Take a walk through some of Kansas City’s oldest neighborhoods east of Troost Avenue or in the Historic Northeast, and you’ll see evidence of once-dense and vibrant neighborhoods.
A handful of houses are surrounded by a sea of empty lawns or boarded-up buildings. You might see a basement or foundation poking out of overgrown grass, or some rubble left behind by a sloppy demolition. Or even the burned-out shell of a beautiful home.
It’s the result of decades of population decline in Kansas City’s urban core. Within its pre-1945 boundaries, stretching from the Missouri River south to 75th Street, Kansas City has lost more than half of its population over the past 70 years, according to an analysis by economic development researcher Dion Thompson-Davoli…