use stairs to preserve this elevation instead of leveling it out, an interesting practical design choice.
This assignment was to analyze Elements of the Public Realm within the Bi-State Sustainable Reinvestment Corridor. I was assigned Lights with this I wanted to look at the relationship that lights had with Community Centers as well as how lights that were in these Centers differed from the lighting made for cars just seconds away from these Centers.
After my analysis of the Lighting I decided to set a Standard for lighting from 1 of the 4 examples I found and use that standard as a blueprint from redeveloping Genesee St in the West Bottoms. The Reason for this selection was based on how ripe this area is for a New Community Center and the lack of a diversity of lighting within the area As you can see in the Board below.
From the Standard I added a lot more Lamp post along the street to make the area more welcoming to pedestrians. As well as moving Lemonade Park to having more of a relationship Genesee and the numerous Business that line the street opposed to being on the back side of the Block. In addition Perspective 3 shows a nice outside seating area that had no outside lighting so I added some nice string lights to create a intimate dining experience from the restaurant. Overall I wanted to improve the streets lighting when it came to the pedestrian experience and with these changes I believe this street would become one of the Community Center that people love to come to.
