As Kansas City Booms And Sprawls, Trying Not To Forget Those In Between
The city's suburbs are growing and its downtown is once again thriving - but what's happening in the middle?
This summer, NPR reporters are returning to their hometowns to see how they've changed. Sarah McCammon grew up in Kansas City – on the Missouri side of the state line.
Like a lot of places, Kansas City is experiencing a couple of major trends – suburban sprawl and, more recently, a downtown revitalization.
My two siblings who still live there are a pretty good example of this. My brother, Dan Fowler, is in his late 20s, works for a tech startup and, like many of his friends, lives in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
Growing up, he remembers driving through downtown "hurriedly" en route to other places, but a lot has changed.
"I just remember it as being the
