The 1950’s was the prime time for Troost Avenue, but it has only seemed to decline over time. Data was collected from the Social Explorer website and was pulled from census tracts on Troost Avenue, between 10^th and 13^th street, Kansas City, Missouri, and the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Since the 1950s, majority of the population in Kansas City, the metro area, and the west side of Troost has remained white, but the east side of Troost Avenue has steadily continued to grow in its black population. In 2000, over 92% of the population on the east side of Troost Avenue was documented as black. On the other hand, only 12.5% of the population of the metro area appears to be of the black population. The data collected express that majority of the metro area population is of the white population and the small amount that is of the black population is settled to the east side of town. Over the last 60 years, Kansas City appears to have become more diverse. Kansas City, Missouri has gone from over 87% of a white population down to 59.2% and has over 10% of a population that defines themselves as other.

Troost Ave. have been a major dividing line in Kansas City, MO. since I can remember. I had the opportunity to research the area of Troost Ave and 10th St. – 13th St. When I first arrived, the area seemed very dead and there was only a few businesses. There was not much automobile traffic in the area but there was a good amount of people traveling by foot. I noticed three bus stops on the main corners. The City Union Mission building is right on the corner of 10th and Troost Ave and seemed to attract many homeless people to this area. I was only at my location for less than an hour, but I had multiple people come up to me and ask if I had any extra cash I could spare. I also noticed there were some people sleeping in the sidewalks. Below are images of the main buildings/businesses between 10th St and 13th St on Troost Ave. In these photos, one can see most of the businesses are surrounded by tall black metal gates which makes me believe they are trying to keep people out.

This was only my experience for less than an hour. After researching I notices that Troost Ave. was once a major street for business and homes. Overtime, these four blocks went from residential housing to a more industrial area. It is truly sad to see such a important street with so much history go down the drain. Below are images of what is now Troost Ave. and 10th St. – 13th St. You can see how deserted the area has become over the years.