Connected City Goal

Increase mobility options and create a more connected city


Cities exist to connect people to one another economically, socially, and culturally. They are shaped by the patterns of those connections.

A connected city provides the physical infrastructure that gets people to the places they want to go in a safe, convenient, accessible, and inviting way. Connected cities promote equity by enabling connections between neighbors of different backgrounds, providing improved access to opportunities, and mitigating the harmful aspects of major barriers, such as highways, which have disproportionately displaced and disconnected low-income households and minorities in the past. A well-connected city typically has a highly connected street system with pedestrian-scale blocks that connect adjacent neighborhoods and districts (see Connected City Objective).

The city’s transportation system is a complex and connected network of streets, sidewalks, bus lines, streetcars, trails, and bicycle facilities. Parkways and boulevards are critical pieces of the overall mobility and traffic-circulation system. How the city’s transportation system is built and managed impacts how people and goods move around the city (see the Transportation Topic and the Mobility, Complete Communities, Public Transit, and Access to Jobs Objectives). The transportation system also has a major influence on land use and development patterns.

After decades of public and private investment, it is exceptionally easy to get around Kansas City by car. But there has been less investment in other transportation modes, such as walking, biking, and public transit. The city’s original public streetcar system was removed and replaced with buses to make room for personal vehicles. Limited investment in public transit and increasing sprawl in the region has made getting around Kansas City increasingly difficult for people without access to a personal vehicle. This disparity in access to the region’s opportunities creates a major equity issue. The city must continue to improve multimodal mobility and safety for people walking, biking, and using public transit while also maintaining efficient traffic flow for all vehicle types (see Mobility and Vision Zero Objectives).

The Playbook aims to re-integrate diverse mobility options into Kansas City, with the understanding that mobility means more than simply moving people around. It impacts economic growth, public health, land use and development, and ultimately quality of life for Kansas City residents.


RELATIONSHIP TO VISION STATEMENTS

The Playbook has fifteen Vision statements for Kansas City. The Playbook’s Vision describes what we want to be and outlines how we want our city to develop in the future, in line with community values and priorities. Those that are closely related to the Connected City Goal are highlighted in grey below:

Affordable Community: We will create and nurture an affordable community and strive for abundant opportunity and employment at a livable wage for our residents.
A well-connected city with a variety of mobility options has improved access to housing and jobs, which gives all people choice and affordability in deciding where to live and work. Transportation investments and land use patterns that reduce dependency on vehicles can significantly reduce household monthly expenses.
Cultural Amenities: Our diverse cultural amenities, parks, and open spaces will provide a rich variety of experiences and vibrant environments.
A well-connected city with safe and convenient mobility options will ensure everyone can reach these amenities. Transportation infrastructure (roadways, bridges, transit stations, etc.) should incorporate public art and contribute to vibrant environments.
Desirable Place: Our community will attract people and employers through being a desirable place to earn, learn, live, and thrive.
Desirable places are inherently well-connected to other parts of the city through a range of safe, convenient mobility options.
Equitable and Fiscally Sustainable: Our capital investments and growth will be equitable while maintaining the fiscal sustainability of the city.
Transportation investments can ensure the city grows sustainably and equitably, particularly when these investments improve access to daily needs, improve mobility and safety in areas of distress and disinvestment, or promote transportation modes that reduce greenhouse gases. The city can use these investments to steer growth and development in fiscally and environmentally sustainable patterns.
Healthy Environmental Systems: We will promote and value the health of our environmental and natural systems and protect them from degradation.
A well-connected city with diverse transportation options has a lower environmental impact from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles and higher use of alternative transportation modes, including active transportation that incorporates walking or biking. It also encourages more compact, efficient, sustainable land use planning and development.
History and Heritage: We will preserve places that celebrate all facets of Kansas City’s history and cultural heritage.
A well-connected city with safe and convenient mobility options will help ensure everyone can reach these resources and landmarks. The city’s transportation system can be used to enhance Kansas City’s history and culture by incorporating wayfinding, interpretive markers, historic district signs, and public art that reflects the city’s cultural heritage.
Innovation and Creativity: We will cultivate innovation and creativity in our governance, business, and educational practices related to smart city technology and physical development.
Smart mobility is a burgeoning field of innovation and technology, solving transportation problems with responsive, creative, and data-driven solutions. It is valuable, if not essential, for the city to invest in, adapt, and use technology to tackle complex issues in its transportation network.
KC Uniqueness: We will preserve and enhance those things that make Kansas City unique – the small town feel with big city amenities and the wide range of diverse environments and neighborhoods.
The city’s system of boulevards and parkways are a highly visible aspect of Kansas City’s identity and provide important connectivity throughout the city. The city should ensure all transportation infrastructure has high-quality, attractive design that enhances Kansas City’s identity.
Livable Neighborhoods and Diverse Housing: Our neighborhoods will be strong, livable, and authentic while ensuring diverse housing opportunities.
Diverse mobility options with efficient connections link people to jobs, education, and services safely and affordably.
Mobility Options: Our well-connected and accessible neighborhoods and districts will be walkable and served by reliable, safe, and convenient mobility options.
A well-connected city provides walkable, safe, and convenient streets, sidewalks, bike infrastructure, and transit that give people options to meet their transportation needs, whether traveling down the street or across town.
Physical Beauty: Our city will be renowned for the physical beauty of its streets, buildings, public spaces, and infrastructure.
The city’s rights-of-way, roads, bridges, transit stations, and airports all present significant opportunities to improve the physical beauty of the city through aesthetic enhancements and high-quality design.
Regional Collaboration: Our city will continue to be the heart of the region. We will remain collaborative with our regional partners with a renewed focus on building partnerships to achieve the aspirations of this plan.
Kansas City and its regional partners are more successful when they work together rather than alone. Coordinated mobility operations will benefit commerce, freight, and movement of people regionally and provide links to markets outside the region. Some transportation improvements will require regional partners.
Sustainable Growth and Resilient City: Our community will grow in a sustainable manner and be resilient and adaptable to future changes.
Transportation is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change. Large paved areas needed for much of the transportation infrastructure increase stormwater runoff and exacerbate flooding. Increasing the use of public transit and reducing the use of personal vehicles in Kansas City will lead to major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. Reducing the number of surface parking lots and large expanses of impermeable surfaces will help the city manage stormwater runoff and improve water quality. Providing a comprehensive multimodal transportation network will improve public health by encouraging transportation that involves walking and biking.
Thriving Economy: Our economy will be resilient, inclusive, diverse, and thriving and will position our city competitively against our national peers.
A thriving economy depends on a transportation system that meets the needs of a diverse range of employers, customers, and employees. Robust economic activity relies on the ability of residents to reach employment, shopping, and services and of businesses to ship and receive goods by truck, rail, and air.
Walkable, Clean, and Safe: Our community will promote the health of our residents and visitors through being walkable, clean, and safe.
A well-connected city has walkable, clean, safe environments that link people from their homes to their daily activities and communities.


RELATIONSHIP TO EQUITY STATEMENTS

The Playbook also has a series of statements focused on equity. Those that are directly related to the Connected City Goal are highlighted in grey below:

Addressing Disinvestment: Direct investment to communities that have been abandoned or have experienced long-term disinvestment.
Citywide Accessibility: Ensure services, utilities, and transportation options are provided to everyone.
Community Collaboration: Empower people from different parts of the KC community in working together to solve problems.
Community Engagement: Empower people to shape their communities and recognize that communities value things differently.
Complete Communities: Ensure that people can meet their needs in their own neighborhood without having to travel long distances.
Housing Affordability: Ensure everyone has access to safe and affordable housing.
Inclusive Design: Ensure that development incorporates design features that consider people of all abilities.
Providing Services: Commit to taking care of the built environment and providing the same quality of maintenance and services citywide.
Welcoming Spaces: Ensure that public spaces and amenities are designed to support diverse, culturally authentic, and family-friendly activities, no matter how much money a person is able to spend.

RELATIONSHIP TO BIG IDEAS

The Playbook identifies five Big Ideas for Kansas City. The Big Ideas are the essential themes of the plan. They underpin all that the plan aims to do. Those directly related to the Connected City Goal are highlighted in grey below:

Fostering neighborhoods that accommodate all ages, lifestyles, and incomes by diversifying and densifying housing choices and creating complete communities that facilitate a high quality-of-life
To accommodate all ages, lifestyles, and incomes, a community must meet the basic transportation needs of its residents by providing safe and convenient mobility options. These communities should be complete communities that meet all residents’ daily needs.
Creating a physically beautiful city by promoting high-quality design in public spaces, parks, private development, and capital improvements
Transportation infrastructure and rights-of-way, some of the most visible parts of the city, must be designed to be attractive and inviting and contribute to the city’s physical beauty.
Respecting land as a limited resource by balancing outward growth with infill development, preserving natural resources, and developing in an equitable and sustainable manner
Investment in transportation can steer growth and development in fiscally and environmentally sustainable patterns.
Maximizing connections and mobility options by bridging or eliminating barriers and creating new physical connections and a robust multimodal transportation system
The transportation system provides the means for physical mobility around the city. This system must support all types of transportation and be convenient and well-connected.
Creating a future-proofed city by better anticipating and reacting to new technologies and evolving conditions
Many new technologies are emerging in transportation, such as electric vehicles, autonomous cars, smart-parking technology, transportation communication systems, and data analytics. These systems will help Kansas City maintain safe and efficient mobility even as the climate, technology, resources, and society change dramatically over the coming decades.


RELATIONSHIP TO TOPICS

The Playbook is also structured around five Topics that organize the plan’s recommendations around specific subjects. Those topics directly related to the Connected City Goal are highlighted in grey below:








RELATIONSHIP TO OBJECTIVES

The Playbook identifies 21 Objectives for Kansas City. The Objectives are the nuts and bolts of the Playbook. Each Objective contains detailed recommendations, strategies, and initiatives for a specific topic, framed by the overall direction the plan sets for that topic. The Objectives also set priorities and metrics for their implementation and provide supporting context, including relevant data and public input. A single Objective often supports multiple Goals and Topics.

Objectives primarily related to the Connected City Goal:



Objectives secondarily related to the Connected City Goal:




Increase mobility options and create a more connected city


Cities exist to connect people to one another economically, socially, and culturally. They are shaped by the patterns of those connections.

A connected city provides the physical infrastructure that gets people to the places they want to go in a safe, convenient, accessible, and inviting way. Connected cities promote equity by enabling connections between neighbors of different backgrounds, providing improved access to opportunities, and mitigating the harmful aspects of major barriers, such as highways, which have disproportionately displaced and disconnected low-income households and minorities in the past. A well-connected city typically has a highly connected street system with pedestrian-scale blocks that connect adjacent neighborhoods and districts (see Connected City Objective).

The city’s transportation system is a complex and connected network of streets, sidewalks, bus lines, streetcars, trails, and bicycle facilities. Parkways and boulevards are critical pieces of the overall mobility and traffic-circulation system. How the city’s transportation system is built and managed impacts how people and goods move around the city (see the Transportation Topic and the Mobility, Complete Communities, Public Transit, and Access to Jobs Objectives). The transportation system also has a major influence on land use and development patterns.

After decades of public and private investment, it is exceptionally easy to get around Kansas City by car. But there has been less investment in other transportation modes, such as walking, biking, and public transit. The city’s original public streetcar system was removed and replaced with buses to make room for personal vehicles. Limited investment in public transit and increasing sprawl in the region has made getting around Kansas City increasingly difficult for people without access to a personal vehicle. This disparity in access to the region’s opportunities creates a major equity issue. The city must continue to improve multimodal mobility and safety for people walking, biking, and using public transit while also maintaining efficient traffic flow for all vehicle types (see Mobility and Vision Zero Objectives).

The Playbook aims to re-integrate diverse mobility options into Kansas City, with the understanding that mobility means more than simply moving people around. It impacts economic growth, public health, land use and development, and ultimately quality of life for Kansas City residents.


RELATIONSHIP TO VISION STATEMENTS

The Playbook has fifteen Vision statements for Kansas City. The Playbook’s Vision describes what we want to be and outlines how we want our city to develop in the future, in line with community values and priorities. Those that are closely related to the Connected City Goal are highlighted in grey below:

Affordable Community: We will create and nurture an affordable community and strive for abundant opportunity and employment at a livable wage for our residents.
A well-connected city with a variety of mobility options has improved access to housing and jobs, which gives all people choice and affordability in deciding where to live and work. Transportation investments and land use patterns that reduce dependency on vehicles can significantly reduce household monthly expenses.
Cultural Amenities: Our diverse cultural amenities, parks, and open spaces will provide a rich variety of experiences and vibrant environments.
A well-connected city with safe and convenient mobility options will ensure everyone can reach these amenities. Transportation infrastructure (roadways, bridges, transit stations, etc.) should incorporate public art and contribute to vibrant environments.
Desirable Place: Our community will attract people and employers through being a desirable place to earn, learn, live, and thrive.
Desirable places are inherently well-connected to other parts of the city through a range of safe, convenient mobility options.
Equitable and Fiscally Sustainable: Our capital investments and growth will be equitable while maintaining the fiscal sustainability of the city.
Transportation investments can ensure the city grows sustainably and equitably, particularly when these investments improve access to daily needs, improve mobility and safety in areas of distress and disinvestment, or promote transportation modes that reduce greenhouse gases. The city can use these investments to steer growth and development in fiscally and environmentally sustainable patterns.
Healthy Environmental Systems: We will promote and value the health of our environmental and natural systems and protect them from degradation.
A well-connected city with diverse transportation options has a lower environmental impact from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles and higher use of alternative transportation modes, including active transportation that incorporates walking or biking. It also encourages more compact, efficient, sustainable land use planning and development.
History and Heritage: We will preserve places that celebrate all facets of Kansas City’s history and cultural heritage.
A well-connected city with safe and convenient mobility options will help ensure everyone can reach these resources and landmarks. The city’s transportation system can be used to enhance Kansas City’s history and culture by incorporating wayfinding, interpretive markers, historic district signs, and public art that reflects the city’s cultural heritage.
Innovation and Creativity: We will cultivate innovation and creativity in our governance, business, and educational practices related to smart city technology and physical development.
Smart mobility is a burgeoning field of innovation and technology, solving transportation problems with responsive, creative, and data-driven solutions. It is valuable, if not essential, for the city to invest in, adapt, and use technology to tackle complex issues in its transportation network.
KC Uniqueness: We will preserve and enhance those things that make Kansas City unique – the small town feel with big city amenities and the wide range of diverse environments and neighborhoods.
The city’s system of boulevards and parkways are a highly visible aspect of Kansas City’s identity and provide important connectivity throughout the city. The city should ensure all transportation infrastructure has high-quality, attractive design that enhances Kansas City’s identity.
Livable Neighborhoods and Diverse Housing: Our neighborhoods will be strong, livable, and authentic while ensuring diverse housing opportunities.
Diverse mobility options with efficient connections link people to jobs, education, and services safely and affordably.
Mobility Options: Our well-connected and accessible neighborhoods and districts will be walkable and served by reliable, safe, and convenient mobility options.
A well-connected city provides walkable, safe, and convenient streets, sidewalks, bike infrastructure, and transit that give people options to meet their transportation needs, whether traveling down the street or across town.
Physical Beauty: Our city will be renowned for the physical beauty of its streets, buildings, public spaces, and infrastructure.
The city’s rights-of-way, roads, bridges, transit stations, and airports all present significant opportunities to improve the physical beauty of the city through aesthetic enhancements and high-quality design.
Regional Collaboration: Our city will continue to be the heart of the region. We will remain collaborative with our regional partners with a renewed focus on building partnerships to achieve the aspirations of this plan.
Kansas City and its regional partners are more successful when they work together rather than alone. Coordinated mobility operations will benefit commerce, freight, and movement of people regionally and provide links to markets outside the region. Some transportation improvements will require regional partners.
Sustainable Growth and Resilient City: Our community will grow in a sustainable manner and be resilient and adaptable to future changes.
Transportation is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change. Large paved areas needed for much of the transportation infrastructure increase stormwater runoff and exacerbate flooding. Increasing the use of public transit and reducing the use of personal vehicles in Kansas City will lead to major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. Reducing the number of surface parking lots and large expanses of impermeable surfaces will help the city manage stormwater runoff and improve water quality. Providing a comprehensive multimodal transportation network will improve public health by encouraging transportation that involves walking and biking.
Thriving Economy: Our economy will be resilient, inclusive, diverse, and thriving and will position our city competitively against our national peers.
A thriving economy depends on a transportation system that meets the needs of a diverse range of employers, customers, and employees. Robust economic activity relies on the ability of residents to reach employment, shopping, and services and of businesses to ship and receive goods by truck, rail, and air.
Walkable, Clean, and Safe: Our community will promote the health of our residents and visitors through being walkable, clean, and safe.
A well-connected city has walkable, clean, safe environments that link people from their homes to their daily activities and communities.


RELATIONSHIP TO EQUITY STATEMENTS

The Playbook also has a series of statements focused on equity. Those that are directly related to the Connected City Goal are highlighted in grey below:

Addressing Disinvestment: Direct investment to communities that have been abandoned or have experienced long-term disinvestment.
Citywide Accessibility: Ensure services, utilities, and transportation options are provided to everyone.
Community Collaboration: Empower people from different parts of the KC community in working together to solve problems.
Community Engagement: Empower people to shape their communities and recognize that communities value things differently.
Complete Communities: Ensure that people can meet their needs in their own neighborhood without having to travel long distances.
Housing Affordability: Ensure everyone has access to safe and affordable housing.
Inclusive Design: Ensure that development incorporates design features that consider people of all abilities.
Providing Services: Commit to taking care of the built environment and providing the same quality of maintenance and services citywide.
Welcoming Spaces: Ensure that public spaces and amenities are designed to support diverse, culturally authentic, and family-friendly activities, no matter how much money a person is able to spend.

RELATIONSHIP TO BIG IDEAS

The Playbook identifies five Big Ideas for Kansas City. The Big Ideas are the essential themes of the plan. They underpin all that the plan aims to do. Those directly related to the Connected City Goal are highlighted in grey below:

Fostering neighborhoods that accommodate all ages, lifestyles, and incomes by diversifying and densifying housing choices and creating complete communities that facilitate a high quality-of-life
To accommodate all ages, lifestyles, and incomes, a community must meet the basic transportation needs of its residents by providing safe and convenient mobility options. These communities should be complete communities that meet all residents’ daily needs.
Creating a physically beautiful city by promoting high-quality design in public spaces, parks, private development, and capital improvements
Transportation infrastructure and rights-of-way, some of the most visible parts of the city, must be designed to be attractive and inviting and contribute to the city’s physical beauty.
Respecting land as a limited resource by balancing outward growth with infill development, preserving natural resources, and developing in an equitable and sustainable manner
Investment in transportation can steer growth and development in fiscally and environmentally sustainable patterns.
Maximizing connections and mobility options by bridging or eliminating barriers and creating new physical connections and a robust multimodal transportation system
The transportation system provides the means for physical mobility around the city. This system must support all types of transportation and be convenient and well-connected.
Creating a future-proofed city by better anticipating and reacting to new technologies and evolving conditions
Many new technologies are emerging in transportation, such as electric vehicles, autonomous cars, smart-parking technology, transportation communication systems, and data analytics. These systems will help Kansas City maintain safe and efficient mobility even as the climate, technology, resources, and society change dramatically over the coming decades.


RELATIONSHIP TO TOPICS

The Playbook is also structured around five Topics that organize the plan’s recommendations around specific subjects. Those topics directly related to the Connected City Goal are highlighted in grey below:








RELATIONSHIP TO OBJECTIVES

The Playbook identifies 21 Objectives for Kansas City. The Objectives are the nuts and bolts of the Playbook. Each Objective contains detailed recommendations, strategies, and initiatives for a specific topic, framed by the overall direction the plan sets for that topic. The Objectives also set priorities and metrics for their implementation and provide supporting context, including relevant data and public input. A single Objective often supports multiple Goals and Topics.

Objectives primarily related to the Connected City Goal:



Objectives secondarily related to the Connected City Goal:




Page last updated: 12 Apr 2023, 02:00 PM