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KANSAS CITY

Turning Neighborhoods Around

Mt. Carmel Comes Back

 Known since the 1960s as one of Kansas City 's worst neighborhoods, Mt. Carmel is a predominantly African American neighborhood separated from the rest of Kansas City by the Parallel Parkway . In 2000, its poverty rate hovered around 30 percent and the unemployment rate was 13 percent, over twice that of the city as a whole.

The Mount Carmel Redevelopment Corporation is changing that. Founded in 1994 by Mt. Carmel Church in Christ, it has been the catalyst for revitalization of a neighborhood that once seemed unsalvageable. It is currently helping advance a major redevelopment in a four-block area bounded by the Parallel Parkway . Projects like these are gradually attracting jobs and commercial interests back to an area long shunned by entrepreneurs.

St. Benedict/Strawberry Hill

When I-70 plowed through the center of this area, it was nicknamed "The Canyon," as residents were displaced and apartment buildings demolished. But recently formed CDCs have been working over the past decade to provide home ownership opportunities. CHWC ( Community Housing Wyandotte County ), for instance, has been working to increase neighborhood stability with housing credit and community programs since 1998, and now has plans to rehabilitate and sell 52 homes in St. Benedict and Strawberry Hill.

A Light on Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill was once one of Kansas City 's proudest and most affluent neighborhoods; with the white exodus of the 1960s it fell into disrepair, but that trend has been soundly reversed. The $70 million Beacon Hill Redevelopment Project has added 400 units of new and rehabilitated housing, and the area is reclaiming its old charm with a new vitality as homeowners of various income levels move back into this conveniently located downtown neighborhood. Beacon Hill now boasts streetscape improvements, decorative lighting, fountains, a community center, and other creative re-uses of buildings that had been abandoned for decades.

Taking Back the Lake

The northeast section of Kansas City had a more specific problem: Big 11 Lake off Washington Boulevard had become a major crime area. After working for several years, neighborhood groups have managed a major cleanup campaign. EPA volunteers provided supervision and equipment. Trash and debris were cleared from the surrounding area. The effort got coverage in the Kansas City Kansan. Today, picnicking and fishing have replaced drug and alcohol abuse as activities of choice at Big 11.

A Future Outlook

There's no better reason for optimism than this: citizens are starting to take matters in their own hands. With the help of grassroots programs like Kansas City Building Blocks, community leaders and professional organizers have joined forces in over 30 neighborhoods across the city. The results include a widespread organization of tenant associations: over 100 associations have been formed in inner Kansas City , and with them, tenants have found a way to lobby for better housing conditions and affordable rent.