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View Poll Results: What city is most similar to KC
Cinncinati 18 25.00%
Columbus 6 8.33%
Des Moines 3 4.17%
Indianapolis 8 11.11%
Milwaukee 4 5.56%
Omaha 8 11.11%
Oklahoma City 2 2.78%
Other City (not listed) 8 11.11%
St. Louis 9 12.50%
Tulsa 4 5.56%
Wichita 2 2.78%
Voters: 72. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 08-03-2012, 02:22 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MOKAN View Post
I don't believe this. When looking at raw numbers, STL has a higher number of murders year after year. STL also fell harder than KC with the fall of industry, creating more dire social woes, of which its murder rate is reflective. Both cities have horrible crime and social conditions, but STL takes the lead and is arguably more dangerous.
Sorry, I'm about to hit you with a ton of numbers.

In raw numbers they weren't far off last year....

2011
STL- 113
KC- 114

2010
STL- 144
KC- 106

But of course, you have to factor in that KC has a larger population. So last year, KC's homicide rate was 25 per 100,000, compared to 35 for STL.

But what I'm saying is why compare STL by itself to KC when STL is almost completely an urban core whereas KC is an urban core plus suburbs plus rural areas. In fact, KC's population density is even less than that of St. Louis city+county. So if you compare the homicide rate of St. Louis city+county (and hell, I'll even throw in E.STL since there's a lot of crime there) then you'll see that STL had a lower homicide rate in 2011 than KC.

Homicides 2011
STL City- 113
STL County- 17
E.STL- 28 (this is an estimate, because I could only find the number up til Nov 22, which was 25)

The number of homicides for the three was 158. The total population was 1,344,000. So the homicide rate was about 12 per 100,000 compared to KC's 25. Even if you take that 158 and divide it by just half of 1,344,000, the homicide rate still wouldn't equal up to KC's 25 per 100,000.

And even though STL had a lower than usual crime rate that year and KC had a higher than usual crime rate, if you do the same thing, but compare 2010 numbers (a more "normal" year for crime), then the homicide rate was 14 for STL and 23 for KC.

So my point is, you're comparing a city with its original city limits to a city that has annexed into surrounding areas. I'm sure if you compare KC's original city limits to STL city, then the crime rate would be nearly equal.

Last edited by Smtchll; 08-03-2012 at 02:31 PM..
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Old 08-03-2012, 02:44 PM
 
Location: Tower Grove East, St. Louis, MO
12,063 posts, read 31,611,075 times
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^I think I'm going to print this post off and carry it around in my wallet to pull out and win an argument when needed.
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Old 08-03-2012, 03:05 PM
 
3,635 posts, read 10,740,561 times
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^ haha thanks. Unfortunately, no matter how many times we try to explain it, people are still gonna say that STL is more dangerous than KC. Hopefully I explained it clearly enough this time
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Old 08-03-2012, 04:58 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MO
3,565 posts, read 7,974,728 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smtchll View Post
Sorry, I'm about to hit you with a ton of numbers.

In raw numbers they weren't far off last year....
I looked at a spread of years, not just one year like you, to see that STL has more murders. I don't put so much stock into the "most dangerous city" lists. Raw homicide numbers don't lie. If we were arguing which city was more rustbelt, STL would be correctly argued so, and I think that fact alone tells the story.
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Old 08-03-2012, 05:39 PM
 
3,635 posts, read 10,740,561 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MOKAN View Post
I looked at a spread of years, not just one year like you, to see that STL has more murders. I don't put so much stock into the "most dangerous city" lists. Raw homicide numbers don't lie. If we were arguing which city was more rustbelt, STL would be correctly argued so, and I think that fact alone tells the story.
Why are you just looking at the raw numbers and not the population and area? Homicide rate means a lot more than just raw numbers. I mean Chicago has more murders than East St. Louis by raw numbers, but what about homicide rate....

KC is 314 sq miles, STL is 62. If you took the population of 314 sq miles of STL and the areas immediately surrounding it, it would have a population of at least 800,000. If we assume that all 158 homicides in STL, STL County, and East STL took place within that 314 sq miles, then there would be a homicide rate of 20, compared to 25 for KC (2011). In 2010, the rate was 23 for STL & 23 for KC. In 2009, the rate was 25 for STL & 22 for KC. So that's 3 years, and STL's rate has been decreasing while KC's has been increasing. By comparing 314 sq miles to 314 sq miles, we get a more accurate comparison, and you see that KC & STL have about the same homicide rate. If you extend it further out and include all of STL County, then the rate drops even lower. I don't think it's wrong to include STL County because it's as densely populated as KC.

And the reason why I cant go further back in years is because it's hard to find numbers for STL County before 2009. Everything else was easy to find

Info came from City-data pages for KC, STL, East STL, and here
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Old 08-03-2012, 07:08 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MO
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smtchll View Post
Why are you just looking at the raw numbers and not the population and area? Homicide rate means a lot more than just raw numbers. I mean Chicago has more murders than East St. Louis by raw numbers, but what about homicide rate....

KC is 314 sq miles, STL is 62. If you took the population of 314 sq miles of STL and the areas immediately surrounding it, it would have a population of at least 800,000. If we assume that all 158 homicides in STL, STL County, and East STL took place within that 314 sq miles, then there would be a homicide rate of 20, compared to 25 for KC (2011). In 2010, the rate was 23 for STL & 23 for KC. In 2009, the rate was 25 for STL & 22 for KC. So that's 3 years, and STL's rate has been decreasing while KC's has been increasing. By comparing 314 sq miles to 314 sq miles, we get a more accurate comparison, and you see that KC & STL have about the same homicide rate. If you extend it further out and include all of STL County, then the rate drops even lower. I don't think it's wrong to include STL County because it's as densely populated as KC.

And the reason why I cant go further back in years is because it's hard to find numbers for STL County before 2009. Everything else was easy to find

Info came from City-data pages for KC, STL, East STL, and here
Homicide rates fluctuate wildly. I wouldn't count on any real short-term downward trend. It's not a trend at all. It's coincidence. Short of locking potential murderers up and keeping them there for less-serious crimes, nobody controls when emotionally-retarded individuals get and carry out the urge to kill.
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Old 08-03-2012, 07:42 PM
 
Location: Boilermaker Territory
26,404 posts, read 46,544,081 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stlouisan View Post
KC doesn't feel southern at all, and I've been to most major cities in the Midwest. It feels very much like a Midwest city....not Sunbelt whatsoever. It is very similar to Indy, Columbus, and Omaha. And it doesn't really feel THAT different from St. Louis. Have made plenty of daytrips across the state there.
Yes, KCMO core compares to most Midwest cities, but JOCO has a definite Sunbelt feel overall, particularly newly developed parts of the county in the past 20 years. It feels very Plano like to me.
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Old 08-03-2012, 10:00 PM
 
Location: Jefferson City 4 days a week, St. Louis 3 days a week
2,709 posts, read 5,092,866 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kcmo View Post
You get into parts of southern johnson county, and it does feel very sun belty, nothing like the burbs of most large cities east of KC. Those areas remind me more of some suburbs of Denver or Phoenix than anything east of KC, but most of metro KC is not like that. I agree that KC is not southern at all, however KCK is kinda southern in a way.
Sun belty? How? As far as Denver goes, I would hardly call Denver the Sunbelt. FYI, the Sunbelt is not entirely the South either...it's parts of the southwest, etc. I've been to southern Johnson County...it doesn't feel completely foreign compared to the rest of Kansas City.
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Old 08-03-2012, 10:01 PM
 
Location: Jefferson City 4 days a week, St. Louis 3 days a week
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GraniteStater View Post
Yes, KCMO core compares to most Midwest cities, but JOCO has a definite Sunbelt feel overall, particularly newly developed parts of the county in the past 20 years. It feels very Plano like to me.
I'd have to disagree. No parts of Kansas City remind me of any parts of Dallas.
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Old 08-03-2012, 10:29 PM
 
Location: Boilermaker Territory
26,404 posts, read 46,544,081 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stlouisan View Post
I'd have to disagree. No parts of Kansas City remind me of any parts of Dallas.
Really? How are large parts of Olathe or southern Overland Park any different than many areas of suburban Dallas? The only difference might be a few more trees. Both the north suburbs of Dallas and JOCO have an extremely conformist built environment, a very corporate culture, new money, a propensity toward flashiness and big spending, and steady migration flows between the two places. Yes, both places have sunny and mild climates compared to just about any place in the Midwest.
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