Vote! What Would You Like Us to Cover in Our Reporting?

As we dig into housing issues in our months-long Public Works? A Level Foundation reporting initiative, we want you to share your questions with us and weigh in on what you think we should tackle.

Below is our first voting round with three questions from curious Kansas Citians.

Tricia Bushnell asked what percentage new developments in Kansas City are considered mixed income.

“Gentrification and the further segregation of our city is a real concern for many, including myself,” Bushnell said. “I want to live in a place where all types of folks live and feel welcome and I’d like to think that’s a national trend.”

John-Mark Zini is curious about current vacancy rates and how many rental units are in the works for Downtown and Midtown.

“If the corridor is going to see 2,000 more units in the next year, that is a lot of people moving into a relatively small area and paying a lot of very high rents, which has both positives and negatives,” Zini said.

Like Zini, Tim Zook is wondering how population density in Kansas City has impacted rent.

“I came across census stats for a very small tract (specifically in west plaza) and found that there were almost 1000 less people living in that tract as 40 years ago!” Zook said. “I have been trying to find new places to live but in many areas, the rent has been increasing at a much higher rate with less options available, whether through renovation into luxury apartments or many duplexes/triplexes being turned into single family homes.”

Which question do you think curiousKC should answer? Vote below, encourage others to weigh-in and submit your own curiousKC questions here.