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>JC Nichols / Plaza - first shopping center designed to accommodate automobiles. Also attributed with being a redline real estate developer that explains the demographic lines in KC.

I know I'm not alone on this but it's still super embarrassing to realize as a grown ass adult that I had been taught such a simplistic view of why things are the way the are. I'm still learning racial history things at least monthly that I had no idea about. Some of the most "holy shit" moments was reading "Some of my best friends are black" - it's stories about integration. It has a couple chapters about KC, including JC Nichols, specifically how he was an innovator in many ways, including adding a racial covenant in deeds that could only be removed every 25 years, if 100% of homeowners voted to remove it 3 years in advance. (something like that, that made it technically possible but pretty much impossible to remove.)

/u/tacitus and /u/pineappleofdespair have recommended it and also /u/kcjhawker:


>Some of the best neighborhoods east of Troost are from 49th to 63rd street. There was a very strong neighborhood association that went from 49-63 and Oak (?) to the Paseo that was key in fighting much of the blockbusting and other activities that drive white neighbors from their homes. Here's an amazing read on what went down in KC (the other two main stories are about other cities and school districts, but still an awesome read): Some of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143123637/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4dUyzbZ3KVFST


/u/thisisforkscity and /u/celiactears did you ever read it?

I won't, but I will give you several sites and subreddits you should check out.

/r/urbanplanning

/r/urbandesign

/r/urbantransport

/r/highspeedrail

/r/transit

Congress for the New Urbanism

Congress for the New Urbanism's YouTube Channel

Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (planning firm)

Smart Growth Online

NewUrbanism.org

Strong Towns YouTube Channel

Notre Dame School of Architecture YouTube Channel

_____

Here are also some good book recommendations (links to Amazon pages), many you could probably find at a local library:

A Better Place to Live: Reshaping the American Suburb by Philip Langdon

The Architecture of Community by Leon Krier

Architecture: Choice or Fate by Leon Krier

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch

The Smart Growth Manual by Andres Duany and Jeff Speck with Mike Lydon

Sprawl Repair Manual by Galina Tachieva

Retrofitting Suburbia by Ellen Dunham-Jones

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream by Andres Duany

History of Urban Form Before the Industrial Revolutions by A.E.J. Morris

The Language of Towns & Cities: A Visual Dictionary by Dhiru A. Thadani

The hiking around here isn't awesome, but there's a good book called Hiking in Kansas City that should take care of everything for you.

Of course, Lake of the Ozarks is our getaway place, about two hours drive, and the further southeast in Missouri you go the better the hills get, so there's some good weekend camping options. I also recommend hiking in Prairie State Park about 2hrs straight south of KC - big open fields of nothing but 4 ft tall grass.

Some of the best neighborhoods east of Troost are from 49th to 63rd street. There was a very strong neighborhood association that went from 49-63 and Oak (?) to the Paseo that was key in fighting much of the blockbusting and other activities that drive white neighbors from their homes. Here's an amazing read on what went down in KC (the other two main stories are about other cities and school districts, but still an awesome read): Some of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143123637/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4dUyzbZ3KVFST

Someone already mentioned [Kansas City and How It Grew 1822-2011] (http://www.amazon.com/Kansas-City-How-Grew-1822-2011/dp/0700618821) by James Shortridge, but I will second this book. Hands down the best for overall Kansas City history. It is a beautiful book too.

> Still wondering why anyone really cares where people choose to live.

Actually, where people live is one of the biggest drivers of life outcomes. If you're born in KCK instead of Leawood - your probable life outcomes is much worse.

At one time, segregation was official city/state/fed policy, which subsidized the development of all-white suburbs (like Prairie Village was one of the first) and movement of people from urban areas to the suburbs - aka 'white flight'. Today, we're still living with white flight. If there were a middle to upper income suburb of Kansas City that were 88% black, do you think many white people would choose to move there? Me neither.

Check out Richard Rothstein's book "The Color of Law", or his lectures on YouTube. Great history and info about the relationship between housing segregation and life outcomes in the US.

As the Vox illustrates, segregation is still going on today (it's actually getting worse) due to policies like zoning laws and drive to prevent low-income housing and apartment complexes from being improved in middle-upper income cities, resulting in low income minorities living in a small number of areas in the metro (as illustrated by the original Vox piece map).

There's quite a few good books I'd recommend on the subject:

• A City Divided: The Racial Landscape of Kansas City, 1900-1960
  
• Racism in Kansas City: A Short History
  
• Race, Real Estate, and Uneven Development, Second Edition: The Kansas City Experience, 1900-2010
  
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
  
• Take Up the Black Man's Burden: Kansas City's African American Communities, 1865-1939
  
  tagging /u/NotGerkonanaken since they said they were interested
  
  edit: obligatory 'thanks for the gold' edit. :)

Still, crap beer aside, they were a cornerstone of the city, and gave back in great volumes.

a fantastic read, by the way:
http://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Brew-Anheuser-Busch-Americas-Kings/dp/0062009265

[Take a look at this book, it's a pretty good one.] (https://www.thekansascitystore.com/productDetail.php?PID=198)

And here's one you can skip.

I have some texts to reccomend, from when I was studying cultural geography for Kansas City and the plains.

J. C. Nichols and the Shaping of Kansas City: Innovation in Planned Residential Communities - William S. Worley
https://www.amazon.com/Nichols-Shaping-Kansas-City-Residential/dp/0826209262/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482209175&sr=8-1&keywords=J.+C.+Nichols+and+the+Shaping+of+Kansas+City%3A


Cities on the Plains - James R. Shortridge
https://www.amazon.com/Cities-Plains-Evolution-Urban-Kansas/dp/0700613129/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482209198&sr=8-1&keywords=Cities+on+the+Plains


I also have a bunch more than are more oriented towards the geography/geology side of the development of the plains, but these are good ones.

You might be interested in one of the local meetups:

1. Hiking - http://www.meetup.com/hiking-198/
   
2. Adventure club - http://www.meetup.com/Kansas-City-Adventure-Club/
   
   At the very least, check out their events; that'll give you some ideas for hikes! You might also get this book - http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Kansas-City-William-Eddy/dp/1891708325 It details hikes all around the metro area and even in surrounding areas that are a little farther away (like Weston).

Hiking Kansas City is a great resource.

For the visuals I really like Kansas City Then and Now books, I think they have either 3 or 4 of them.

I would also recommend Matthew Desmond's "Evicted." Harrowing stuff.

Fuck scraping.... Get this.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z49P4DJ/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_Lr4YDbRZJZ9K6

Also, have a mechanic test your coolant to ensure you have the right antifreeze.

Welcome!

Mafia and the Machine.

All about Kansas City’s ties to the mafia

Edit - grammar

http://www.amazon.com/Kansas-City-Then-Now-Thunder/dp/1592234879/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463808320&sr=1-1&keywords=kansas+city+then+and+now

This is probably due for an update as this version is 9 years old.

This one has 600 photos:

http://www.amazon.com/Kansas-City-American-Rick-Montgomery/dp/0960488405/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=51TR8H2Y14L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR260%2C320_&refRID=17NM7V0787AF5XMKM312

Try reading this. http://www.amazon.com/The-Mythical-Man-Month-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959

What kind of development do you do?

The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob

This book is actually studied internationally in anthropology, sociology, and urban planning:

https://www.amazon.com/Race-Estate-Uneven-Development-Second/dp/1438449429

I think this might be more appropriate for the reading level of your surrounding company.

Some of you may be too young to know about these other events from KC's past:

Richard Grissom: https://www.amazon.com/Suddenly-Gone-Terrifying-Killers-Kidnapping-Murders/dp/0312960522
Bob Berdella: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Berdella

It's a reference to "The Mythical Man-Month," discussing how throwing more bodies at a late project makes it later. As in what I replied to, there's a certain point where adding workers gives diminishing, and even negative, returns.

In case any of you who care about such things missed it, here's a bit of Craig G's backstory:

http://www.amazon.com/King-Sting-Amazing-Modern-American/dp/1602399786/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404416900&sr=1-1&keywords=craig+glazer

Whether it's 90% bullshit in an attempt to get a Hollywood movie deal (which he's been trying to get for 30 years), or things actually went down as described, nobody knows.

It's actually worse than that, turns out he didn't write it at all he's just an editor. Your source's credibility is being shot down more by the minute. Who are these other people that wrote the chapters?

https://www.amazon.com/Slum-Health-Street-Jason-Corburn/dp/0520281071

You also fail at basic reading comprehension. I said that you cannot explicitly zone by race. (Zoning did originate, however, based explicitly on race.)


But you can get 90% of the same effect by zoning out poor people by banning housing types that poor people can afford.


Here is basically an entire book on the subject, if you would like to go down the rabbit hole.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Color-Law-Forgotten-Government-Segregated/dp/1631492853