The climate is so-so, there’s no nearby ocean or mountain range, and the metro area population has climbed only modestly over the past 3½ decades. But Kansas City appears to be better positioned than other comparably sized U.S. cities for future growth and prosperity.
Urban policy expert Wendell Cox counts the ways. Housing is affordable – in part, he says, because land-use restrictions are minimal – and the overall cost of living is low. With an extensive freeway and arterial system and relatively uncongested traffic, people can get around. KC consequently attracts more “domestic migrants” than it loses. Read the details in Kansas City—Genuinely World Class.
Cox, the principal of Demographia, a St. Louis-area public policy and demographics firm, walks through the advantages and what Kansas City needs to do to preserve them in this presentation.
Related:
- Blog: Kansas City: Genuinely World Class
- TV: Wendell Cox on KC Competitiveness
- TV: Wendell Cox and Crosby Kemper III on KCPT’s Ruckus
- Radio (beginning at 23 minute mark): ‘How To Listen To Jazz,’ A World-Class Kansas City, And The Weekend To-Do List
- Radio: Wendell Cox appeared on KCMO radio with host Mike Ferguson
- Video: Kansas City: Genuinely World Class
