If working two full-time jobs isn’t enough to make rent in the city, Kimberly Lawson wants to know what is enough. This video, part of a larger project from Kansas City PBS and Flatland looking at gentrification, affordable housing, and evictions in the Kansas City metro, delves into whether the downtown boom is driving out the people who work there.
Just how do you protect an open market for real estate while also protecting all income classes? Development experts, local activists and city council members talk to us about what works, what doesn’t, and what Kansas City needs to do as it continues to grow.
Follow the entire project at flatlandkc.local/publicworks, and with the hashtag #KCPublicWorks.
[FLEX-CONTENT]
Reading these stories is free, but telling them is not. Start your monthly gift now to support Flatland’s community-focused reporting.
Related Stories
College Students Grapple with Housing Troubles as Costs Soar
Sydney Johnson did everything right. Still, water poured from her ceiling. The now-graduated University of Missouri student spent winter break taking classes and staying at her off-campus apartment. A few weeks earlier, property management sent instructions for how to avoid pipe bursts during cold months, which Johnson followed. But her upstairs neighbors were not so…
Kansas City Home Builders Push Back on Energy Efficiency Rules, Blame Them for Housing Crunch
Homebuilders say Kansas City’s energy efficiency standards hinder housing construction and increase costs. Environmentalists say they combat climate change.
Neighborhood Blocks a Low-Barrier Shelter Addressing Homelessness in Kansas City
Kansas City is debating how to spend federal funds to shelter chronically homeless people. But plans for a new low-barrier shelter faced stiff opposition.