All posts by Heather Blake

11th St -13th St and Prospect

fig-7-demographics-2010

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Overall, my area typically had a lower income, lower housing values, higher housing vacancy, and lower levels of education than Kansas City. The income gap between greater KC and my area widened throughout the years. By 2010, one of my tracts had a median income of less than $13,000. When the rent increased and the incomes decreased, I noticed higher levels of housing vacancy. I noticed an increase in education over the years, though it still remained less than in KC. The population shifted in my tracts from being more even with race to being mostly African American in most areas. My tract numbers changed, so the four tracts listed in each table represent roughly the same areas.

Prospect and E 11th St through E 13th St

My blocks were primarily used for commercial purposes. I saw a BP gas station, a Church’s Chicken, a police gas station, a life insurance building, a car dealership, a women’s center, and Prospect Plaza Park. The area was pretty busy and the park was well-maintained. 12th St had the most traffic traveling east and west. When I did my figure-ground study, the area was not very dense, mainly because parking lots took up so much space instead of buildings.

When I looked back at the historical maps of the area, I was surprised to see it had mostly been residential single-family homes, a different apartment complex (now gone), and a large Catholic Church. I asked a friend about the church and he was surprised to hear it was gone. After doing some digging, the church closed down because it didn’t have a large enough following anymore. It appears people are moving away and businesses are moving in.

Google Maps image
Google Maps image showing 2016 conditions. Credit: Google

 

Historic aerial photo showing conditions in 1963. Credit: Nationwide Environmental Title Research, LLC
Historic aerial photo showing conditions in 1963. Credit: Nationwide Environmental Title Research, LLC