Students have been staying busy as they prepare for the end of the semester. KCDC has welcomed many visitors over the month. It was nice to welcome both new and familiar faces into the studio space. This month KCDC held:

1. Advisory Meeting

   The Advisory Meeting that was held on November 5th was a very important day for students. A large review of the Prospect Avenue Nodal Study was held for our gracious advisory board. This was the last review before students roll into final review production. The advisory board gave us insights as students began exploring strategic design concepts. Our advisory board includes the following professionals:

   • Jeffery Williams - Director of Planning and Development KCMO

   • Brien M. Starner - Vice President or Regional Community and Economic Development KCMO

   • Beth Edson - Branch Manager, The Kansas City Library

   • Angela Eley - AICP, Planner - 3rd District

   • Kyle Elliott - AICP, Division Manager, Long Range Planning and Preservation

   • Kate Bender - Deputy Performance Officer KCMO

2. Kansas State and University of Kansas Collaboration

   Also on November 5th, a fun collaboration was held between visiting studios, Kansas State and University of Kansas. The Kansas State studio is led by Professor Gibson and the University of Kansas studio is led by Professor Colistra. KCDC’s advisory group stayed for the collaboration, sharing their insight on Kansas City.

3. Populous Visit

   Another eventful day students had was on November 16th. It started with a visit by two architects John Shreve and Alex Ogata from the Kansas City firm Populous. Populous is a global architectural design firm specializing in the design of sports facilities, arenas, and convention centers. Shreve and Ogata stopped by to give a brief introduction on the upcoming course that will be offered to KCDC students in the spring. They were also generous enough to leave a basket full of fancy cheeses and d’oeuvres.

4. Preparing for Finals

   On November 16th, the day before Thanksgiving break, the class held a progress review. Professor Krstic provided direction and advice on how to more forward on the project. Students are now in the schematic phase of the Prospect Avenue Nodal Study and have selected five key elements of the study corridor and will provide design iterations for each.

5. Goodbye Sarah

   We are saddened to report our project coordinator, Sarah Kraly is leaving KCDC to pursue new career opportunities. Sarah has left a large mark on the program. She has always a provided positive energy in the studio and greeted everyone who walked in the door with a “good morning” no matter what day it was. Students wish her all the best in her future endeavors. Students hung around KCDC after studio on that Friday, enjoying time before she departed.

On October 22nd, KCDC students presented work from the Prospect Ave Nodal Study, from inventory mapping to the urban concept, with emphasis on the findings and how they relate to one another. Students are beginning to see Prospect Avenue as a series of areas that may require different strategies and interventions due to varying factors including infrastructure, service and amenity distribution, visual patterns, and physical barriers. A strong example is the lasting impact of Highway 71, which continues to effect Prospect Avenue by dividing it into separate sections and causing blight in the area where there is only a 1-parcel distance from Prospect. Guest reviewers were impressed with the progress of the sutdio, and suggested more community outreach would be appropriate in the near future. After the presentation, the KCDC staff, K-State students, KU students, and guest reviewers went to Hollis and Miller for a friendly rooftop BBQ.

Since then, the studio has continued to solidify the urban concept for Prospect Ave. Through multiple series of cross-mapping, data analysis, combing through literature, and case study synthesis, students have made great strides to finalize the concept as Thanksgiving Break approaches. Students are creating new maps that explain the concept, as well as study models (both large and small). Students are beginning to assemble the structure for the in-progress project publication (which will be published at the end of the semester) and discussing findings from the Project Programming class, which includes project description, case study synthesis, comparative analysis, and strategies to tackle not-yet-identified nodes.

For the studio’s case study selection and synthesis, 22 projects have been chosen from around the world that students are learning lessons and drawing inspiration from. These projects are divided into four overlapping categories that serve as potential methods to apply to Prospect Ave:

1. Branding – creating a brand for the entirety of a project area, utilizing characteristic graphics, signage, art, history, landmarks, etc. These projects form cultural identity and give visual representations for a given area.

2. Connectivity – focuses on movement through a corridor or strengthening a system of connectivity. These projects change the way streets can function through tactical transit-oriented development, and increasing or diversifying public transit solutions. 

3. Ecological Remediation – reimagines the environment as an asset to infrastructure and people. These projects draw solutions from an ecological standpoint and turns issues such as pollution, flooding, animal welfare, and conservation into amenities for the city.

4. Patching – revitalized areas through strategic infill, development, and community engagement. These projects were given new life by taking areas strewn with urban gaps (vacant lots or abandoned buildings) and recycling the space into catalysts for change.

Here are the selected case studies and the categories which they fit in:

• Atlanta Beltline: branding, connectivity, patching

• Aurora Masterplan: connectivity, ecological remediation

• Avenida Lecuna: connectivity, patching

• Avenue of the Arts: branding, connectivity, patching

• Blue River Valley: branding, ecological remediation, patching

• Bogota, Colombia: branding, connectivity

• Chicago Riverwalk: connectivity, ecological remediation, patching

• Colfax Avenue: branding, connectivity

• East Baltimore: connetivity

• Fabrica de Cultura Grotao: branding, ecological remediation, patching

• Flip-a-Strip: patching

• Klyde Warren Park: branding, connectivity, patching

• Kraust Urbanism: branding, ecological remediation

• Local Code San Francisco: patching

• Loop City: connectivity, ecological remediation

• Mexico City Avenue: connectivity

• Miami Underline:  branding, connectivity

• Nationwide Children’s Hospital: branding, patching

• Rosa Parks Neighborhood: branding, patching

• Superkilen: branding, patching

• Urban Agripuncture: ecological remediation, patching

• Yuanijang, China: ecological remediation, patching

These projects were selected based on the nature of the project scope, scale, and goals, and displayed at least one of the above categories. The studio will be continuously adding and removing projects from this list as necessary, based on the stated criteria.

One of the other ways that students are studying Prospect Ave. is through a comparative analysis with other corridors; this is being done to better understand how infrastructure, morphology, demographics, and service distribution compare with other corridors, and might lead to more insight about the corridor and methods toward improvement. Some of the corridors being compared are also in the case studies list. Here is the completed comparative analytic list, with potentially more to be added as necessary:

• Troost Ave. in KCMO

• Wornall Rd. in KCMO

• States Ave in KCK

• 13th St. in Omaha

• Rosa Parks Boulevard in Detroit

Some of the conclusions drawn from these comparisons include the following: the detriment that vast amounts of vacant lots and abandoned buildings have on an area, the disconnectivity that large infrastructural projects can bring to certain neighborhoods, and diversity and availability of services strengthens corridors.

Professional reviews on October 1st

Professional reviews on October 1st

Professional reviews on October 1st

Project advisory group review on October 3rd

Project advisory group review on October 3rd

Phase I of the KCDC urban design studio’s main project, the Prospect Avenue Nodal Study, is coming to an end. KCDC students presented their findings to a group of professionals on Monday, October 1st, and to the project advisory group on Wednesday, October 3rd. The establishment of the project boundary and conclusions driven from cross-mapping allowed us to create a conceptual framework or an overall understanding of Prospect Avenue.

View fullsize

Development of a study area
(maps left to right: topography, highways, neighborhoods, & 1/4 mile)

The initial project boundary was from Independence Avenue on the North to the 75th Street on the South, however, initial analysis indicated the need to further establish the project boundary. In order to achieve this, we investigated different factors and conditions that influence Prospect Avenue:

1. Initiatives and Plans: Investigating the boundary lines of existing plans and initiatives conducted in Kansas City. Kansas City Playbook took hierarchy.

2. Watersheds: Considering floodplain and hydrology elements within Kansas City.

3. Neighborhoods Along Prospect: Defining lines of established neighborhoods touching Prospect Avenue and any other adjacent neighborhoods.

4. Census Tract Blocks: Mapping common subdivisions of people into a cohesive boundary around Prospect Avenue based on census data.

5. ¼ Mile Walk Boundary: Specifying the distance traveled from Prospect Avenue after walking approximately 5 minutes.

6. 71 Highway: Charting the major highway division along Prospect Avenue; 71 breaks Prospect Avenue into two east and west sides. Since its construction, 71 Highway has displaced over 10,000 people.

It’s important to note that the project boundary is not set in stone; it will remain flexible throughout the project and may respond to additional findings throughout the process.

In addition to furthering the project boundary, we continued to push the mapping a step further. Once inventory mapping was complete, it was essential to start cross-mapping to establish the key conditions of Prospect Avenue:

1. History: The present conditions of Prospect Avenue are a result of the past conditions. We are calling these conditions “barriers.”

2. Land Programming: There is an overall lack of day-to-day services. Vacant parcels could be used as an opportunity to gain some of these missing services.

3. Transportation: 71 Highway is the highest traveled transit line in the metropolitan area.

4. Social-Economics: Not many people work and live within the boundary. There is a racial discrepancy between work and living.

5. Physical Conditions: Large scale physical cross-corridor connections and significant viewsheds tie Prospect Avenue back to Kansas City.

6. Urban Morphology: The urban form is poorly defined. Patterns and unique blocks are established from the change in urban form.

7. Architectural identity: Five residential types are found along Prospect Avenue. Existing visual patterns are cohesive but fragmented.

Continuing the further development of a conceptual framework will guide the next phase of the Prospect Nodal Study. The conceptual framework will include the issues and conditions that arise from the findings. Our vision, mission, and goals create a roadmap of where we want to go and how to get there.

Vision: Our vision is a community-focused platform that establishes a cohesive urban concept for the future of Prospect Avenue, leveraging the corridor as a uniquely desirable place within Kansas City.

Mission: Our mission is to create a conceptual framework through the identification, evaluation, and exploration of the current conditions which define the Prospect Corridor. The intent of the framework is to encourage social connections and economic growth through strategic design intervention and development policies. Catalytic nodes are selected for strategic exploration using the conceptual framework developed through the analysis of the Prospect Corridor.

Goal: Our goals are to test and propose a design platform for:

1. Cultural Identity Development

2. Safety and Security

3. Diverse, Affordable, And Quality Housing

4. Economic Opportunity

5. Environmental Quality

6. Responsive (Alternative) TOD Strategies

7. Reintegration into the Greater KC Area

We will continue to further the vision, mission, and goals of Prospect Nodal Study as the project continues. Our next professional review is set for October 22nd. We will present progress findings to receive feedback and input that will help us continue to push the project further. 

Brent Ryan’s lecture on October 11th

Brent Ryan’s lecture on October 11th

Brent Ryan’s lecture on October 11th

Lastly, on October 11th, the KCDC held its first public lecture of the 2018/19 academic year with Brent Ryan, Associate Professor of Urban Design and Public Policy in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. During the lecture, Brent discussed his book The Largest Art which provides a new foundational theory of urban design that is based on a more pluralistic, democratic vision of the city. Brent’s lecture is significant to the Prospect Avenue Nodal Study because it provided a theoretical framework for looking at and understanding the city which is aligned with the analytical design considerations for the project. The analytical categories that Brent proposed as part of his new manifesto on urban design (scale, time, property, agents, and form) allow us to further understand our analytical findings and strategically organize them to generate a basis for urban design iterations.