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Amanda DeBrot, Shelby Porter, Cacena Campbell, Jon Woerner, Branden Crimen, Jamie McDonald, Ty Nagle and Cameron Loveall comprise the UMKC Urban Planning and Design final studio class working on Independence Avenue. Photo by Emily Randall |
Eight University of Missouri-Kansas City Urban Planning and Design students are finishing the last five credits in their degrees by focusing on improving Northeast.
Associate Professor Michael Frisch’s final studio class meets 12 hours a week with the ultimate goal of producing a vision for façade improvements in the Independence Avenue corridor — including designs and implementation strategies for “quick wins” — and a series of walking maps to encourage tourism in the area.
Frisch teamed up with John Wood, senior program officer with Local Initiatives Support Corporation, more than a year ago. Wood wanted to see Northeast take advantage of city façade improvement funding.
“One of the ways we do that is to show what it could be in the future,” Frisch said.
That’s where the students, with their fresh ideas, eagerness, need to complete a final project and free labor, come into the picture.
Each of the eight undergraduate students was assigned a segment of the two-mile stretch of Independence Avenue from Garfield to Denver streets. Thus far, the students have completed preliminary research, which they presented Thursday evening, including surveying 1,300 parcels, compiling demographic data, and a precedence study, which compares three other commercial streets in Kansas City to Northeast. The three areas the students chose were West 39th Street, Armour Road in North Kansas City and Wornall Road from 72nd to 75th streets.
“We were trying to figure out what made these streets work,” senior Amanda DeBrot said.
The class’ next step will be to examine the history of the area, talk to people, and begin to understand how spaces are used and could be used.
“You’re going to get a product that is through our students’ eyes,” Frisch said, adding their ideas will serve as a starting point for discussions among residents and stakeholders in the neighborhood. “Neighborhood leaders can take that and move forward. My ambition is the studio kind of pushes the conversation forward.”
Frisch said this project not only stands to benefit Northeast, but also the students by providing them experience in a truly urban area.
“[It is] a neighborhood with real diversity and community,” he said. “It’s rare in the Kansas City metro.”
DeBrot said she appreciates the experience.
“I think it’s cool we actually get to do real projects in college,” she said, “a real project that could actually be used in the future.”
There will be a second presentation in March — this one in Historic Northeast — at which the students will give an update on their progress and possibly present specific opportunities for development. Wood said he’d like to see neighbors there.
“We hope there will be some fresh ideas,” Wood said, “and we hope they’ll be proactive in getting [neighbors] to give their opinion of what they think.”
Keep an eye on Northeast News’ Almanac for a date and time of the meeting.
The LISC contract with UMKC lasts through Aug. 31, by which point the students’ entire project should be complete.
“I don’t want this just to be an academic exercise,” Wood added. “It’s got to be applied.”
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