Last week, I mentioned three things that I think would help build back the KCMO public schools. Keep in mind, this is a long-term fix, not a short term fix. Most short term fixes are merely band-aids. KC needs a heart transplant. You can't fix that with a band aid.
The first step I recommended was improving public transit. Our urban core is so depleted at this point, that there are very few jobs for the people in the urban core to get. Opening up their job options with better public transit would allow them to become more financially stable, and allow some kids to stay in school vs going into the work force.
This will help feed into these local people's communities, which is the 2nd step. As there becomes more money in these neighborhoods, there will be more businesses that open in these neighborhoods to try to get a piece of this new-found money. As these businesses open up, more jobs will be available in the urban core for these people to work in. As there become more jobs in these neighborhoods, there will be less blight. If you believe in the the broken windows theory (I do), less blight will lead to less crime. Less crime, less blight, and more jobs, will create more demand for people living in these urban core areas. In several areas of the KCMO area, over 30% of the houses are vacant and abandoned. Creating more demand for these homes would also help decrease the blight.
What many of these areas have lost is their sense of community. People with the resources to get out, get out....leaving only those with no option. Having local businesses to go to, clean neighborhoods, good jobs, homes with people in them, all help with the sense of community. Once people are get invested in these communities, there is more desire to fix the community to make it better. Getting more people moving into these areas to work to make them better is important. This is happening throughout Kansas City. As a city, we have become very good at distancing ourselves from our city's problem areas. If we don't see it, we don't feel obligated to make it better. Acknowledging it and doing nothing is merely impossible. But some people are changing that tide.
One man decided that he wanted to make Troost Ave a destination...no longer a dividing line between the "ok" part of Kansas City and the "undesireable part". So he decided to plant tulips along Troost to make it pretty this spring. 70,000 tulip bulbs later, he's well on his way.
Other groups are going in and helping to educate neighborhood kids, or improving housing, or picking up trash. Making a big difference, one small step at a time. These people are making a huge difference in building back these communities. As these communities get re-established, they will invest back into the community to make it better. Schools will be a part of that. Getting just a few people who COULD move out of the community, but choose to stay to improve it would be a huge step for every part of the community -- especially the schools.
It's not glamourous. It's not a quick fix. But it's doing it the right way...it's doing it in the same way that these communities were built in the first place...which would be a huge step for the urban core in Kansas City. Long term. And Lasting.
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