Key Communities
A rich diversity of lifestyles, urban and suburban, define this region.
The New York area is sandwiched between New Jersey and Connecticut, Washington has the Maryland-Virginia divide, and Philadelphia has a strong New Jersey influence across the Delaware River. So bi-state, even tri-state dynamics, aren’t unheard of. But in few major metro areas do the geographic and political markers create the kinds of impacts one finds in the Kansas City region. Cleanly split by a state line, the 12 most populous counties in the region account for 2.3 million people—just shy of 1 million live in Kansas; a little more than 1.3 million are in Missouri.
That implies divisions in public policy that have presented long-standing challen-ges for metro-wide collaboration, challenges often met, with varying levels of success.
Beyond that political boundary, there is a geographical one of significance: The Missouri River. It cleaves the region into Downtown Kansas City and the suburban stretch of Jackson County in Missouri and Johnson/Wyandotte Counties in Kansas on one side, and the vast Northland region of Platte and Clay counties on the other riverbank.
That brief précis will offer some important reference points for understanding how the constituent pieces of this region come together to form the whole.
Kansas City Proper
Few municipalities in America can boast of crossing as many county lines as does Kansas City itself. Largely sited in Jackson County, the city has grown over the decades to include stretches of Platte and Clay counties north of the river, and even a notch in the northwest corner of Cass County, just south of Jackson. In addition, the city directly abuts the Wyandotte and Johnson county lines on the Kansas side.
The city’s most prominent community within that sprawl is Downtown, which every workday attracts roughly 90,000 commuters from throughout the region to its array of banks, professional services firms and retail and entertainment venues. From Downtown, the progression to the south incorporates a large Midtown area with considerable retail and older residential and multi-family units, the Country Club Plaza retail and entertainment district, and the Brookside and Waldo neighborhoods, which each revolve around their own distinct commercial centers.
Eastern Jackson County
Not a lot of people realize this—even among the locals—but despite being the 800-pound gorilla of population in this region, Kansas City is not the county seat. That distinction belongs to Independence, one of four nodes (soon to be five) of at least 100,000 population that surround the central core of Kansas City.
With more than 4,000 businesses across a wide-ranging geography, Independence includes older neighborhoods abutting the Kansas City limits, as well as newer development in the east, including the impressive Hartman Heritage and Independence Commons retail and commercial districts. More than 117,000 people call Independence home.
To the south and east is Lee’s Summit, poised to become the next 100,000-populaion suburb. With a 2011 population of 91,668, the city includes many newer residential developments, often boasting higher-end suburban-style homes, as well as retail magnets like SummitWoods Crossing and the nearby Summit Fair shopping districts, offering more than 1.3 million square feet of retail.
Johnson County
One of the economic engines of the Kansas City region is Johnson County, which opens up just a few miles southwest of Downtown Kansas City. Originally a post-war collection of smaller suburban communities, it has grown enormously over the past half-century.
Driving much of the growth was Overland Park, now second only to Kansas City, Mo., in terms of population. Its 173,000 residents are strewn from the northern border of the county to its southern line, thanks to a long series of annexations and organic growth. The city boasts the region’s most dynamic indoor shopping venue, Oak Park Mall, and several of its top-performing public school districts, among many other attributes.
That growth has made Overland Park a commuting destination in its own right, pulling workers in from the Missouri side along Interstate 435, even as the locals move toward Downtown and back again along I-35 twice a day.
Right on the heels of Overland Park’s growth has been neighboring Olathe, the seat of county government. Now with 127,900 residents, it has soared from fewer than 20,000 as recently as 1980. That growth, like Overland Park’s, has produced new, outstanding schools, shopping venues, and mile after mile of residential development, in many cases offering higher-end homes.
Three other communities of note are Shawnee (population 63,219), Lenexa (48,972) and Leawood (32,389). All have been well-served by the region’s web of interstate highways that offer quick and easy access to one another and the greater Downtown area and Missouri suburbs.
Wyandotte County
For more than a decade, the undisputed shining star of economic growth in the metro are has been Wyandotte County, Kan. Long the red-headed stepsister of the region’s economy, the county moved to a unified government structure in 1998, and the biggest presence, Kansas City, Kan., witnessed a boom on its western flank. The Village West retail district, which includes the popular Legends Outlets and numerous restaurants, is also home to Sporting Kansas City’s $200 million stadium, which opened in 2011, the region’s only Nebraska Furniture Mart, and the single market presence of outdoor retailer Cabela’s.
Concurrently, residential development nearby has boomed, with those rooftops bringing the everyday retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy more into the picture. And professional jobs are growing too, thanks to Cerner Corp.’s entry into Village West with twin towers opening this year for more than 4,000 workers.
Combined, that has complemented a local economy long dominated by industrial and transportation interests, and brought large portions of Wyandotte County into the suburban fold with its 158,000 residents.
The Suburban Ring
Completing the ring around all of those areas are the Missouri-side counties of Clay and Platte on the north, and Cass on the south, and Leavenworth, Douglas and Miami counties in Kansas. All have witnessed considerable suburban development over the past two decades, bringing with it new retail and compelling residents to approve new and expanded facilities for K–12 education.
Each has major features, as well. Douglas County, for example, has become a part of the Kansas City metro with growth bridging the gap between the urban center and the home of the state’s largest public university the University of Kansas. Leavenworth includes the sprawling Fort Leavenworth military campus (and two major corrections facilities, the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth and the state-run Lansing Correctional Facility.
Platte County is home to Kansas City International Airport, drawing thousands of visitors for hundreds of daily flights and thousands more commuters to work in the rapidly-expanding commercial corridors leading to the airport, Interstates I-29 and I-435.
Clay County is home to Liberty, a fast-growing suburb and in some ways a mirror of what’s unfolded in Cass County to the south—considerable residential development, subsequent retail arrivals and expansions of public school systems to accommodate long-term growth. 