Kansas City Metropolitan Area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Common name: Kansas City Metropolitan Area |
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| Largest city Other cities |
Kansas City, Missouri - Overland Park - Kansas City, KS - Independence - Olathe - Lee's Summit |
| Population | Ranked 27th in the U.S. |
| - Total | 1,947,694 (2005 est.) |
| - Density | 244/sq. mi. 153/km² |
| Area | 7,976 sq. mi. 12,762 km² |
| State(s) | - Missouri - Kansas |
| Elevation | |
| - Highest point | ?1 feet (?1 m) |
| - Lowest point | ?1 feet (?1 m) |
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a metropolitan area situated at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers (Kaw Point) and straddling the state border between Missouri and Kansas. The 15-county Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area, anchored by Kansas City, Missouri, is the 27th largest in the United States with an estimated population of 1,947,694 in the year 2005. The Combined Statistical Area also includes the Micropolitan Statistical Areas of Atchison, Kansas, and Warrensburg, Missouri, with estimated populations of 10,232 and 16,741, respectively. The Combined Statistical Area of Kansas City had a population of 2,015,282 in the year 2005.
Kansas City prides itself on not having many of the problems afflicting other American cities. Many report that there is a "friendly, small town feel" to the metropolitan area and that Kansas City "does not feel like one of those big cities, like New York or LA" at all.
Kansas City prides itself on being free of many problems traditionally associated with what is an "urban" area. Examples of is generally regarded to be one of the least "urban" metroplolitan areas in the nation. While the population numbers are sustained by a high prevalence of Kansas City residents to remain in the greater Kansas City area, a behavioral tendency which can be observed
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[edit] Geographic overview
The core of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area can be visualized roughly as four quadrants:
The northeast quadrant is locally referred to as "north of the river" (Missouri River) or "the Northland". (Often confused with Northtown, a nickname for North Kansas City) Contained wholly within Missouri, it encompasses portions of Clay County including the northern half of Kansas City, Missouri, the historic northeast neighborhood, and the cities of Liberty, and North Kansas City. The sharpest part of the river bend forms a peninsula containing the Kansas City Downtown Airport.
The southeast quadrant is the core of the metro area and includes the southern half of Kansas City, Missouri (sometimes referred to as Southtown), and the Jackson County, Missouri, suburbs of Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, and Blue Springs. It is sometimes called "the southland". It includes the majority of the metro area's businesses, visitor attractions, cultural institutions, and urban neighborhoods.
The southwest quadrant includes all of Johnson County, Kansas, which includes the towns in the area known as Shawnee Mission. Interstate 35 runs diagonally through Johnson County from the southwest to downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
The northwest quadrant contains Wyandotte County, Kansas, and parts of Platte County, Missouri. Wyandotte County, sometimes referred to as just 'Wyandotte' or 'The Dotte', which contains Kansas City, Kansas, Bonner Springs and Edwardsville, is governed by a single unified government similar to a consolidated city-county. Often the Wyandotte government is referred to simply as 'The Unified Government'. Another bend in the Missouri River forms the county line between Wyandotte and Platte counties to the north and northeast.
In all, nearly 2 million people live in the metropolitan area. It is difficult to state exactly the size of the population because there are no natural boundaries and suburban expansion (or sprawl) is ongoing.
[edit] Cities
[edit] Anchor city
- Kansas City, Missouri (Major airport: Kansas City International Airport)
The metropolitan area is experiencing continued growth. Between 2003 and 2005, about 32,148 housing permits were issued in the metropolitan area.[citation needed]
[edit] Counties
The Kansas City metropolitan area includes all or part of the following counties:
- Cass County, Missouri
- Clay County, Missouri
- Jackson County, Missouri
- Platte County, Missouri
- Johnson County, Kansas
- Wyandotte County, Kansas
As of 2003, the United States Census Bureau included the following counties as part of Kansas City's metropolitan statistical area:
- Franklin County, Kansas
- Leavenworth County, Kansas
- Linn County, Kansas
- Miami County, Kansas
- Bates County, Missouri
- Caldwell County, Missouri
- Clinton County, Missouri
- Lafayette County, Missouri
- Ray County, Missouri
[edit] Associated areas
Although associated with Kansas City, Lawrence, Kansas; St. Joseph, Missouri; and Warrensburg, Missouri, are identified as separate MSAs.
[edit] Transportation
Some of Kansas City's interstates include:
- I-29 - To Saint Joseph, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska, to the North.
- I-35 - To Des Moines, Iowa, to the North and Wichita, Kansas, to the South.
- I-70 - To St. Louis, Missouri, to the East and Topeka, Kansas/Denver, Colorado, to the West.
- I-435 - A Bi-State Loop through the Missouri and Kansas suburbs.
- I-470 - Connects South Kansas City with Lee's Summit and Independence.
- I-635 - Connecting the Kansas suburbs with Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City International Airport.
- I-670 - A southern bypass of I-70 and Southern portion of the downtown loop. Signed as East I-70 when exiting from I-35 while traveling north.
Other major highways:
- US 24-40 - Combination of the US 24 and US 40 highways that pass through Kansas City.
- US 50 - Follows I-435 from the west to I-470 then spurs off in Lee's Summit and becomes just U.S. 50.
- US 69 - Connects Excelsior Springs, Missouri, in the north and serves as a freeway in Johnson County suburbs.
- US 71 - In the north, multiplexed with I-29 to Amazonia, Missouri, and serves as a freeway (Bruce R. Watkins Drive) South from downtown.
- US 169 - Connects Smithville, Missouri, in the north.
- K-5 - A minor freeway bypassing the north of Kansas City, Kansas, connecting the GM Fairfax plant with I-635. K-5 continues as Leavenworth Road west to I-435 then on to Leavenworth, Kansas.
- K-7 - A freeway linking Leavenworth County, Kansas, Wyandotte County, Kansas, and Johnson County, Kansas.
- K-10 - A freeway linking Johnson County, Kansas, and Douglas County, Kansas.
- K-32 - A highway that links Leavenworth County, Kansas, and Wyandotte County, Kansas.
- MO-9 - A minor freeway northwest of North Kansas City, and serves as a commercial backbone to North Kansas City, Riverside, Platte Woods, and Parkville.
- MO-150 - A highway linking southern Lee's Summit and Grandview to the Kansas suburbs at State Line Road.
- MO-152 - A freeway contained entirely in Kansas City's Northland, stretching from Liberty in Clay County west to its intersection with I-435 south of KCI in Platte County.
- MO-210 - A minor freeway east of North Kansas City that, as a two-lane road, stretches to Richmond, Missouri.
- MO-291 - Formerly an eastern bypass route of U.S. 71, the minor freeway connects Harrisonville and Lee's Summit to Independence, Sugar Creek, Liberty and Kansas City North. It is signed along with I-470 north of Lee's Summit.
- MO-350 - Crosses through Raytown as Blue Parkway.
Other notable roads:
- Ward Parkway - A scenic parkway in Kansas City, Missouri near the Kansas-Missouri state line where many large historic mansions and fountains are located.
[edit] Local navigation tips
See related article: WikiTravel entry on Kansas City, Missouri
[edit] Street numbers
The Missouri side of the Metropolitan Area shares a grid system with Johnson County on the Kansas Side with most east-west streets numbered and north-south streets named. Addresses on east-west streets are numbered from Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri, and on north-south streets from St. John Avenue (or the Missouri River, in the River Market area). The direction 'South' in street and address numbers is generally implied if 'N' is not specified, except for numbered 'avenues' in North Kansas City. In most of Wyandotte County, Kansas the north-south streets are numbered and the address numbers are measured from Riverview Avenue. Some suburbs use completely independent numbering schemes.
[edit] Highways
- Kansas Citians tend to express US and Missouri highway designations with the number before the word "highway". This colloquialism tends not to apply to interstates or Kansas route numbers ("I-70", "K-10").
- 69 Highway "The Overland Parkway": Southbound on I-35 from Kansas City, Missouri towards Johnson County there are two exits marked South 69. The first or northern one (Metcalf Ave/I-635) is a left lane exit and leads to Metcalf, an at-grade trafficway, before turning west along Shawnee Mission Parkway, to rejoin I-35. The southern US-69 exit is a two lane right lane exit between the 75th and 87th street exits and begins a four lane highway known as the Overland Parkway.
- Bruce R. Watkins Drive is the name of the new section of U.S. Highway 71 in Kansas City, Missouri. The old 71 Highway ran mostly on Prospect Ave.
- When traveling north on I-35 from Johnson County the first signs that say I-70 west actually guide the driver through the southern portion of the I-670 loop which goes underneath the Bartle Hall Convention Center and some downtown overpasses. This is sometimes referred to as "going under downtown".
[edit] Navigation landmarks
- The KCTV pyramid shaped television and radio tower can be seen from many parts of the city and is well lit at night. It is next to the KCPT studios at the corner of 31st and Main.
- The twin red brick towers of American Century Investments are oriented north and south along Main at 45th street. They are just north of the Country Club Plaza. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is slightly east. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is east and slightly south.
- Kansas City Community Christian Church at 4601 Main has a group of lights that shoot a beam straight up at night. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950s, it is slightly south of and across the street from the American Century Investment Towers. The Nelson Atkins is to the east and the Kemper Museum is to the north and slightly east.
- Bartle Hall has a section that looks somewhat like a north-south suspension bridge crossing over I-670 at the southwest corner of the downtown loop. It has four towers with metal sculptures on top of each tower.
- The Veterans Affairs Medical Center has a large "VA" emblem. It is near the intersection of I-70, Linwood and Van Brunt.
[edit] Areas of the metro
- "The Northland" refers to the area of the metro area that is north of the Missouri River, comprising Clay and Platte counties in Missouri. This area includes the northern half of Kansas City, Missouri, which is referred to as "Kansas City, North" to distinguish it from the rest of the Northland and North Kansas City.
- "North Kansas City" is a separate city that is completely surrounded by Kansas City, Missouri (abbreviated NKC). It is also called Northtown.
- Shawnee Mission, Kansas, is an area recognized by the United States Postal Service that includes many towns in Johnson County, Kansas.
- Waldo refers to the Waldo Residential District in Kansas City, Missouri, near 75th Street and Wornall Road.
- The Country Club Plaza (called "the Plaza" by locals) is an upscale shopping district built by the J.C. Nichols Co. in the 1920s. It is claimed to be the first suburban shopping district in the United States. [1]
- 39th Street usually refers to the small section of West 39th Street between State Line Road and Southwest Trafficway in Kansas City, Missouri. It has many restaurants, bars and shops, and is just across the state line from the University of Kansas Medical Center. The area is also referred to as the Volker neighborhood.
- University of Kansas Hospital (KUMED) is the corporate name of the hospital on the KU Medical Center campus.
- Benton Curve, a curve located where Interstate 70 crosses Benton Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, is a site of many accidents.
- Pendleton Heights is a historic neighborhood in the Northeast, home to the city's largest concentration of Victorian homes. It is bordered to the north by Cliff Drive, the east by Chestnut Trafficway, the south by Independence Avenue and to the west by the Paseo Trafficway. It is Kansas City's oldest surviving neighborhood.
- Grandview Triangle is the intersection of three major highways: Interstate 435, Interstate 470, and 71 Highway (Bruce R. Watkins Drive). Notorious for fatal accidents, as of February 2005, improvements and upgrades on the Triangle have mostly been completed.
- Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard, named for former mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, comprises recently renamed portions of 47th Street and Brush Creek Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri.
- 18th and Vine refers to the 18th and Vine Historic District that contains the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum.
- The Library District is a recently defined district around the new Central Library[2] at 14 West 10th Street in Kansas City, Missouri.
- Strawberry Hill is a historical area in Kansas City, Kansas that was home to many eastern European immigrants. Later, the neighborhood became home to many Latino/Chicano families. However, with recent immigration from Eastern Europe, Strawberry Hill is currently seeing immigration once again from Eastern Europe.
- Hospital Hill is the area near 23rd and Holmes in Kansas City, Missouri, and consists of two major hospitals (Truman Medical Center, The Children's Mercy Hospital) and the University of Missouri, Kansas City's School of Medicine.
- Argentine is a part of Kansas City, Kansas, near 30th and Argentine. It is one of the oldest Mexican/Chicano neighborhoods in Kansas City with Mexican immigration to that area dating to the 1800s.
- The Crossroads Arts District is a Downtown neighborhood between the Central Business District and Union Station, centered around the intersection of 19th Street and Baltimore in Kansas City, Missouri. It contains dozens of art galleries and is considered by many to be the center of the arts culture in the metropolitan area. Local artists sponsor exhibits there on the first Friday of each month.
- Quality Hill is an upscale residential and commercial neighborhood on top of a western hill in the Central Business District Downtown Kansas City, across the river from the Charles B. Wheeler Airport.
- Washington-Wheatley is a historically Black neighborhood southeast of the 18th and Vine District.
- The Westside is a historically African American and Chicano/Latino neighborhood near Southwest Blvd. and Interstate 35.
- Westport is a historic district offering much of the metro area's entertainment and nightlife.
- Valentine
- West Bottoms
- Rosedale
- Armordale, in Kansas City, KS, is one of the historically Chicano(a) neighborhoods of the Kansas City metro.
- Sheffield
- Northend
- East Bottoms
- Brookside
- Northeast, refers to the Historic Old Northeast District, a working-class immigrant collection of neighorhoods. It is between downtown Kansas City and the smaller city of Independence. It was originally one of the more fashionable areas in the city, and the oldest residential neighborhoods. It is also home to peoples from dozens of nations, representing cultures from Africa, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. Though a vital part of the KCMA and very unique, it is often overlooked by non-Kansas Citians for political and economic reasons.
[edit] Educational institutions
[edit] Post-secondary
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In Kansas City, Missouri:
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On the Missouri side: On the Kansas side:
In nearby Lawrence: Other nearby Missouri educational institutions: |
[edit] Elementary and secondary
Missouri schools
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Kansas schools
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[edit] Libraries
- Johnson County Library
- Kansas City Kansas Public Library
- Kansas City Public Library (MO)
- Linda Hall Library
- Mid-continent Library
- Olathe Public Library
[edit] Media
[edit] Print media
The primary newspaper of the metropolitan area is The Kansas City Star. The McClatchy Company, the owner of The Star, also owns the suburban weeklies Lee's Summit Journal and Olathe Journal.
The five-day daily "Kansas City Kansan" serves Wyandotte County. Additional weekly papers in the metropolitan include the Liberty Tribune, Sun Newspapers of Johnson County and the Northland, The Examiner in Independence and Eastern Jackson County, and The Pitch. Two newspapers serve the area's faith communities: "The Metro Voice Christian Newspaper" and the "Jewish Chronicle". "Dos Mundos" is the area's primary newspaper that serves the Spanish speaking community with articles printed in Spanish and English.
[edit] Broadcast media
According to Arbitron, about 1.5 million people over the age of 12 are part of the Kansas City DMA, making it the 30th largest market for radio and 31st for television Nielsen ratings.
[edit] Television
Kansas City metro television stations, with all major network affiliates represented, include:
- WDAF-TV 4 - Fox Owned and Operated.
- KCTV 5 - CBS affiliate.
- KMBC-TV 9 - ABC affiliate.
- KCPT 19 - PBS Member Station
- KCWE 29 - The CW affiliate.
- KMCI 38 (independent)
- KSHB-TV 41 - NBC affiliate.
- KPXE 50 - i affiliate.
- KSMO-TV 62 - My Network TV affiliate.
[edit] Radio
Over 30 FM and 20 AM stations broadcast in the Kansas City area, with stations from Topeka, St. Joseph, and Carrollton also reaching into the metropolitan. The highest rated radio stations according to Arbitron:
[edit] Public and community radio
- KCUR-FM NPR affiliate
- KANU-FM and KTBG-FM, both college radio stations, are also NPR affiliates
- KKFI-FM Locally-owned not-for-profit station
[edit] Specialty radio
Hispanics account for five percent of the market and are served by three AM radio stations (KCZZ, KDTD, and KKHK) and a Univision affiliate, KUKC-LP.
[edit] Business interests
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area's largest private employer is Sprint Nextel Corporation. The international telecommunications company maintains its global operational headquarters at its 200-acre campus facility in south Overland Park. During 2003, the company employed nearly 18,500 people in the five-county metropolitan area, with wages of more than $1.16 billion generating $58 million in local and state income taxes. Sprint spent more than $21 million on property taxes and $1.74 billion for goods and services from area businesses. Since the merger, Sprint Nextel's corporate headquarters moved to Reston, Virginia, and the company spun off its local telephone service into a new company called Embarq, also based in Overland Park.
Other major employers are AT&T, BNSF Railway, Hallmark Cards, Harley-Davidson, General Motors, Honeywell, and Ford Motor Company. Kansas City also has a large pharmaceutical industry, with companies such as Bayer and Aventis having large presences.
[edit] Headquarters
The following companies and organizations are headquartered in the area:
- American Century Companies, an investment firm
- AMC Theatres, a movie theater chain
- Andrews McMeel Universal, a syndication and publication company which represents features such as Dear Abby, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes and Doonesbury
- Applebee's restaurant chain
- Aquila, Inc., a major energy company
- Black & Veatch, Major engineering firm
- Burns & McDonnell, an architectural firm
- Cerner, leading supplier of healthcare information technology solutions.
- Church of the Nazarene church
- Commerce Bancshares, bank serving Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois
- Community of Christ church (Mormon RLDS)
- DST Systems, Inc., global provider of sophisticated information processing and computer software services and products
- Ferrellgas, the nation's largest retailer and distributor of natural gas
- Garmin, largest maker of GPS-based electronics
- Hallmark Cards, largest maker of greeting cards in the US
- HNTB Corporation, large architecture and engineering firm
- HOK Sport + Venue + Event, world leader in sports architecture
- H&R Block, financial corporation and former parent company of CompuServe
- Inergy, LP, one of the nation's largest retailers and distributors of natural gas
- Interstate Bakeries Corporation, makers of Twinkies and Wonder Bread
- J.E. Dunn Construction Group, major construction contractor.
- Kansas City Power & Light Company, a leading regulated provider of electricity and energy-related products and services
- Kansas City Southern Industries, operators of a Class I railroad
- Lockton Companies, the largest privately held insurance brokerage in the nation
- Peterson Manufacturing, a leading manufacturer of vehicle safety lighting
- Premium Standard Farms, provider of pork products, producing pork products for the retail, wholesale, foodservice, further processor and export markets
- Russell Stover Candies
- Sprint Nextel Corporation, one of the world's largest telecommunication companies.
- Unity Church
- The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States of America
- Wolferman's bakery
- YRC Worldwide Inc., one of the largest transportation service providers in the world.
Kansas City has a Federal Reserve Bank.
[edit] Retail centers
- Antioch Center
- Bannister Mall
- Crown Center
- Country Club Plaza
- The Gateway (formerly Mission Center)
- Great Mall of the Great Plains
- Independence Center
- The Landing Mall
- Metcalf South Shopping Center
- Metro North Mall
- Oak Park Mall
- Town Pavillion
- Legends at Village West
- Ward Parkway Shopping Center
- Zona Rosa
[edit] Local organizations
- Independent Filmmakers Coalition of Kansas City
- Community LINC
- Hepatitis C Multicultural Outreach
- Irish Museum and Cultural Center
[edit] External links
- KC Metro Community Portal
- KC Photos.com
- [KC Population Statistics[4]
- Westport Kansas City
- Experience Kansas City
- VisitKC.com
- 360KC: Kansas City's Visual Directory
- Kansas City: City of Fountains
- Mid-America Regional Council
- Kansas City Scout Traffic Management System
- National Weather Service - Kansas City Office
- ThinkKC
- KC Search Engine - Search hundreds of web sites from the Kansas City area
- Kansas City Haunted Houses & Activities for Halloween.
- Kansas City Direct Action Network
- KC Chapter of National Lawyers Guild
- Kansas City Independent Media Center
- Kansas City infoZine
- Kansas City Development Forum
- Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation
- The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
- Southtown Council
- ThinkOneKC
- India Association of Kansas City (IAKC)
- KC "The Metro" Transportation Authority
- KC Red Cross
- Kansas City Metro Crime Commission
- Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society
| The City of Kansas City |
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|---|---|
| History • Architecture • Downtown • Economy • Barbeque • Jazz • Fountains • Broadcast • Film • Neighborhoods • Metro Area • Sports |
| Metropolitan area of Kansas City |  |
|---|---|
| Central City: Kansas City, Missouri Largest cities (over 100,000 in 2000): Independence • Kansas City, Kansas • Olathe • Overland Park Medium-sized cities (10,000 to 100,000 in 2000): Blue Springs • Belton • Excelsior Springs • Gladstone • Grandview • Lansing • Leawood • Leavenworth • Lee's Summit • Lenexa • Liberty • Merriam • Ottawa • Prairie Village • Raymore • Raytown • Shawnee Counties: Jackson • Clay • Cass • Platte • Lafayette • Ray • Clinton • Bates • Caldwell • Johnson • Wyandotte • Leavenworth • Miami • Franklin • Linn |
