From the Skyline to the Streets: Designing Our Urban Environment

Kansas City prides itself on its livability. Our parks, boulevards and fountains are among the centerpieces of our civic identity. How can the planning for Kansas City's future build on this tradition of municipal beauty, particularly in light of concerns about the economy, the environment, and energy?

Daniel Serda, Director of the Kansas City Design Center (KCDC), evaluates several key decision moments in the evolution of Kansas City's built environment, and explores how Kansas City can use good urban design to raise the city's profile as a dynamic, sustainable region for the 21st Century.

The KCDC is a partnership between the schools of architecture at the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. Housed in a downtown storefront space, the KCDC engages the local community in dialogue and projects that bring the intellectual curiosity and energy of future architects and planners to bear on key questions facing Kansas City's future.

Arts & Issues is co-presented by the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City, The Central Exchange and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.