When looking at the public realm, I was assigned entrances. I was confused at first because it could mean entrances to buildings, districts, parking lots, private homes, etc. So, I walked the corridor and looked at what it had to offer. I was looking at private home entrances and then thought about how this is elements of the public realm and I wanted to focus more on entrances that could be used by anyone. I focused in on coffee shops/bakeries, restaurants, and office buildings. I started with 2/3 of the photos being on the corridor and then went all throughout Kansas City to see how the same business types compared.

I started to draw theories about entrances so I wanted to go to the Country Club Plaza and see how my theories compared to a part of Kansas City most people consider to be successful. I noticed the Plaza had most of my theories apply and those are what I will explain now.

In all these entrances I noticed things that I thought made a good entrance. I picked put five words – captivating, walkable, inviting, protected, and noticeable. I think an entrance needs to be captivating in order to grab someone’s attention and make them want to see what is inside. That being said, it needs to be walkable, which, to me, means the entrance should be on the sidewalk or close to it. Entrances with big parking lots in front aren’t places you stumble upon but rather a quick errand. It also needs to be inviting because there are places where you feel like you can’t go in because you aren’t from around there or it feels too exclusive. Entrances should also be protected which goes along with the walkability because they need to be protected from cars by having a big green buffer or a row of parking. i noticed along 63rd towards Rockhill I felt very unsafe crossing intersections because the speed limit is so high and there is nothing between me and the cars. However, in Brookside on 63rd I felt safer because of the crosswalks and the street parking to block me. Lastly, entrances need to be noticeable and not blend in with the building. I noticed it more in office buildings where the building will be a few stories high but the door is so small and barely noticeable.

All in all, these are just my theories and what I think is important. the 63rd Street corridor has many successes and some failures just like every other place in Kansas City. This is definitely something I will need to keep in mind when redesigning a part of this corridor.