KC's so-called "western" feel (Kansas City, St. Louis: apartment, live, suburbs)

[BostonToKC]

Several forum members have stated that the KC area has a "western" feel to it, especially compared to the more "eastern" St. Louis area, but I tend to disagree.

Personally, most of the Kansas City area (especially the MO side and even older parts of the KS side such as northern JOCO) "feel" more like the eastern third of the country in terms of topography and built environment. The southwestern portion of the metro (Olathe/Gardner/southern JOCO) has a different development pattern altogether (Texas-style sprawl) with far fewer trees and definitely could not be confused with east-coast suburbia, so that would be the exception in this area. However, urban KC/Independence/Raytown/Gladstone/Lee's Summit all remind me more of the eastern U.S. than anything else.

What are others' thoughts on this topic?

[kcmo]

Totally agree. Your posts are always dead on. I have always said that. It's nice to hear it from somebody new to the area. Especially from somebody that is obviously exposed to much of the rest of the country.

I think most of it has to do with topography. JoCo south of 435 and K-10 has a very Texas or Arizona sprawl to it. While most of the rest of the metro is more similar to cities east of KC. That part of KC is really the only part of KC that is very flat with a grid of farm roads set up on the mile. It's the primary reason the county developed so fast, it's was cheaper to build there and cheaper to build infrastructure there (very few bridges, not much rock, not a lot of flood plains etc).

This is especially true with the central urban core of KCMO which has a dense urban built up core that few cities west of KC have. KCMO has (and had a lot more) 1000's of apartment buildings as the city was built around one of the nations most intense transit systems.

It's pretty amazing really how such a transit oriented and dense "city" has sprawled into one of the country's most automobile dependent towns.

That dense core is still there though. That's why it really makes me angry that KC can't put together even a basic starter transit system. Urban KCMO is far more transit friendly than most the cities out there that have built systems (Salt Lake City, Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte, even Denver).

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by BostonToKC

Several forum members have stated that the KC area has a "western" feel to it, especially compared to the more "eastern" St. Louis area, but I tend to disagree.

Personally, most of the Kansas City area (especially the MO side and even older parts of the KS side such as northern JOCO) "feel" more like the eastern third of the country in terms of topography and built environment. The southwestern portion of the metro (Olathe/Gardner/southern JOCO) has a different development pattern altogether (Texas-style sprawl) with far fewer trees and definitely could not be confused with east-coast suburbia, so that would be the exception in this area. However, urban KC/Independence/Raytown/Gladstone/Lee's Summit all remind me more of the eastern U.S. than anything else.

What are others' thoughts on this topic?

This is absolutely true and is a big reason why I never lived in the newer south and southwest portions of the metro. I much prefer the eastern architecture of the inner ring suburbs and urban areas of KC, MO. The stuccoed mcmansions should stay in the southwest where they belong.

[northbound74]

I can't remember, but I may have been guilty of saying that KC is more western. To an extent, I believe it is, at least when comparing to places like St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Boston...
The gridded layout tends to be more in line with the west. The urban core certainly has a denser style to it. Still yet, it has elements of both the east and the west, in my opinion.
KC, being on the edge of the Great Plains, has plenty of western history to it. Towns like Independence, Liberty, St. Joseph, all have some very colorful and interesting wild west stories.
Thanks to it's very central location, Kansas City has some influences from all around in architecture and culture.

[BostonToKC]

Northbound: I agree with you that there are many different "flavors" within this metro area.

Some parts feel more like suburban Philly or even New Jersey whereas other parts are essentially clones of Plano/Richardson/Denton, Texas.

However, besides the grid pattern and the lower population density, there is really nothing that "western" about urban KCMO. The brick architecture around downtown coupled with the river bridges definitely creates an eastern ambiance.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by BostonToKC

Northbound: I agree with you that there are many different "flavors" within this metro area.

Some parts feel more like suburban Philly or even New Jersey whereas other parts are essentially clones of Plano/Richardson/Denton, Texas.

However, besides the grid pattern and the lower population density, there is really nothing that "western" about urban KCMO. The brick architecture around downtown coupled with the river bridges definitely creates an eastern ambiance.

True. That's where the eastern feel is the strongest.
I love the Crossroads, City Market, and West Bottoms areas.

[joetownmom]

The "western" aspects really come from the history more than from the ambiance.

[Versatile]

Louisburg and Blue Springs areas have very near the same look to them in regards to topography. Get our around Ottawa and you can find areas with huge hardwood trees that exist rarely anymore in the KCMO area. First thing that happens in these areas before development is someone has came in in the past and logged the area of the larger trees before it was ever sold to a developer.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Versatile

Louisburg and Blue Springs areas have very near the same look to them in regards to topography. Get our around Ottawa and you can find areas with huge hardwood trees that exist rarely anymore in the KCMO area. First thing that happens in these areas before development is someone has came in in the past and logged the area of the larger trees before it was ever sold to a developer.

People are often way to willing to sell out to any developer. Unfortunately, putting a conservation easements on land is not a common practice in the middle part of the country.

[ryanswindle]

Would you folks say the people and culture of the area are more eastern in nature than western, or do the people seem more akin to folk you meet in the west or the midwest?