The history of housing discrimination in KC (not a thread for race baiting/etc.) (Kansas City: apartment, homes)

[kcmo]

That area near Rockhurst has always been a decent area, I don't think it has really changed all that much. Most people in metro KC just don't know it.

I don't think there are any plans for streetcars on troost, It has a max bus line (which is basically just a regular city bus line with limited stops). Most busy bus corridors in large cities have buses with limited stops and buses that stop everywhere, KC calls that "BRT" for some reason when KC's MAX buses have almost nothing in common with modern BRT systems that are opening up across the country. Street cars are nice, for very central city urban areas as a way to get around a few blocks, but in corridors like troost, buses will be much faster, especially if they actually built real BRT.

I do think Troost has seen a few new retail businesses (maybe a Aldi?) or some rehabs, but things are still moving VERY slowly. Much of KCMO west of troost (north of 47th) still desperately needs infill, rehabilitation and gentrification and till that happens on a bit larger scale, you just won't see much happen east of Troost.

KC needs some major infill redevelopment projects that include an anchor such as an urban Target (or Walmart). Other than fixing the schools (which is a chicken and egg situation), that's about all the city can really do other than concentrate on areas west of Troost and let things naturally migrate to the east. People will only move to an area when they feel comfortable,and right now, there is zero comfort level in KC for living too far east of Main, let alone Troost. Although there are exceptions (umkc, armour blvd is improving, hospital hill is helping, urban pioneers).

[westender]

The neighborhoods east of Troost, south of 31st street were historically "white" as well as those west of Troost. Troost as a racial dividing line happened during the integration of the 1950s and 1960s, not before.
Before the 1950s, there was an explicit racial line restricting where black citizens could reside, and that was the area between approx. Independence Avenue on the north, 27th Street on the south, Paseo on the west, and around Indiana on the east. Kansas City had racially segregated schools also. Lincoln High was the black high school and overlapped its catchment area roughly with Central High, which was a white high school. KC integrated its schools, although with stops and starts, in the late 1950s. The 1970s saw teacher strikes in the KCMOSD which provoked an additional batch of white flight, especially to Johnson County KS.

This changed for multiple reasons: the significant 1940s influx of black population from outside of Kansas City, especially rural Missouri; the (halting) integration of the KC schools following Brown vs Board of Ed.; the east side "blockbusting"; and the development of suburbs and highways. All of these changes resulted in the urban condition of Kansas City today. Why this division is on Troost rather than Paseo, for example, I have no idea.

J.C. Nichols and the Country Club development activity predated these changes. His racially restrictive covenants were similar to other real estate developers at that time. I don't excuse Nichols, but his west side activities predate by many years the changes that took place on the east side in the 1950s and afterward.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by westender

The neighborhoods east of Troost, south of 31st street were historically "white" as well as those west of Troost. Troost as a racial dividing line happened during the integration of the 1950s and 1960s, not before.

I think that's been explained. JC Nichols and others had an equal impact though and predating the actual white flight could imply that some what what Nichols and others did triggered further white flight east of troost.

However, had Nichols not developed the Plaza (KCK was his other choice for the plaza), then KCMO may be in worse shape (although many can also argue that the plaza has been downtown's biggest competitor and contributor to its downfall (pre JoCo days).

lots of variables as to what could have happened and JC Nichols deserves the respect he gets for his mixed use and planned communities in KC despite the racial segregated era in which it was developed.

But I think he (among many other factors) played a major role in (creating, initiating, maintaining, whatever) Troost as KC's dividing line. Now KC just has to figure out a way to overcome those past issues and that will take time.

[westender]

Just to be clear, Nichols died in 1950. When he died, the city was highly segregated, but not along Troost Avenue as an axis. The east side, south of Linwood (as well as north of Independence) was overwhelmingly "white."

Troost did in fact develop into a segregation axis, but I do not think Nichols is responsible. The city and the school district did much of this to itself by defining the catchment boundaries, so that Central and Paseo and East High Schools would be largely black and Westport and Southwest and Northeast High Schools largely white. However, this "plan," if that is what it was, did not anticipate the accelerating white school-age outflow, and the high schools all changed to majority-minority by the late 1970s.

[kcmo]

^ interesting point about the school boundaries, was troost the actual boundary for the Southwest/Paseo?

[kcmo]

Speaking of Troost. Little bit of good news. This building needs to be restored.

Disney's former studios on Troost will be revived as museum - Kansas City Business Journal

And http://kcur.org/post/how-troost-beca...de-kansas-city just more of the same.

[westender]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Interesting point about the school boundaries, was Troost the actual boundary for the Southwest/ Paseo?

Yes, Troost was the western boundary for Southwest HS from 57th Street southward to the district boundary. Students living between Troost and Holmes could select either Paseo or Southwest. No one east of Troost could attend Southwest. Between Troost and Brooklyn southward to the boundary, students could select either Paseo or Southeast HS.

North of 57th and Troost, the Paseo/ Southwest boundary stairstepped northwest to about 52d/ Brookside Blvd, and then back northeast to Armour and The Paseo where the Westport/ Paseo split was. North and east of Armour/ The Paseo was the Central High catchment. East HS catchment was east of Benton.

[denverian]

Growing up in KC (JoCo, actually), I always associated Troost as being a big racial dividing line. But the same thing went on in cities all across the country. As sad as segregation seems to us today, it was a reality in all cities.

Denver had the same thing, but from what I read, it was mostly controlled by real estate agents. Denver's different in that it had/has a much smaller Black community. The "historical Black" part of the city, today, is fairly well-kept, and you'd have a hard time finding a bungalow in that part of Denver for under $200K. And today, it's becoming much more racially diverse. Meaning White, Hispanic, and other races of people are moving in to that area (section of NE Denver).

[Garethe]

KCMO, I am glad your back, we really need your excellent knowledge and insight in this forum. Like you I am a former resident and there is a good chance I'm moving back, so I have a vested interest in the city.

I think this is a good thread and I wanted to add that many cities have some sort of cutoff that the locals know unofficially exists. For a long time here in Seattle it was "don't go south of denny" and when I lived in Atlanta it was "don't go south of ponce".

I have a couple other points I want to make, I will go back and quote, forgive the multiple posting, I am on a phone, cd is still working on a mobile app.

[Garethe]

Originally Posted by TabulaRasa

They're not unique to Kansas City. If you read up on J.C. Nichols, he was certainly a national leader in the area of developing and maintaining all-white neighborhoods in his time, but he was only one of many, in one of many cities.

Seattle has their very own JC Nichols, he is the real estate billionaire who owns much of downtown Bellevue, an affluent suburb, and he strongly opposed the expansion on light rail for what many suspected to be the same reason in the absence of any other credible reasons. He had so many politicians in his pocket they had to put it on the ballot and it passed.

This just goes to show racism is alive and well in America, albeit less overt or even obvious.