Kansas City exists as a starkly segregated city in the 21st century. The Racial Dot Map of Kansas City, illustrated by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, highlights this contrast through the mapping of racial groups within the city. Upon first glance, it is noted that one street serves to divide the city racially, Troost Avenue. This fissure divides the city by race, economic status, school districts, crime, and many other demographic characteristics. Troost Ave originally signified a boundary of a thriving plantation and over time developed into Millionaire’s row, a street for wealthy families wanting to live outside the downtown area. The city’s expansion and the introduction of a streetcar line on Troost spurred commercial development along this corridor. Shortly after this period of time, developers began to focus on a City Beautiful movement west of Troost, designing large parkways and new housing for affluent, white neighborhoods. Due to a shift of focus to the area west of Troost, property values east of Troost began to drop. At this time, marginalized black communities were pushed out of the city’s West Bottoms due to effects of the second Industrial Revolution. The neighborhood east of Troost was a prime area for relocation due to it’s affordability, access to transportation, and proximity to urban life. The confluence of suburbanization, white flight, and the automobile led to the abandonment of the streetcar system and major shifts in Kansas City life. This echoed throughout the social, political, and economic fabric surrounding Troost Ave. This city wide transition created the racially concentrated areas of poverty east of Troost Ave and left a once thriving urban corridor to diminish, dividing and scarring the city. The thesis addresses the avenue at the scale of the city by pinpointing highly trafficked intersections and reclaiming unused space to generate place along Troost Avenue, creating a visually connected corridor. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_94255 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Contributors | Giradeau, Lindsay (author), Desmarais, Marianne (Thesis advisor), Tulane School of Architecture Architecture (Degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | electronic, electronic, pages: 30 |
| Rights | Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law., No embargo |
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