The Messy City Podcast

Stand by for a very Kansas City-focused episode. For this one, Abby Newsham and I were invited to record a live podcast during KC Design Week, at the Kansas City Art Institute. Abby now hosts the Unconventional Urbanism podcast.
While there’s some inside baseball in here for Kansas City people, we also cover issues that are germane to cities all over, including:
* development / redevelopment issues in urban core communities
* elimination of minimum parking regulations
* creating high-value pedestrian amenities
* catalytic large projects
* why it’s important to have a growth mentality
* the critical issue of public safety in urban communities
Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin’s Substack page.
Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you’d like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.
Intro: “Why Be Friends”
Outro: “Fairweather Friend”


Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

The tale of Route 66 might seem like just a tale of freedom on the road, the great American desire for exploration, and our love affair with the car. And it is all that. But it’s also much more. It’s about the cities, towns and unique places all along the route and their stories.
Chris Elisara and John Paget are sharing those stories, in a 100th anniversary documentary about Route 66. I happened to catch up with them in Springfield, Missouri, which is where Route 66 was in some part given birth.
Chris and John own First and Main Films, and have their own love affair with telling stories of underdog cities and towns. We crossed paths originally with the New Urbanism Film Festival, which has now evolved into something much bigger called the Better Cities Film Festival, based in Detroit.
Be sure to catch their work about Route 66, something that has occupied them for something close to a lifetime, and which tells us so much about America’s history and our cities and towns.
Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin’s Substack page.
Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you’d like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.
Intro: “Why Be Friends”
Outro: “Fairweather Friend”



Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

Sometimes a local story is just that - a local story. And sometimes it transcends. Yes, Mike Zeller is very much rooted in Kansas City, and this is a very local story about how to take advantage of our long-overlooked river assets.
But this story is really so much more than all that. This is about finding value in what other people might not see; about perseverance; about not giving up when so many others would on a “crazy” idea.
More than anything, this is about not giving up on yourself. The Rock Island Bridge in Kansas City may indeed become a local landmark - I believe it’s well on the way. But this is so much more about having confidence in yourself and your ideas, and not assuming the “experts” and the “professionals” have it all figured out.
How many times have you said, “someone should do something with that?” Maybe that someone is you.
Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin’s Substack page.
Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you’d like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.
Intro: “Why Be Friends”
Outro: “Fairweather Friend”


Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

Every so often, an idea comes along that makes so much sense it makes you wonder - why haven’t we been talking more about this? In that vein comes today’s guest, Eli Smith, who is pioneering something called the Faith-Based Housing Initiative.
Eli describes it well, but there’s a fascinating juncture here of issues related to churches and faith institutions of all kinds; the societal issues around loneliness; and the lack of housing - especially meaningful, community-based housing.
Eli and his partners help cohorts of faith-based institutions in certain markets to identify how they can develop housing themselves, often on excess land they aren’t using. While this runs up against a whole other set of issues that churches and temples face, it offers a glimpse at something very hopeful as well.
Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin’s Substack page.
Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you’d like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.
Intro: “Why Be Friends”
Outro: “Fairweather Friend”


Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

Zach Molzer is 25, and he wants you to know that’s an advantage. His team is young, energetic, and optimistic. His story of quickly becoming a developer with impact in Kansas City shows us that you don’t need to have decades of experience. You just need to want to do it badly, and get others excited about your vision.
In just a couple of short years, Zach has created a company, undertaken two very complex redevelopment projects, created a huge presence on social media, built a bus stop out of an actual bus, connected with local elected officials, and is gearing up for much more. I hope you find inspiration in how Zach relates to us, that you can just do things. You don’t need permission, you don’t need the approval of a committee - you can just decide to do something, and pursue it relentlessly.
For those of us that are frequently skeptical of the value of social media, Zach also offers a lesson in how to use the technology to great advantage. Check out his Twitter/X page or YouTube for more.
Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin’s Substack page.
Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you’d like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.
Intro: “Why Be Friends”
Outro: “Fairweather Friend”


Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe